Planning application for Army and Navy works submitted

Residents near the Army and Navy Roundabout will have received a letter from Essex County Council asking for their views on the planning application that has been submitted in the next step of the proposed Army and Navy Sustainable Transport Package.

The Department for Transport approved the preliminary plans in October 2023 and awarded £68.75million to the project (subject to a number of conditions).

The proposed plans include a hamburger roundabout (a roundabout with a road through the centre of it) as well as bus priority measures, walking and cycling improvements and significant expansions to the Park and Rides at Sandon and Chelmer Valley Park. These plans would improve cycle and pedestrian routes in the area (though it will remove the pedestrian underpass) and are predicted to significantly improve travel times for buses and cars.

If the planning application is approved and all funding is confirmed, Essex County Council expects to start work in Spring 2025 and finish in early 2028.