A CORRINGHAM councillor is calling for swift action from the council after it was announced that junction of The Sorrells and the Manorway in Corringham will be closed for five months.
Conservative Cllr Anderson said “I was disappointed that I only heard about the planned closure two weeks before it is due to take place. The cabinet member for transport must have known about this for ages, yet has taken no action to consult with the community.
“As soon as I heard, I got the message out on social media to make sure residents knew about the public meeting. Since then I have been asking the council to take action to mitigate the impact. We know that traffic including HGVs will divert through Stanford and Corringham, so I have asked for extra school crossing patrols and for a planned new zebra crossing on Southend Road to be brought forward.
“The Manorway underpass is pretty disgusting; I have pushed for it to be tidied up and cleaned regularly for the duration of the works. I am writing to local businesses, asking them what plans they have in place to reroute their delivery lorries. I have also asked the highways department to monitor traffic flows and deal with any problems that emerge as people look for alternative routes.
“With loads to sort out and not much time to do it, it would have been nice to have a bit of help from my Labour ward colleagues. I didn’t see either of them at the public meeting, apparently because they have been too busy grandstanding and writing whingeing letters to the press. Maybe they would have been better off writing to their own cabinet member for transport, who has clearly been asleep on the job while this was being planned.”
Labour should have consulted local residents and businesses long before now but as usual they are burying their heads in the sand!