PLANS to transport thousands of tonnes of soil through Southend city centre and along the seafront have been branded "unbelievable" by opposition councillors.

Bellway Homes must deliver 85,000 tonnes of earth to its new 241-home site off Barge Pier Road, Shoebury, to raise the properties 6.5 metres above the flood-prone land.

Proposed routes have proved controversial, but earlier this week Southend Tories revealed a new route up Victoria Avenue before heading down to the seafront, via Queensway, and past the Kursaal.

However, Labour councillors have now raised major concerns this will cause huge gridlock on the "busiest part of the road system".

Tony Cox, Tory council leader also revealed Bellway have agreed to cut lorry movements from 85,000 to 40,000.

Daniel Cowan, leader of Southend Labour, said: “This is quite unbelievable. Despite claiming they could deliver a better solution; the Conservatives are proposing something far worse.

“It’s an absurd suggestion to double the loads and route the lorries through the busiest part of our road system. This will cause gridlock from Cuckoo Corner to the Kursaal, and especially around the Blue Boar, which is already an air quality management area.

“This is also a significant safety issue as the area the lorries will enter the seafront is often busy with pedestrians and cyclists."

Initial plans included lorries travelling along Eastern Avenue and Thorpe Hall Avenue to Shoebury Common Road, or from Eastern Avenue and along North Shoebury Road and Ness Road.

Ian Gilbert, Labour councillor, added the group is “working to see what steps can be taken to oppose the ludicrous plan”.

Responding to the criticism, Kevin Buck, Conservative councillor responsible for highways, transport and parking, said: “While the housing is very much needed and welcome, there’ll inevitably be some minor disruption from additional commercial vehicle movements, irrespective of the route the vehicles take.

“This is an unavoidable consequence of major house building projects. The development will contain a number of affordable homes. The route selected has been assessed as being the most suitable for these movements. It’s a main arterial dual carriageway all the way to the seafront, designed for such highway traffic."

Bellway confirmed a final plan had been agreed to manage lorries, after holding talks with Southend council leader Tony Cox recently.

The company is now preparing an updated submission for its traffic management plan.

Phil Standen, managing director for Bellway Essex, said: "We have planning consent for the earthworks and the previous construction management plan had already been approved. However, we chose to carry out further analysis to review the logistics of the construction process.

“We have worked closely with the council to improve this plan and are keen to keep the community informed every step of the way. Our aim is to deliver a development to be proud of and we are excited to take the next step towards starting work on site."

He said Bellway has a "strong track record of creating communities in Southend and across Essex."