Representation by Boreham Parish Council (Boreham Parish Council)
- Date submitted
- 4 November 2022
- Submitted by
- Parish councils
Boreham Parish Council recognises the benefit of widening the A12 and agrees that it would make the road safer. However, the proposed approach will have a negative impact on the village of Boreham. This is recognised by the developers in their submittal. We believe that the impact, largely due to additional traffic through Boreham village, will be greater than the developer has predicted. In our view, if Junction 20a is closed, a significant amount traffic from Maldon and from the northern end of Hatfield Peverel will travel south on the B1137 to gain access to the A12 at Junction 19 rather than travelling north as proposed by the developer to gain access to the southbound carriageway via Junction 21. This will create significant congestion through Boreham and cause backlogs on the side roads (Church Road, Plantation Road and Waltham Road) particularly during the rush hour. It will make Main Road (B1137), Boreham more dangerous for pedestrians and other road users and will (as also recognised by the developer) increase noise and air pollution in the village. We believe that many of these detrimental effects could be avoided if Junction 20a was retained and we further believe this could be accommodated alongside the A12 widening if Junction 20a was relocated slightly. This has been demonstrated in the alternative plan submitted by Boreham Conservation Society. We appreciate that there would be some added cost associated with this revision but it would be safer for our community and would reduce the amount of traffic on our local roads. We also ask that the developer reconsiders the decision not to use a noise reducing surface on both carriageways of the A12 as it passes through Boreham. This would benefit houses close to the road by mitigating the additional noise pollution resulting from the A12 widening.