Easthorpe PEACE (Protecting the Environment Against Congestion in Easthorpe)
Not only will the Highways England A12 Widening project mean 10 lanes of traffic cutting through the Essex countryside close to our village, Easthorpe, it will also bring 100’s of additional cars day and night through a single-track country road endangering the life of cyclists, horse-riders, runners and pedestrians.
The information released on 22nd June 2021 by Highways England promotes the A12 Widening Project as having numerous benefits to rural communities by taking “long-distance traffic off the local roads and putting it back onto the A12 where it belongs, so that local roads aren’t used as rat runs, affecting local villages and communities”, it seems that Highways England have forgotten Easthorpe village as they are estimating an increase in traffic of up to 74%, traveling on a rural single track road, that is unfit for even the current traffic levels.
Highways England have not provided any benefit details of constructing, at taxpayers cost, a hugely expensive bridge/flyover for a rural single-track road and for the residents of Easthorpe all this will bring is increased traffic, noise and pollution into our picturesque village.
Highways England have not taken into account that sections of Easthorpe Road are often impassable when flooded and the village becomes gridlocked with people seeking to find alternative routes, attempting to travel in both directions along this single track road.
Due to the evolution of Sat Nav’s our village is inundated with cars using Easthorpe Road to access the A12 instead of using the signed A12 routes because the SatNav finds that our village single track road is minutes quicker than using an A road regardless of road suitability. Highways England have not considered the views of the Easthorpe residents and we have started an action group and are now canvassing Kevin Bentley the local leader of the council and the local MP Priti Patel to permanently close Easthorpe Road. For more information on the campaign, please see www.easthorpepeace.org.uk.
