A12 Chelmsford to A120 widening scheme

Latest updates

• 12 August 2024

  Legal challenge dismissed

  The Court of Appeal has dismissed the legal challenge to the decision to grant the A12 Chelmsford to A120 widening scheme a Development Consent Order and the legal process is now over.

  We're investigating what impact the legal challenge has had on the delivery of this scheme and will provide an update in due course.

• 06 March 2024

  Legal challenge made to development decision

  A legal challenge has been made to the Secretary of State (SoS) for Transport's decision to grant Development Consent Order (DCO) for the A12 Chelmsford to A120 widening.

  The case is at a very early stage and the High Court will now need to consider whether the challenge should progress to a full judicial review.

  A judicial review is the process of challenging the lawfulness of decisions made by public authorities, including central government, so this will now decide whether the SoS acted lawfully. The challenge to the A12 scheme is not on the scheme itself, but to the process of approving the DCOs.

  Delay to our scheme

  This means we cannot start work as soon as we had originally planned on the A12 scheme and have had to delay the improvements our customers have asked us for.

  Our continued commitment

  We stand by our plans and remain committed to investing over a billion pounds on improvements to the A12 the people and businesses of Essex have told us they want. These will make the road safer, connect local communities and deliver an economic boost to the region.

• 12 January 2024

  Planning decision is granted

  We’ve been informed on 12 January 2024 that the Development Consent Order (DCO) planning application for this scheme has been granted. View the decision letter.

  The granting of the DCO marks a significant step towards the future delivery of this important road project. The scale of our work here on the A12 will help improve safety for drivers, especially at the junctions and slip roads, reduce traffic congestion by increasing capacity, and make journey times more reliable.

  Our plans will see the current four-lane carriageway widen to six lanes (three in each direction). Other major improvements include the construction of two major bypasses at Rivenhall End and to the north of Kelvedon. These changes will help to take heavy goods vehicles away from minor roads and local villages. Junctions will also be upgraded to help traffic enter and exit the A12 safely. Public transport users will also benefit with access to additional bus stops, making their journeys quicker, safer, and more convenient.

  Away from the road itself, a series of additional separate routes for walkers, cyclists and horse riders will also be created to help improve health and maximise the use of non-motorised forms of travel.

  All our schemes from 2025 onwards are designed to provide an overall ‘biodiversity net gain’. That means a real emphasis is placed on retaining existing habitats and ensuring a greater amount of biodiversity is left when the project is completed than what was there previously.

  You can read about the work we are already doing for badgers, and water voles and reptiles along the A12 in the Advanced Work factsheets towards the bottom of this webpage.

• 12 October 2023

  Planning decision recommendation is submitted

  Our plans to improve the A12 between Chelmsford and Colchester reached a significant stage on 12th July 2023 when the Planning Inspectorate’s six-month examination of our proposals and public representations ended.

  The evidence gathered – which has come from a variety of interested parties including the public and local authorities – has now been considered by the Examining Authority. 

  The Examining Authority then issued a Recommendation Report to the Secretary of State on 12 October 2023.

  The Secretary of State, The Rt Hon Mark Harper MP, now has three months in which to make the final decision on whether to grant or withhold consent for the project to progress to the construction stage. The deadline for Secretary of State to make decision is 12/01/2024.

  The decision letter and Recommendation Report will be published on this project page once a decision has been made.

  This permission is known as a development consent order (DCO) and is a way of obtaining planning permission for a development which is seen as nationally important for the infrastructure of the country.

  If consent is granted, construction will begin in 2024 and the road is expected to be open to traffic in 2027/28.

• 14 August 2023

  End of Examination and what happens next

  Our plans to improve the A12 between Chelmsford and Colchester reached a significant stage on 12th July 2023 when the Planning Inspectorate’s six-month examination of our proposals and public representations ended.

  The evidence gathered – which has come from a variety of interested parties including the public and local authorities – is now being considered by the Examining Authority before a recommendation is made to the Secretary of State for Transport, in early October 2023. 

  The Rt Hon Mark Harper MP will then have a further three months in which to make the final decision on whether to grant or withhold consent for the project to progress to the construction stage. 

  This permission is known as a development consent order (DCO) and is a way of obtaining planning permission for a development which is seen as nationally important for the infrastructure of the country.

  If consent is granted, construction will begin in 2024 and the road is expected to be open to traffic in 2027/28.

• 22 September 2022

  Planning Inspectorate Acceptance of Scheme submission

  We are pleased to announce that our Development Consent Order Application was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate on 15 August 2022. It has subsequently been accepted on 12 September 2022, allowing us to progress through to examination.

  The Section 56 Notice notifies the public that the A12 Chelmsford to A120 Widening Scheme Development Consent Order application has been accepted for examination. Read the Section 56 Notice.

  Prior to the Planning Inspectorate starting the full examination period, members of the public are now able to register to participate in the examination and provide a response to our application during the Relevant Representation period, which commenced on 22 September 2022. Details are available on the Planning Inspectorate website.

  We are continuing to carry out ground investigations and other survey works to progress a more detailed design for this scheme.

• 20 July 2022

  Our construction approach at Hatfield Peverel

  If our proposals for improving the A12 between Chelmsford and Colchester get planning approval, the bridges at Station Road, Bury Lane and Wellington Bridge in the village of Hatfield Peverel will need to be closed temporarily, at separate times.

  Each of the road closures will affect road users differently, so our proposals will suit pedestrians and cyclists, as well as motorists. We will ensure that people with additional accessibility needs are not restricted and that emergency services can always get to every property. We’ve also considered services such as refuse bin collections and mail deliveries.

