Representation by Wendy Maureen Convoy
- Date submitted
- 30 October 2022
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Although the plans for junction 20b seems to be a benefit safety wise, as this is currently a very likely accident black spot, from personal experience, I do object to the closing of junction 20a. There does not seem to have been sufficient local consultation regarding this. Boreham is a village with only one road, Main Road, linking the A12 junction 19 with Hatfield Peverel. If the proposed closure of junction 20a goes ahead Main Road will be come the only access from Hatfield Peverel. The A12 is effectively a bypass of Boreham. I was under the impression that the purpose of a bypass is to ease congestion and take traffic away from minor roads, the closure of Junction 20a would reverse this and cause major traffic congestion in Main Road, with noise and the associated air pollution. Further congestion in the two minor roads, Church Road and Plantation Road, would also result on roads that at times are difficult to get onto Main Road due to the congestion in Main Road, as we have seen recently with the closure of the A12 slip road for the new bridge construction. The planners seem to believe that these 2 roads can be used to avoid the congestion in Main Road, but have not considered that these minor roads which are needed to access the majority of the homes in the village, do not have viable access beyond the village for large vehicles. HGV are restricted by a weight limited bridge and there is a very narrow portion of road in Church Road opposite St Andrews Church. I have wondered if those actually drawing up the plans ever visited Boreham and the surrounding roads/areas/housing to see what they look like! I accept that the slip road on junction 20a is dangerously short, but on a project supposedly costing £1.2B, surely any additional costs to install a safer slip road should not only be considered a benefit that should be included in the planning, making the road safer and healthier for the Boreham residents, especially on Main Road. As it stands, the inhabitants of Boreham seem to have been ignored and considered merely as collateral damage in a scheme that is being steamrollered in.