Extra £86m pledged to complete new A-road

An extra £86m has been announced to complete a new A-road that could link a new garden community with two major routes.

In 2019, the government provided £99.9m for the new A1331 dual carriageway link road near Colchester, which will connect the A133 and the A120.

But by the time work began in 2024, the money did not cover the full cost because of inflation.

Sir Bernard Jenkin, Harwich and North Essex's Conservative MP, who had described the A1331 as "a road to nowhere", welcomed the additional investment.

"I am very pleased the government has come up with this money and the road will now definitely be built," he said.

Of the extra £86m, the government is providing £65m through Homes England, its housing and regeneration agency.

Developer Latimer is funding £21m, according to Essex County Council.

Pam Cox, Colchester's Labour MP, said: "This investment will unlock homes for local people, create jobs, and ensure our community has the facilities it needs to thrive."

Three councils have worked together on proposals for a new 7,750-home garden town between Colchester and Tendring.

Four primary schools, a secondary school, a health centre and a country park are also expected to be built, but the new link road was supposed to be built first.

Lee Scott, a Conservative member of Essex County Council who chairs the committee overseeing the development, said: "The government's investment in the next phase of the A1331 link road is a vital milestone."

David King, the Liberal Democrat leader of Colchester City Council, told the BBC: "Behind the scenes, local councils and MPs have been working hard to get the attention of Homes England and to make the case for this crucial enabling investment, which is essential to unlocking the new homes."

The application for the garden community will be decided by a committee made up of Colchester, Tendring and Essex county councillors.

It is expected to take between one year and 18 months to analyse the developer's plan.

Work to build the additional stretch of the A1331 is expected in 2027 and it could be completed by 2030, according to Essex County Council.

Depending on how plans progress, residents could be moving into the first new garden community homes in the late 2020s.

Sir Bernard said the road had to be built before the thousands of new homes.

"I am demanding that the planning permission should set a condition that the road must be completed before there is substantial house building, otherwise the construction traffic will jam up the whole of north Colchester," he said.

If approved, the new garden community will be in his constituency.

He said he was concerned that if the developer was investing in the road, investment in the garden community's amenities could be reduced.

"Will it be the same open spaces as originally proposed? Will they still build all the schools? Will there be the same proportion of affordable housing?"

Latimer, the master developer of the garden community, has been approached for comment.

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