MORE businesses have come forward to raise concerns about traffic congestion on the A127, after one firm said the problem was forcing them to leave town.

The manager at Motorhog in Rochford, who did not wish to be named, said the “appalling and slow” roads in south east Essex had resulted in the decision to close the yard in Brickfield Way and move to fresh, better connected sites in Thurrock and Kent.

Now his views have been echoed by other traders and business leaders in the area.

Barry Pearne, who owns BK Electronics in Comet Way, Southend, said although his business, which manufactures sub-woofers for home cinema, had not experienced particularly difficulties in receiving deliveries, he had personally encountered difficulties on the A127.

He said his staff also had problems getting into work because of traffic congestion in the morning and was worried plans to build hundreds of homes at Cuckoo Corner would make the jams even worse.

He added: “When you come down the M1, as soon as you reach the A127, you hit traffic. I think the A127 is terrible and at Cuckoo Corner they are building hundreds of new homes.

“From my point of view, if you want to do anything within a ten mile radius of here it is hopeless because of the traffic jams.”

Echo:

More jams on the A127

 

Dawn Jeakings, manager of the Royals Shopping Centre in Southend, said she would welcome improvements to the A127, but accepted this was unlikely given the cutbacks being made in public finances.

She added the issues with traffic were Essex-wide with roads across the county struggling to cope with ever increasing vehicle numbers.

“To be honest, at this time of the year unless you have an accident on the A127 the traffic flows fairly well. The volume of traffic on that road is impossible to manage even if you made it a triple lane. It is one of those things where if I had a magic wand then I would do something about it.”

Motorhog, which has 20 branches across the country, will move its Rochford premises to new sites at Paddock Wood in Tunbridge Wells and Thurrock to exploit the faster M25 and open up potential new markets in the south of the country, particularly the south coast.

All the employees at the Brickfield Way premises are set to move with the firm.