Broomfield villagers are calling for a new road across the Chelmer valley to relieve the village from increased traffic when the hospital expands.

That is the conclusion of a survey by Broomfield Parish Council which reported that 88 per cent of those who responded favoured such a road.

All 1,682 households in the village were balloted, with 736 responding, on their preferred option for dealing with the extra traffic expected to be generated by the £110 million hospital expansion, due to start in 2004.

The parish council says that 40 per cent of existing traffic through the village is hospital-related, and a further 30 per cent is through traffic avoiding the Chelmer Valley Road and Essex Regiment Way.

Parish council chairman, Cllr Malcolm Taylor, said that while it was preferred that the valley did not suffer any environmental damage by either development or road building the continuing traffic load through the village had to be addressed.

Published Monday November 4, 2002

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