PLANS for a new right hand turn on Queensway are being considered.

Councillors held a special meeting on Thursday and gave the first in a series of green lights to plans to allow motorists access to Whitegate Road and York Road direct from one of Southend’s busiest roads.

The roads lead to the Warrior Square Car Park and York Road Car Park.

Previous plans for this right hand turn, which would mean drivers would not have to go all the way down to the seafront and around the town to find parking spaces, were rejected in November, despite assurances of filter lanes and traffic lights to mitigate the impact on traffic flows to the south.

Southend Council officers have undertaken a review of the scheme and have ruled that excluding right turn filter lanes from the road will fail to reduce the traffic flow in the town centre.

The new report states: “If southbound traffic could not turn right from Queensway then the most desirable route to Warrior Square and Tyler Avenue Car Parks would be via existing town centre routes.

“It is accepted that allowing a left turn into Whitegate Road would allow traffic to access Warrior Square Car Park from the northbound Queensway but it is likely that drivers would continue to use Seaway car park rather than continue on to Warrior Square or Tyler’s Avenue.

“Given the likelihood that driver behaviour would remain unchanged a revised scheme excluding the right turns would fail to result in an increase in car park occupancy in Warrior Square Car Park or a reduction in vehicle movements in the town centre.”

Officers have stated that the work will need to be carried out within the next four months before the end of the financial year, otherwise there will be no funding available. The plans with amendments were approved and will go before the scrutiny committee on Tuesday.