THE opening ceremony for Colchester's new A12 junction has been cancelled due to the snow.

Completion of the north Colchester link road, junction 28, was to have been celebrated with a ceremony hosted by Essex County Council at about 9am on Monday.

It has now been postponed until December 16 and the link road is expected to stay shut to traffic until after the invitation-only ceremony.

The £11.2million junction, which is ready four months ahead of schedule, was a joint effort by the county council, Colchester Council, the Homes and Communities Agency, the Highways Agency and the Haven Gateway Partnership.

It was originally hoped it would be funded by developers building homes at the former Severalls Hospital, but it was paid for with public money after the recession put a stop to plans to sell the land.

The county council is expected also to confirm funding for a £9million extension to the Northern Approach Road, to connect the junction to the town centre.

It is hoped the developments will serve as an incentive to developers to buy land at Severalls, as the required infrastructure for new homes will already be in place.

Until the link road is ready, the junction’s principal benefit will be in providing an alternative route for firms on the Severalls Industrial Estate to access the A12.