On Friday 7th October, Giles Watling MP, Member of Parliament for Clacton, provided the below statement on the Kirby Cross lights:
"I have urgently written to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, The Rt Hon Simon Clarke MP, objecting outright to the Planning Inspectorate’s decision to overrule local democracy and wreak havoc in our community.
This outrageous decision to impose new traffic lights was neither requested or approved by the planning nor the highways authority. Essex County Council was forced to issue a permit under the tutelage of one individual, the Inspector. Local knowledge would inform that these lights effectively cut off a peninsula which not only already has access issues, but is also growing exponentially in population.
The temporary works to install these lights in Kirby Cross has brought a large chunk of the constituency of Clacton to a halt. The excellent local County Councillor, Mark Platt, and I have been opposing this robustly.
My mailbox exploded this week with supplications from residents asking to remove the works and reinstate the perfectly effective roundabouts at this junction. I heartily concur! Some care home workers are having to add up to another forty minutes to what should be a ten minute journey to work.
This can still be fixed. The new lights are not yet installed. I sincerely hope the Secretary of State takes immediate action to rectify this unnecessary tragedy."