Letter to The Tribune re: traffic issues

OPEN LETTER TO THE TRIBUNE from FEERING PARISH COUNCIL - 15 November 2011

Feering, a traffic fiasco

Another morning rush hour spent sitting in another traffic jam on the Inworth Road. Regular commuters through Feering won’t be surprised to learn that in a recent traffic survey, almost 1000 cars per hour were recorded travelling on the Inworth Road during the morning peak and 60% of traffic is exceeds the speed limit.

Feering has always been important geographically as the crossing point of the River Blackwater on the ancient London to Colchester road. Today, that geographical importance is at the root of its problems. At a Community Event in January 2011, residents identified volume of traffic as the most troublesome problem facing local people.  

Feering is a small village of approximately 750 properties and 1500 inhabitants. There are no shops, three pubs, a builder’s merchant, a primary school and two business parks. It should be a quiet rural idyll, but Feering is a traffic hub, situated at a natural East/West and North/South cross-route, providing access to and from Tiptree and its environs to the East (B1023), and to and from Coggeshall and environs from the West. There is no direct access for this traffic to the main through road, the A12, in either direction. There are noticeable peak flows during the morning and evening rush hour in both directions. Peak volumes are up to 20% of average daily volume and occur for a two-hour period, weekday mornings and evenings.

Through-traffic has been a growing concern to local residents and councillors alike since the mid 1980’s. The growth in traffic volumes seen on the Inworth Road can be directly correlated to the increasing development of Tiptree which has grown from a small rural village to the “largest village in England” in a fifteen year period from late-1990’s, without any commensurate upgrade in the road infrastructure. In very recent years it has become very apparent that rather being an inconvenience, increasing traffic volumes and the resultant air pollution are becoming a significant issue, which if left unaddressed will become a serious blight on the villages of Feering and Kelvedon.

Feering parish councillors and local residents believe that the current situation is unsustainable. There cannot be more development in Tiptree without some commensurate improvement in transport infrastructure. The authorities must urgently provide infrastructure to give direct access to the A12 to alleviate this continuing problem.

Paul Petto

Chairman Feering Parish Council