NO end appears in near sight to the 'temporary' traffic lights at a busy Thurrock junction that have now been in place for a year.

As part of a planning permission granted for the right to build new homes in East Tilbury, Persimmon Homes had to have junction changes put in place at the junction of Buckingham Hill Road and the A1013 (Stanford Road), near Stanford-le-Hope. That included the installation of traffic lights.

Work started last February but has yet to be completed and the junction has become a notorious part of Thurrock's traffic infrastructure with failure of the temporary lights being commonplace.

And there have been a number of accidents at the junction, some of them leading to injuries.

In the wake of a series of accidents within 24 hours a couple of weeks ago, (23 January) Thurrock NubNews contacted the council and asked what was the latest on the junction - bearing in mind in June last year they had promised a resolution - saying at the time: "These works are being delivered by Persimmon Homes who are funding and implementing the scheme, with the council acting in a supervisory role to ensure it meets acceptable standards.

"Due to a delay with the developer the council has issued Persimmon Homes with a default notice in regard to the legal agreement of Section 278, and extended the time for appropriate surveys to be completed. Once the results of such surveys have been received work can continue with the commissioning of the signals."

However, today (Monday, 10 February) the picture remains unclear as to what will happen with the council saying: "Thurrock Council continues to work with Persimmon Homes, who are responsible for delivering these works, and BT to resolve the ongoing utility diversions on this road.

"Whilst contractors appointed by Persimmon Homes have completed their works, changes to the BT infrastructure are required. Until this has been completed by BT, the developer has been instructed to provide an interim design of the signal improvements that are required. This will enable the installation of permanent lights and the removal of the temporary lights at the site.

"Once this has been received, the council can progress the approval and commissioning of this work with a clear timeline for completion.

"Thurrock Council continues to closely monitor Essex Police reports of incidents at this junction and the development of these works to ensure they are completed as swiftly as possible."