THE leader of Southend Council has ruled out punitive measures – including low emission zones or congestion charges – after it was revealed air quality at a notorious bottleneck is worse than expected.

Traffic chaos has plagued the notorious Cuckoo Corner for years but now Southend Council has revealed that air quality at the junction is higher than previously recorded after new sensors were installed.

The roundabout, which links Victoria Avenue with the A127, Priory Crescent and Manners Way, has been a source of frustration for years.

Now Southend Council is investigating a series of options, including a box junction, to tackle long queues and high pollution areas.

Notorious - Cuckoo CornerNotorious - Cuckoo Corner (Image: Google Street View)

When Basildon Council faced issues with air quality surrounding the A127, a congestion charge was touted before a 50mph speed limit was ultimately introduced.

Labour leader Daniel Cowan said: “I was clear in my speech when I became leader, congestion charges, low traffic neighbourhoods and ultra low emission zones will not be introduced or entertained by my administration.

“Last year, when in power, the Tories tried to remove the air quality monitoring area which extended to Cuckoo Corner. Lydia Hyde pushed back on their claims and proved that they weren’t getting correct readings.”

Mr Cowan added: “Under this administration, we’re doing things properly and the readings are showing us that improvements are required and we are working on solutions with our officers.

“We will bring forward solutions as quickly as we can.”

Lydia Hyde, councillor responsible for climate, environment and waste, revealed the new sensors have detected the air quality is worse than expected, despite previous council figures showing an improvement.

She said: “There’s been discussions to progress on with Cuckoo Corner and make up some more plans for it, mainly looking around the roundabout itself and working out where it has traffic lights and line markings, and potentially looking at a box junction.”

James Courtenay, leader of the Conservative Group, said: “It’s important to have the right data to know what action is necessary but we’ve got data from before, so I wouldn’t want us to delay that.

“It’s important to keep cars flowing through that junction. It’s major thoroughfare to the High Street to businesses and the seafront. We need to keep vehicles flowing as much as possible because a lot to the pollution is from cars idling at junctions.”