£1.2billion A12 widening plan letter sent to Government

In January, it was confirmed by Transport Minister Huw Merriman the plan with National Highways would go ahead.

The plan would be to widen lanes between Colchester and Chelmsford by building two major bypasses at Rivenhall End and between the Kelvedon north and Marks Tey turnings.

Huw Merriman, Transport Minister (Image: PA)But the government has yet to commit to funding the programme arguing the country’s finances are in a worse state than previously acknowledged.

Now MPs and council leaders have now penned a scathing letter urging the government to make a decision.

Priti Patel signed the letter (Image: PA)

Priti Patel, who is one of the 11 co-signatories, said: “The A12 widening scheme is vital to the future of Essex and East Anglia. It will enable economic growth and investment as well as improve safety and reduce congestion.

“I am delighted that it has cross-party support from MPs and council leaders from across the region, but this dreadful Labour Government are dithering and refusing to commit to fund and deliver the scheme.

“I will continue to campaign for the A12 to be widened and hold Labour to account.”

Pam Cox, Colchester MP (Image: PA)The letter has been signed by Colchester MP Pam Cox, former MP and Transport East chair Will Quince, as well as Sir Bernard Jenkin, John Whittingdale and Essex County Council leader Kevin Bentley.

The letter argues the A12 already suffers from significant congestion and safety issues with all the key junctions being at or above capacity and combined with poor journey time reliability this has a major impact on the economy

They said: “Without the additional capacity provided by the widening scheme the A12 will have an increasingly constraining impact on local housing and economic growth – in fact within north Essex it is the biggest immediate constraint to being able to plan more strategically – and be entirely contrary to the government’s planning agenda.”

Sir John Whittingdale, Maldon MP (Image: Newsquest) The Government is undertaking a review of projects to decide whether to proceed with them.

In response, the government referred to a statement made by transport secretary Louise Haigh in July.

She said: “The financial inheritance this government has received is extremely challenging. The previous administration has left a £22 billion public spending gap this year alone – £2.9bn of which is unfunded transport commitments.

Louise Haigh, Secretary of State for Transport (Image: PA)"Communities up and down the country have been given hope for new transport infrastructure, with no plans or funds to deliver them. This Government will not make that mistake. This Government will rebuild our economic foundations whilst restoring transparency and public trust.

“In recent weeks, the gap between promised schemes and the money available to deliver them has been made clear to me.

"There has been a lack of openness with the public about the status of schemes – some of which were cancelled or paused by the previous government, without proper communication to the public."

Cars on the A12 (Image: Newsquest)

She continued: “As the Chancellor informed parliament, I am commissioning an internal review of DfT’s capital spend portfolio. We will bring in external expertise and move quickly to make recommendations about current and future schemes.

"This review will support the development of our new long-term strategy for transport, developing a modern and integrated network with people at its heart, and ensuring that transport infrastructure can be delivered efficiently and on time.

“I am determined that we build the transport infrastructure to drive economic growth and opportunity in every part of the country and to deliver value for money for taxpayers. That ambition requires a fundamental reset to how we approach capital projects – with public trust, industry confidence and government integrity at its heart.”