Representation by Cllr Paul Thorogood
- Date submitted
- 28 October 2022
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
If the A12 widening project goes ahead, these are my main concerns: 1) Although some minor improvements to Inworth Road (B1023) are now being included in the proposals following strong concerns raised, the problem with the Gore Pit junction (locally known as the Blue Anchor junction at the top of Feering Hill) in Feering has not been addressed. This is already a very busy junction and it simply will not be able to cope if the plans go ahead in their current format. A link road from Inworth Road around the back of Threshelfords, through the Crown Estates land in Feering, is still absolutely essential for traffic going to and coming from the A12 to avoid this junction, and this must be agreed and included in the plans if huge traffic jams at the Blue Anchor junction are to be avoided - jams that could extend all the way back to the A12 itself. The Hinds Bridge that goes over Domsey Brook must also be widened - it can barely cope with two cars passing each way and can't cope with two lorries (it's about one and a half cars wide). In short, National Highways’ plans don’t take into consideration the impact the new extra lanes and new junctions will have on local roads – no more so than the Inworth Road/Feering Hill junction (Gore Pit). 2) If the widening of the A12 goes ahead the de-trunking of the A12 from Marks Tey to Feering is a opportunity to create a 4km linear country park, which would allow for a pleasant walking, cycling and riding environment with extensive rewilding whilst still keeping access for local residents and businesses. I hope this opportunity will be incorporated into the plans if the widening plans go ahead rather than just be handed over to ECC as a two lanes each way highway. Why the A12 widening shouldn't go ahead (climate change): It seems surreal to be responding to a consultation on plans for widening and re-routing the A12 through open countryside, when we are faced with a climate change and biodiversity crises which threaten all of our futures. These plans will increase traffic, CO2 emissions, air and noise pollution, and be hugely damaging to wildlife. In my view it would be far preferable to instead of widening the A12 to three lanes, National Highways should redesign and/or replace the existing junctions to make them safer. The new proposed Inworth Junction (junction 24) will be four-way and will take Tiptree traffic away from Feering Hill and Kelvedon High Street which is a benefit. But widening the A12 won't reduce traffic, it will encourage more of it and any shorter journey times will be short-lived. The target of 1.5C global warming will not be achieved and the widening of the A12 will not help. We should be encouraging less car use, new and better public mass transit systems and 15 minute cities where people live, work, study, shop close to their homes. Building new motorways was a 20th century solution to mobilising populations. Commuting long distances to work is a late 20th century phenomenon; Covid showed that more people can work from home which needs to be encouraged together with shorter commutes for work. The widening of the A12 flies in the face of the climate change crisis.