MATERIALS quarried at a farm near Colchester could be used to help build a vital link road on the city border. 

R W Mitchell and Sons made a planning application to Essex County Council to develop Elmstead Hall reservoir in 2016 and has extended permission to work on the site until November 30 of this year. 

The material dug up in the process of creating the water reservoir could now be used for the A1331 link road as part of huge plans for the Tendring Colchester Garden Community. 

Funding and delivery of the road have been controversial issues among the town, city and district councils involved in the plans. 

Essex County Council has been questioned multiple times about funding, as the link road, which will connect the A133 and A120, is seen as a key part of building 7,500 new homes between Colchester, Ardleigh, Wivenhoe and Elmstead. 

The planning statement says: “According to Essex County Council’s planning application documents it is understood that the scheme has either a 540,200m3 or a 436,300m3 shortfall of available fill material required for its construction.  

“Whilst the successful contractor is responsible for sourcing material to address this shortfall, the scheme incorporates four borrow pits that it could elect to utilise.

"However, the suitability for construction purposes of the material in the four borrow pits associated with the scheme has not been proven.” 

The 'borrow pit' at Elmstead Hall, 6km from Colchester, could provide 330,000 cubic metres of material exclusively for the link road project, including sand, gravel, washed aggregates and clay.

The application says: “The proposal offers significant benefit in terms of the opportunity to supply a large proportion of material shortfall to the scheme from a nearby source.  

“This would avoid the need to transport large volumes of bulk construction materials on the public highway, offer the various associated benefits of borrow pits and avoid the extraction of sand and gravel reserves elsewhere, that is, it preserves permitted reserves.” 

A decision on whether the pit can be developed will be made by Essex County Council in their capacity as Minerals and Waste Planning Authority, which is why the council was unable to comment.