WORK costing hundreds of thousands of pounds to cut emissions and car queues in Colchester has only increased it, according to a new report.

Essex County Council transformed Colchester’s Brook Street roundabout into traffic lights in 2016, specifically to reduce waiting times and improve air quality.

But a report by Colchester Council has found nitrogen dioxide concentrations in the street increased last year.

It also said complaints on queue lengths are still being submitted.

County Hall bosses have now said queue lengths will be monitored in a bid to determine what is behind the increase, paving the way for the possibility of more changes.

In the meantime, Essex County Council has appealed to residents to get out of their cars and either use public transport, bikes or their legs to get around.

Martin Goss, Colchester councillor responsible for waste, sustainability and infrastructure, said: “There does seem to be a correlation between traffic flow and the new measures introduced in Brook Street.

“Essex changed it back to traffic lights thinking it would make the road flow better and keep congestion to a minimum and the feedback would appear to be contrary to that.

“There were traffic lights there 20 years ago and the reason why it was changed to a roundabout is because it didn’t flow well in that area.”

The £440,000 works to Brook Street were carried out in March 2016, with then county councillor responsible for roads, Rodney Bass, stating the “primary object” of the scheme was to cut congestion.

The junction had previously been controlled by traffic lights before a roundabout was put in to improve traffic flow.

But the county council said reinstalling traffic lights would reduce congestion thanks to new technology.

Brook Street was closed for two months for the work to be carried out. But complaints queues were still a persistent problem on the stretch of road did not stop after the work was completed.Mr Goss added: “£440,000 is a sizeable amount of money.

“It does show that the people would rather traffic decisions were taken and managed by local authorities.

“That’s what we would like as you can vote [councillors] in and out very easily.

“Essex is much larger and the councillor taking the decision could come from across the county, which means you have no chance of voting them out because they don’t live in your town.”

An Essex County Council spokesman said: “We continue to monitor the queue lengths and the phasing of the traffic lights.

“If any changes can be made that can reduce congestion and improve air quality along Brook Street they will be made.”

He added: “We advise where possible that public transport, walking and cycling is utilised to reduce congestion and pollution on the network.”