  We held a public event at Hatfield Peverel on 19 July 2022. We produced an accompanying leaflet and frequently asked questions which explain how we will provide alternative routes to and from the village centre, the train station and the wider road network during these closures.

  Next steps

  National Highways will shortly be seeking approval for the overall A12 proposals by applying for a Development Consent Order (DCO). Information about this process is on the Planning Inspectorate’s website.

  As part of the DCO application, an Outline Construction Traffic Management Plan will be published, providing details about our proposed roadworks and diversions. A Register of Environmental Actions and Commitments, as well as the draft DCO and associated plans, will be published as part of the DCO process.

  If the DCO application is approved, these documents will commit National Highways to follow these arrangements during the road closures.

• 04 November 2021

  Historical discoveries found on A12

  Historical discoveries have been found along the area of our widening scheme as part of our archeological surveys.

  A possible Romano-British settlement, Bronze Age cremations and a prehistoric millstone are among the early archaeological discoveries that we found whilst we excavated a series of archaeological trial trenches to learn more about what life was like in the area during early prehistoric period through to post medieval times.

  Over the last five months, over 80 archaeologists investigated an area of 1039 hectare - the equivalent of around 1,445 full sized football pitches. This involved excavating and surveying 2,117 trial trenches.

  Trial trenching is a method of archaeological evaluation used to characterise and determine the archaeological potential of a site. This is all part of the work we’re doing to respect the area's cultural heritage. A mechanical excavator is used to trenches to expose archaeological features deposits and any archaeology encountered is excavated by hand and recorded. The results of the trial trenching are used to inform the future stages of work.

  By analysing early historical records and digging more than 2000 trial trenches, the archaeological consultants and contractors made some interesting finds:

  • Evidence of numerous ditches, refuse pits and postholes indicated a Romano-British settlement.
  • Other Romano-British items identified included pottery, consistent with storage jars which would have been used to store wine, milk and vinegar.
  • ‘Samian Ware’ was also found, a type of valuable tableware glazed to a bright red-brown glow and often decorated ornately with pastoral, mythological or pornographic themes.
  • Sites across the route revealed evidence of building materials including fired clay daub and the remains of both an ‘imbrex’, a raised Roman roofing tile, and a ‘tegulae’, a flat Roman roofing tile.
  • Recovery of animal bones, including the remains of horses, cows, sheep, goats and rabbits gives an insight into the ancient diets. There was also evidence of emmer, the main cereal grown and consumed in the Bronze and Iron Ages and an ancient millstone.

  

  (Tiles Fishbourne)

  

  (Samian ware bowl)

  The archaeological evidence will be combined to produce a report, which will provide site-by-site information on the excavations and ultimately inform the next stages of archaeological work. These later stages may comprise bespoke packages of large-scale archaeological excavation ahead of the construction works or archaeological monitoring during the works themselves.

• 17 May 2021

  Archaeological trial trenching

  Before any construction work can begin on the A12 Chelmsford to A120 widening scheme, the length of the proposed route needs to be investigated for undiscovered archaeology and evidence of local cultural heritage buried in the earth.

  Around 28 archaeological sites have been identified within the 15mile footprint of the proposed scheme between Chelmsford and Marks Tey. These include Roman farmsteads, an early medieval field enclosure at Rivenhall End and other medieval sites such as a possible deserted medieval settlement near Hatfield Peverel, as well as several post-medieval and more modern buildings. Another 35 sites from earlier periods have also been identified, ranging in date between the Mesolithic and Iron Ages.

  Between May and mid-November we will have a team of 100 archaeologist out looking for archaeology from all periods, including medieval sites near Rivenhall End as well as Mesolithic to the Iron Age activity near Hatfield Peverel. They will be using a mixture of traditional archaeological excavation, geophysical surveys and boreholes. Soil sampling surveys which are done on foot are already underway and progressing well.

• 28 August 2020

  Preferred route announcement - junctions 23 to 25

  We made a Preferred Route Announcement in October 2019 confirming our plans for the first section of the scheme, from junction 19 (Boreham interchange) to junction 23 (Kelvedon south).

  We held a public consultation on four new route options between junctions 23 and 25 between 21 October and 1 December 2019. These new potential routes were to be considered if the proposed Colchester Braintree Borders Garden Community was given the go ahead. We stated in our 2019 consultation that, if the proposed garden community did not go ahead, our preferred route would be based on our 2017 consultation.

  In May 2020, the Planning Inspector made his recommendation that the proposed garden community should be removed from the joint Local Plan. Therefore, as promised, our preferred route is based on our 2017 consultation routes and has been selected based on several factors including environmental impact, journey times, complexity of build, affordability, and feedback from the public.

  View our preferred route announcement brochure.

  Visit the consultation page to read more about the preferred route announcement.

  We have also produced three summary videos to provide information about the work that has taken place on this scheme so far as well as what is happening next:

  Why we're widening the A12

  Preferred route announcement details

  You said, we did, and next steps

  Now we have announced our preferred route between junctions 19 and 23 and from junctions 23 to 25, we will continue to develop our designs for the road in more detail.

  We will be holding another public consultation to get feedback on more detailed designs for the overall project (between junction 19 and 25) and plan for that to happen in 2021.

  In the meantime, we will continue to engage with our stakeholders and the local community to help us refine the design, before inviting the public to submit further feedback.

  In line with other transformative infrastructure projects, the government will be seeking to ensure that the benefits unlocked by the A12 improvements are felt by local communities and are appropriately captured. This includes funding contributions and developer contributions in some cases. We have started working with local authorities and key stakeholders to capture value generated appropriately.