A COUNCILLOR claims drivers will not pay to use a new third road off Canvey and so priority should be given to widening Canvey Way.

Discussions are under way to creating a new access route on and off the island by extending Northwick Road in Canvey to the Manor Way in Corringham.

Suggestions have already been made to make drivers pay tolls if the road is ever built.

However, Canvey Independent councillor Neville Watson says focus should be given to turning Canvey Way into a dual carriageway, claiming it would cost less money and be more realistic, as talks of a third road have been under way for a generation.

Mr Watson said: “We all want a third road off the island. If you ask anyone, including myself, that’s what they’d say, but I think it is just a dream.

“The logistics of it are so complicated, and it would be very expensive to construct as it would have to be elevated in case there was a potential flood breach. The majority of drivers in these hard times will not want to pay to use the road when they can just use Canvey Way. We should be looking into something more realistic and deliverable like widening it.”