A £25million Government handout is helping Southend Council to press ahead with three ambitious projects seen as crucial in its strategy to rejuvenate the town.

The first is the new £7million Victoria Gateway project. The start of work at the weekend angered protesters because 22 mature trees were chopped down.

However, Southend Council is confident the scheme will make a difference to the image of the town and traffic congestion in the town centre.

As part of the plan, the 50-year-old roundabout at Victoria Circus is being removed and replaced with a junction controlled by traffic lights.

A new public open space will be created guiding people between Southend Victoria station and the High Street. There will also be better facilities for buses and taxis at Southend Victoria station to encourage people to use public transport.

Part of the scheme includes a shared space where kerbs, road signs and other barriers are removed which means motorists and pedestrians effectively use the same area.

The thinking behind the idea is that it makes drivers more aware of their surroundings.

Rather than speeding through a neighbourhood, drivers are forced to slow down and be conscious of other vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians.

John Lamb, Southend Tory councillor responsible for tourism and regeneration, said the project was Government-funded and the council was given a deadline of March 2011 to spend the money.

He said the Victoria Gateway scheme was linked with two other bold projects – work to tackle the traffic bottleneck at Cuckoo Corner, the new City Beach seafront investment scheme and improvement work on the A127 at Progress Road in Eastwood.

He said: “All of these projects are part of the whole scheme and we need to get them all moving because we have to spend the money by the Government deadline.

“We intend to make sure that happens. It will make a lot of improvements.”

He added the works will help boost trade and tourism in the town.

He said: “When you put the four schemes together there will be an overall big improvement to the approach to the town and within the town.

“It will help keep the traffic flowing which will help the environment.

“Tourists come in from so many different ways. A lot of people come by road – the jams do put people off.

“We are making it easier for people to come in and out of the town.”

The scheme is funded by the Government’s Homes and Communities Agency and is part of the Big Changes for a Better Southend campaign which was launched last week.

Speaking of the Victoria Gateway scheme, Anna Waite, Tory councillor responsible for transport and planning, said: “What we are trying to do is improve congestion and journey times as well as improve the look of the area.

“At the moment, if you come out of the station you might be forgiven for not knowing where the High Street is.

“It will be clearer how to get across and there will be traffic light controlled crossings so you don’t have to go around the roundabout.

“There will be a bus interchange with bus, taxi and cycle parking so whatever mode of transport you arrive on, you will be able to make a change.

“Once completed it will be fully landscaped with lots of trees and shrubs. I think overall it will be a really great benefit. It will be something to be proud of.

“It will be controlled by traffic lights so we will be able to control larger quantities of traffic because the roundabout is at capacity.

“It will encourage people to come in and make the town a more inviting place to live and work.”

Bill Harkness, managing director of Victoria Centre owners Delamere Estates, said it was imperative the works were carried out “like clockwork”. He said: “I think it is very important these improvements are run efficiently.

“It is a very important junction with the A127 and the A13 coming in. If it is not done in a really slick way it is going to create a huge bottleneck and jams. ”

He added he had been assured by the council the bulk of the work would not be carried out in the run up to Christmas or the January sales.

He said: “I know there is going to be enormous disruption as there is bound to be, but in the long term interests of the town.”