Controversial plans to close a Harold Wood estate road to through traffic have been given the go-ahead - sparking protests from angry residents.

The decision to close Cornflower Way was taken by Harold Wood and Nelmes Community Area Forum, in a bid to stop it being used as a rat-run through a neighbouring estate.

The decision brings to an end a decade-long debate on how to control the flow of traffic in the area. But residents of the Romleighs estate claim Havering Council has failed to consult them properly on the closure, which they say will cut them off from the rest of Harold Wood.

Martin Bevan, who lives in Juniper Way, said: "About two months ago I telephoned Havering Council and the man I spoke to told me they had received 100 letters of objection to the closure, and the chances were it would not go ahead.

"I have just heard that there was a meeting the other night, and Cornflower Way will be closed in two months."

Another resident, Julie Dean, of Colombine Way, said: "We never had a letter about the meeting, and nobody I have spoken to got a letter.

''I don't mind the estate being cut off, but why not cut it off at the other end so we are not separated from Harold Wood?"

The decision to close Cornflower Way was taken at a previous Area Forum last November, and publicly advertised from January.

The final result of two questionnaires showed 126 residents were in favour of the closure and 97 against it.

A spokesman for Havering Council said it had done everything required by law to give people an opportunity to have their say, and had sent letters to 1,200 properties advising residents of their right to object.

"The council is simply reflecting what residents want in the area," he said.

Harold Wood councillor and Deputy Mayor Brian Eagling said: "This is not a snap decision. The estate is a rat-run. It was only a matter of time before there was a serious accident there.

"People have been given plenty of opportunities to have their say. We can't please everybody but we have got to please the majority of people, and I think the closure is a good thing."

DEAD END CAMPAIGN: Residents of Romleighs estate in Harold Wood, who claim they were not given enough opportunity to voice their views about the closure of Cornflower Way.

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