A hovecraft service and a new link road between the A13 and Shoebury have been revealed in a £24million blueprint to tackle traffic congestion in Southend.

The most ambitious transport plan ever produced by Southend Council also includes a Docklands-style light railway, road improvements and the creation of miles of new cycle path.

One of the most radical proposals in the scheme is the resurrection of plans for a hovercraft passenger service across the Thames Estuary to Kent and up to London.

Murray Foster, the council's portfolio holder for the future of Southend, said: "We were thinking along the lines of a passenger hovercraft similar to the link between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.

"We think it is a realistic proposition to bring a crossing between Kent and Southend, and maybe eventually up the Thames to London."

Mr Foster thought a hovercraft would be the perfect vehicle to boost tourism and navigate the mudflats of Southend when the tide is out.

He said: "We are a good tourist attraction and I see this as a way of improving access for tourists."

The plan also recommends a new link road be built in Shoebury between the A13 and the New Ranges, which is set to take hundreds of new homes.

Mr Foster said the new road should also provide "linkage potential to an outer access road". The path a Southend bypass road should take has caused controversy for many years. Mr Foster stressed there were no definite plans yet and said the report only "indicates an ambition".

However, the A13 to New Ranges link road received a positive response from Shoebury residents.

Mike Assenheim, chairman of Shoebury Residents' Association, said: "We have been pushing for a relief road for Shoebury for some time. Anything that relieves traffic is welcome."

The local transport plan also urges the council to investigate the viability of a light railway or guided bus system for Southend.

This could be similar to the Docklands Light Railway in London or could see the introduction of trams. Other key elements of the plan include an extension of the existing bus-friendly link along the A13 to Southchurch Boulevard, via Southchurch Road and along the A127 and Manners Way, to the airport.

It would also include Prittlewell Chase and Fairfax Drive to Southend Hospital.

Within the centre of Southend, the multi-million pound scheme would also include a public transport link, taking in the two railway stations and a possible hovercraft terminal.

It could also see the expansion of the new Southend travel centre, which could form part of a redevelopment of the surrounding area, including York Road market.

Green Party activist Irene Willis welcomed the plans to improve public transport, but was angered by the proposal to build a new road in Shoebury.

She said: "I would be against the road as we want to encourage more people not to use cars.

"I would welcome attempts to improve public transport, but a lot needs to be done."

The blueprint will set out how much Government cash is needed to improve roads and transport between 2006 and 2011.

A previous local transport plan, lasting five years, was put in place in July 2000 and since then £60million worth of investment has been pumped into local transport including multi-million pound improvements to London Road and the controversial Priory Crescent road widening.

Mr Foster stressed the latest local transport plan was still at an "embryonic stage" and was a place for ideas to be put forward and discussed before a final plan is submitted to the Government as part of a bid for funds, in March 2006.