The Blackwater Valley Action Group
Save the River Blackwater Valley

We appreciate this beautiful, peaceful, heritage-rich part of rural Essex and would like future generations to be able to enjoy it. Part of the valley has been designated a Wildlife Site, and an ongoing survey by the Essex Wildlife Trust confirms its environmental richness. For example, 62 species of over-wintering birds have been recorded - including four on the 'red' list and two on the 'amber' list

We are concerned that the Highways Agency's proposed route would:
- devastate the Blackwater Valley
- lead to a further weakening of planning restrictions and lead eventually to this beautiful, peaceful, heritage-rich part of rural Essex being filled in with housing and being lost for future generations
- create increased traffic problems in the Coggeshall and Feering area - as there would be no junction for Coggeshall and Earls Colne traffic - and would not take as much traffic off the existing A120 as other options
- delay finding solutions to local needs by waiting until a massive 4/6 lane highway could be afforded
- aggravate the already precarious flood risk in an area that has seen major flooding as recently as 2001
- the consultation was flawed and three years on the area is blighted

We appreciate this beautiful, peaceful, heritage-rich part of rural Essex and would like future generations to be able to enjoy it. Part of the valley has been designated a Wildlife Site, and an ongoing survey by the Essex Wildlife Trust confirms its environmental richness. For example, 62 species of over-wintering birds have been recorded - including four on the 'red' list and two on the 'amber' list.

Rather than focusing resources on the existing A14/M6 route that takes traffic from the Eastern ports of Felixstowe and Harwch to the Midlands and beyond, the Highways Agency has fallen in with Brussels' decision to open up a whole new route along the A120 to Stansted and up the M11 to join the A14 North of Cambridge.

We are concerned that the Highways Agency only put forward the Blackwater Valley route for consultation and we believe that their justifications for this are unconvincing.

Other routes: In particular we believe that it was wrong for the Highways Agency to eliminate route options for the new A120 to join the A12 between Witham and Kelvedon, especially as Essex County Council had identified such an option as being the least environmentally damaging and least costly.

Massive bridge over floodplain

We reject the Highways Agency's proposed solution of constructing a massive bridge across the River Blackwater , its floodplain and ancient water meadows to take its proposed 4-lane highway.

The noise pollution from such a bridge would affect the lives of many people who had chosen to live in this quiet, peaceful part of rural Essex. This and the noise and light pollution would wreak havoc with the much of the wildlife in hte valley.

It is harder to mitigate noise from raised roads than from carriageways that can be sunk into cuttings.

We understand that the bridge would need to be much larger than the 100m total span originally indicated by the Highways Agency, as the floodplain is actually in the region of 400m wide by their chosen site in the Blackwater Valley.

... or could they be planning to build the bridge in the floodplain? Not a good idea - in view of the serious floods in Coggeshall and Kelvedon in recent years!

We do not accept the Highways Agency’s justification for this refusal even to consider Witham/ Kelvedon options on the grounds that it would involve a "dogleg" in what should be an east-west route. In this context it should be noted that the M11/A120 would - along with an upgraded A14 - form part of a "TransEuropeNetwork" route from Dublin to Brussels (whether we need it or not!) and this would involve a 20+ mile north/south stretch along the M11!

We understand their reasoning for this and urge them to apply it to the Trans Europe Network route itself! In today's more environmentally consious times, the UK should reject Brussels' 1996 decision to designate the A120/M11 route as part of the Brussels-Dublin Trans-Europe Network route.

The Highways Agency’s consultants concluded that the Blackwater Valley route is preferable to the other routes which they did study.   We are concerned that their conclusion is flawed, and not just because they do not consider Witham/ Kelvedon options.  There are other viable options not originally considered. Other groups have proposed solutions using more of the current A120 but with quality by-passes for Bradwell, Coggeshall and Marks Tey. {See also a more 'on-line' suggestion.) The Highways Agency were also encouraged to consider bringing the new A120 in to join the A12 north/east of Marks Tey.

Not only is the Highways Agency consultants’ A120 analysis distorted by considerations relating to upgrading the A12 – the region’s major trunk road – but the relative weighting given to the various evaluation criteria is open to challenge.