Road cash runs out

2:21pm Thursday 1st November 2007

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FRUSTRATED residents could miss out on a £2.5million upgrade of the A13, in Leigh, because cash for the project has been spent in Southend.

Southend Council's A13 improvement programme, funded with £6.1million from the Government, was designed to improve London Road from Southend town centre to the borough boundary in Leigh.

New bus shelters, real-time electronic bus timetables, modern benches, signs and safety features were all planned.

However, all the cash has been spent on completing phases one and two, which covers only the Southend stretch from Victoria Circus to Elmsleigh Drive, Leigh.

This leaves no money for the final phase, which runs as far as Tattersall Gardens, in Leigh.

Eddie Cornish, chairman of West Leigh Residents' Association, said the group had repeatedly contacted the council to see if it was applying for more Government money to renovate the Leigh section.

He added: "It's a shame, really, because people who are travelling into Southend from the western sector in some cases haven't even got a shelter, but they are encouraging people to use public transport.

"Every time we raise it, they are still waiting for funding from the Government."

Paul Mathieson, group manager of Southend Council's transport policy group, said: "Phase one and two did cost more than expected, but it has meant there are significant street scene enhancements and bus priority measures that have improved travel times for everyone."

Anna Waite, Tory councillor responsible for transport, said she had approached the Government for funding since she was appointed in May.

She added: "Since all this was agreed, we've had the Olympics bid and a war in Iraq and I think the Government is running out of funds. That's my personal opinion.

"I don't think we're going to get it any time soon, but we're going to carry on trying for it.

"It's making me feel more and more inclined not to encourage development in this town on a major scale, because we've got to get the infrastructure right and the safety issues."