A127 Kent Elms Corner

A127/A1015 Kent Elms Junction currently carries 44,000 vehicles between 7am – 7pm. Improvements to the junction will serve:

• London Southend Airport
• Airport Business Parks
• the area of proposed development adjacent to the Airport
• Southend Town Centre
• Eastern Southend including employment and housing sites in both Southend and Rochford.

London Southend Airport and Environs Joint Area Action Plan (JAAP)

A key requirement of the London Southend Airport and Environs Joint Area Action Plan (JAAP) is to ensure traffic remains on the primary route network, the A127, to access the airport and business parks, rather than use local roads. To facilitate this there must be improvements to the functioning of both the local and wider highway network including key junctions on the A127 which link Southend and Rochford with the M25, and to provide internal solutions to movement and accessibility. The proposed improvement is part of a package of measures that must be delivered to ensure the A127, which is a vital artery for the economic well-being of Southend, is able to cater for the demands placed on it as a driver for economic growth.

Improvements

Successful improvements to the A127 route, in terms of journey time savings and reliability, have been carried out incrementally and as funding has been applied for and granted. The next major A127 junction improvements identified is at the A127 Kent Elms corner.

• The eastbound A127 currently experiences significant delays in the AM peak for vehicles turning left and also travelling towards the town centre, the seafront, London Southend Airport, Shoeburyness and for those turning right into Bridgwater Drive.
• The westbound A127 currently experiences delays in the PM peak for vehicles turning left into Bridgwater Drive and towards the Borough boundary, and for those turning right into Rayleigh Road.
• There is a significant issue of community severance at this junction. The only access across the A127 at this junction is via a footbridge which is not DDA compliant, with a library, a health centre, retail, businesses and local schools all effectively cut-off from the community on the south side of the A127.
• An at-grade improvement / approach is proposed to add additional straight ahead and extend turning lanes. This will result in the need to remove the pedestrian over-bridge and replace with a new footbridge and Toucan crossings.

This would also enable the existing cycling facilities to be better connected and would allow for any future cycle improvements to be accommodated creating a continuous route linking with the JAAP developments. This junction is also a critical point on the bus network and X30 airport link route.

£579m of investment to East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock

In total the SELEP Growth Deal with Government has brought £579m of investment to East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock. Over the lifetime of the Growth Deal (2015-2021) we aim to deliver 78,000 jobs and 29,000 homes across the SELEP area, with the Deal set to attract a further £960m of investment into the South East over the six year period.

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