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From: John Mason
Subject: Rochford Outer Bypass - Southend Relief Road
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 2004 17:42:55 +0100

The Campaign Against the Rochford Outer Bypass [CAROB]... which will pass through acres of green belt and ancient woodlands near Southend... unfortunately has died, but the issue has come up again.

We oppose the Rochford Outer Bypass and are campaigning for the Southend Relief Road to run entirely through Southend Borough.

http://eerasouthendreliefroad.org.uk  -  Southend Relief Road
http://rochfordessex.com  -  Rochford District Residents

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article from Southend Evening Echo - October 2004

Road will run from Shoebury through Rochford and on to M11

Relief Road by 2011 - by Paul Offord

AN EASTERN relief road for Southend, cutting through countryside in the Rochford district, is set to be built by 2011.

Formal plans have yet to be drawn up, but the top planner for eastern England today confirmed to the Echo that the road is a key part of the strategy for the area's development. It is believed the road will go from Shoebury to Rochford via Southend Airport and lead on to the M1l.

Sir Teddy Taylor, MP for Rochford and Southend East, who has been pressing for the road for many years, said: "It is obviously very, very good news. The assembly has been very helpful on this matter and I think there is a growing appreciation both from the Government and the assembly that such a road is viable." No mention of the proposal was made in the East of England Regional Assembly's draft plan for the regeneration of south Essex, which is due to undergo a six-month public consultation from December this year.

But Alan Moore, head of regional planning and trans-portation for the East of England Regional Assembly, said: "It is not referred to by name but it is the policy. It is part of the strategy." He said a major new road was needed by about 2011 to "open up" Southend Airport and the heavily-congested eastern end of the Southend borough.

While the scheme will be greeted with delight by many motorists in Southend, it will be fiercely opposed by local councillors in the Rochford district. John Mason, a member of Rochford District Council and Hawkwell Parish Council, said the failure to put the road in the consultation document amounted to a cover-up. He said: "We have been hoodwinked. Rochford District Council officers believed that because the road was not mentioned specifically in the draft proposal, this would not be a matter for consideration.

Andrew Vaughan, Green Party prospective parlia-mentary candidate for Rochford and Southend East, said: "This road will almost certainly encroach-on Rochford's open spaces."

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