AN MP has called for serious investment in the public transport network in Southend, with the A127 in “desperate need of an upgrade” and the roads and pavements “literally crumbling”.

In a debate on what the Government is doing to build a world-class transport network, Anna Firth, MP for Southend West, has said that the new city needs and deserves serious investment in its public transport network.

While she welcomed the almost £7 billion committed to levelling up transport across the country, the MP says nothing of substance has made its way down to Southend yet.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Thursday (May 19), Ms Firth said: “There is currently no bus service for elderly people in my constituency to go to the seafront or to the town of Leigh- on-Sea.

Read more >>> Funding secured for accessible lift and footbridge at south Essex station

“I regularly get letters saying that old people are left standing in the cold and wet because the buses and trains are not connecting.

“The A127, one of two trunk roads into Southend, is in desperate need of an upgrade, and our roads and pavements are literally crumbling. All this must change.”

Ms Firth has called for a new overarching integrated transport plan for Southend, an improvement in the train ticketing system and for buses to be overhauled.

Last month, First Essex pulled a series of bus services in Southend including the Number 26 service from Hadleigh which ran to Southend Hospital.

The Conservative MP has said this must never happen again and no bus service should be allowed to be withdrawn without “proper notice and consultation”.

Read more >>> Southend MP demands U-turn on plans to axe 'vital' bus route to hospital

She added: “The A127 needs to be upgraded, as I mentioned, and we must stop prevaricating over this.

“We also need safer provision for cyclists in the city, and all residents want the council to get on with fixing the potholes in our roads and mending our pavements.

“For us as a new city, it is time to implement major projects that would have a long-term impact on Southend for generations to come.”

She highlighted the new Elizabeth Line, which she says would benefit the city if it was extended from Shenfield to Southend, linking London Heathrow airport with London Southend airport.

Ms Firth continued: “Better connecting the city of Southend to London would better connect London itself and unlock the biggest opportunity for growth in the south-east.”