THE government needs to cough up cash to improve south Essex’s roads or kiss plans for more homes goodbye, MPs have said.

MPs from around Essex attended a debate in the House of Commons to discuss how transport infrastructure across the county can be improved.

Those attending included Rayleigh and Wickford MP Mark Francois and James Duddridge, MP for Southend East and Rochford.

The debate, which took place on Wednesday, was secured by Witham MP Priti Patel, to push the government into supplying more funds to improve the transport infrastructure of Essex to maximise benefits of housing, jobs and the economy.

Southend Council is in the process of creating a Local Plan which requires them to find space for up to 24,000 new homes over a 20-year period, as well as creating up to 12,000 new jobs.

Concerns have been raised among businesses and other authorities about how the A127, which runs between Southend and London, will cope with rising housing levels.

Mark Francois has said the government must provide the funds to improve the road.

Addressing transport minister Chris Grayling, he said: “The minister must understand that our main arterial routes—the A13, the A127 and the A12—are bursting at the seams.

“The government want more house building in south Essex and the rest of the county. I make it plain to the Minister that he has to pay for the infrastructure if he wants those houses built.

“If the Government will not come up with the money, for instance to make the A127 the M127, they can forget their housing targets.”

James Duddridge said the A127 is the “lifeblood” of south Essex.

He said: “If this were legislation, I would suggest a very simple amendment: delete ‘A’ and insert ‘M’. I refer, of course, to the A127. We want it to be a motorway.

“When I say we, I do not mean me, or a collection of a few random individuals; the whole of Essex wants it to be a motorway.

“The A127 carries more than 75,000 people every day. It is the lifeblood not only to the end of the road—almost literally where I live, in Thorpe Bay—but throughout Southend, Shoebury and across the corridor, into London. Rather like the c2c line, it is a pipeline of money and prosperity for the area.

“I am asking for just a small change—a little letter. I am sure the Minister will be able to manage something along those lines.

“We would like the A127 widened, so that it would be at least three lanes along its length.

“We would like a consistent speed—at the moment, there is bit of stop/start and differential speed limits.”