Serious fears over the future of the Thames Gateway regeneration project have emerged following the shelving of the Gardiners Lane South project.

The English Partnerships plan, which hoped to create 8,000 jobs, has been hailed as one of the key parts of the overall scheme alongside the proposed P&O Coryton superport.

Now its long-term future seems in doubt, following revelations about Gardiners Lane, and Basildon Council leader Malcolm Buckley said the whole project was under the spotlight.

He said: "Gardiners Lane is seen as a significant part of the whole scheme and if the Government is not prepared to fund a vital infrastructure improvement, such as the A127 bridge, we can only question its commitment to the region as a whole.

"It also adds weight to the arguments of the project's critics who see it as nothing more than a Trojan horse for more housing in the area without the infrastructure and support which should go with it."

However, Basildon MP Angela Smith accused the council of being as much to blame as anyone else for the collapse.

She said: "The council worked with English Partnerships to develop a relocation strategy for the sports clubs, but has not been able to grant planning permission to any of these sites.

"This is as much a reason why English Partnerships feels unable to continue at present. The council should have made it clear it backed the scheme, or if it felt it was not the right scheme make its position known."

Brain Kelly, Southend Council cabinet member for resources, said the infrastructure improvements which would have come with the development were important.

He said: "I am worried the Government has spent the money available on Thames Gateway in East London and North Kent and when it comes to South Essex there is nothing left. Unless we get the road improvements there is going to be chaos ."

Mary Spence, Thames Gateway South Essex chief executive, accepted Gardiners Lane was an important part of the bigger picture.