A12 Chelmsford to A120 widening scheme DCO application accepted

Catherine Hibbert, paralegal in our specialist planning law department, provides an update on the road widening scheme affecting the A12 Chelmsford to A120.

A national proposal to widen the A12 between junctions 19 (Chelmsford) and 25 (A120 interchange) has taken a step closer to delivery following the decision by the Planning Inspectorate on 22 September 2022 to accept the relevant application for Development Consent Order (DCO) for examination.

The DCO application affects this busy section of the A12, which is an important strategic vehicle route for both freight and commuters, linking - as it does - Ipswich to London, the M25 and beyond. The £1b plus scheme aims to improve safety for road users, reduce traffic congestion, remove long distance traffic from local roads, increase the capacity of the local road network allowing it to keep up with projected local economic and residential growth and deliver improvements for walkers, cyclists, horse riders and public transport users.

DCOs were first introduced in 2008 as a means for developers to obtain permission to construct and maintain developments categorised as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs). These include energy, transport, water and waste projects, together with some major road improvement proposals, such as the A12 widening scheme. The aim is that a single approved DCO will provide all necessary authority for the NSIP to which it relates and means promoters no longer need to seek a raft of separate consents (planning, compulsory purchase, highways etc) for any given scheme.

If granted, this DCO will confer powers on the applicant – National Highways – to compulsorily acquire land and rights, stop up and divert highways and use land temporarily and permanently for the purposes of the widening scheme. It will also authorise the alteration and diversion of a high-pressure gas main.

This DCO will temporarily or permanently affect a total of 836ha of land in the vicinity of this section of the A12; landowners may already be aware that their property is affected as a result of the various consultation and land surveying exercises undertaken by National Highways to date. Compensation will be payable in due course to qualifying claimants whose interests are affected by the confirmed scheme.

Whilst formal acceptance of the DCO application for Examination represents a major milestone for the promoter, interested third parties are nonetheless still able to have their say in the Examination and as such there is an opportunity for such parties to shape the detail of the DCO insofar as it affects their interests before its final confirmation.

Applications to register as an Interested Party can be made during the relevant representation period which closes on 4 November 2022. Once formally registered, an Interested Party can submit written representations to the Examination and can also request the opportunity to speak at the Examination. Registered Interested Parties will also be kept up to date with the progress of the DCO application from time to time.

The Examination will be held in public within six months of the acceptance of the DCO application, with the Examination Inspectors’ recommendation and Secretary of States’ decision following within prescribed time limits.  National Highways plan to start work in 2023-2024 with completion anticipated in 2027-2028.

If you are impacted by the proposals and require formal representation, or wish to obtain legal advice in respect of the scheme and its impact upon you, the team of planning law solicitors here at Holmes & Hills would be delighted to assist.