A WAR of words has erupted between county council and local borough council bosses over plans to straighten a major south Essex junction, with claims that local officials were not notified of the plans before they were made public earlier this week.

Essex County Council has applied to the Government for a multimillion-pound funding pot to straighten the Fortune of War junction on the A127 in Laindon.

Proposals also include a new "flagship" walking and cycling route between the Fortune of War junction and Basildon Town Centre, as well as upgrades to bus stops along the corridor.

Cllr Gavin Callaghan, Labour leader of Basildon Council, says he was unaware until the county council issued a press release on the matter but Essex County Council claims councils were met with and written to.

Cllr Callaghan said: "It would have been nice for the county council to tell us, we were unaware of the request going to the Government. We are going to be making a case to the Government about our priorities for Basildon and obviously Essex County Council decided not to join up with us on this.

"There are more things the county council could be doing such as filling in some of the potholes, this is what comes up on the doorstep when speaking to people, not straightening the Fortune of War junction.

"It would be nice to be all working as one voice in south Essex as a new Government comes in. South Essex was not consulted and we have a number of priorities ahead of this. South Essex councils, including Basildon, Brentwood, Thurrock, Castle Point, Rochford and Southend will be meeting next week to discuss a list of priorities to go to the Government with for funding. There was no courtesy from Essex County Council and it's disappointing."

If agreed, the public will be given an opportunity to comment on the proposed A127 Transport Improvements scheme through a public consultation. This is scheduled to take place early next year.

Under the current plans by the county council, planning applications are expected to be submitted in 2026 and construction is scheduled to start in 2027

Tom Cunningham, Essex County Council cabinet member for highways, Infrastructure and Sustainable Transport, said: "We have regularly engaged with councils in south Essex through meetings of the A127 Engagement Group (previously the A127 Task Force). This has included a meeting in November last year and, more recently, written notification that the funding bid had been submitted. We look forward to updating local members again at the next meeting of the group, which will take place in the next few weeks.

 "The Strategic Outline Case for the scheme was submitted prior to the General Election and included letters of support from a number of the South Essex MPs at that time, as well as Transport East – the sub-national transport body for the East region.

 "Funding for the scheme is being pursued from the Government's Major Road Network (MRN) programme. This funding is only available for enhancement schemes on the country's busiest and most economically important local authority 'A' roads. There is very specific eligibility criteria. Road maintenance schemes, such as pothole repairs, would not be eligible for the funding.

 "Myself or the Leader are very happy to meet with Cllr Callaghan on this, and any other issues, and we look forward to working with him going forward."