1 week Ago By [email protected] (Matt Lee)
Concerns have been raised that the scrapping of a major transport scheme in the county could threaten the likelihood of thousands of new homes being built. It comes as the Government has yet to commit to funding the widening of the A12 between Chelmsford and the A120 near Colchester. The plan has already been given planning approval and would see improvements to J19 and J25, the removal of junctions 20a, 20b and 23.
The project is expected to cost in the region of £1.2 billion and would improve a stretch of road that is currently used by 90,000 vehicles each day. Funding for the project has been put on hold by the new Labour administration, amidst allegations of a £2.
9 billion shortfall in transport funding left by the previous Conservative government. In a Westminster debate on Wednesday (October 16) Essex MPs highlighted the importance of the scheme and the potential risks if it were to be scrapped. READ MORE: Essex councils to receive £3.
5m to build 200 new homes on brownfield land ALSO READ: Chelmsford murder victim named locally as floral tributes left in his memory at scene of attack Marie Goldman (Lib. Dem.), the MP for Chelmsford, said: "Many houses could be threatened and not delivered at all if the scheme does not come forward.
I fully support the A12 widening scheme. "I have spoken to local developers who say that if the scheme did not go ahead, that could threaten the development of 55,000 houses in the area—a very large number. That is how important the scheme is.
" Ms Goldman later clarified the 55,000 homes are not all due to be built in Chelmsford. It also includes developments in Braintree, Colchester and Maldon. Dame Priti Patel, the Conservative Party MP for Witham, added: "Mid-Essex has been growing for decades.
We support that growth, but with it we have to have the infrastructure investment. "She will be familiar with the Army and Navy road and all the other trials and tribulations we have had with our infrastructure. The expansion of the Boreham junction is also pivotal to her constituency, which neighbours mine.
We need this scheme to come together." Lilian Greenwood (Lab.), speaking on behalf of the Department for Transport, admitted she recognised the importance of the scheme to residents in Essex.
They said: "That section of the A12 is also an important commuter route, so I understand why [Ms Patel] is so passionate about the improvements that she seeks." They added: "I recognise the level of support for this scheme and its importance to the right hon. Lady’s constituents and those of her colleagues.
Marie Goldman rightly highlighted her own concerns. However, as I noted earlier, the financial inheritance that the Government have received is extremely challenging. "The A12 Chelmsford to A120 scheme alongside other future road projects is being considered as part of the Department’s capital review, which will inform the upcoming spending review.
As Ms Patel knows, major investment decisions are a matter for the spending review, and at this stage I am not in a position to give assurances about individual schemes. "I know that that is frustrating for her—it is somewhat frustrating for me—but I do understand the arguments that she puts forward.".
