Kedington Online News
Kedington's online newspaper
Home

news and Sport
20/10/9

Haverhill Relief Road - The Next Round.

Related Stories:
Local Development Framework.

LDF - "A Step Back." 22/3/11

Kedington Boundaries to change? 14/9/10

No North-East Relief Road Between Kedington And Haverhill 4/9/10

Poor Turn Out For LDF Meeting 22/5/10

LDF Consultation Shambles 14/4/10

New Proposed Estate For Next LDF Consultation. 21/3/10

Haverhill Relief Road - The Next Round. 20/10/9

Will Carisbrooke's LDF Plan Benefit Kedington? 2/10/9

Good Turnout For General Meeting 28/9/9

Villagers Come To View Local Development Framework 11/9/9

Parish Chairman's Plea For Kedington People To Take Interest In The Local Development Framework 5/9/9
With the time for response to the current round of the LDF now passed many are now concerned with the question of what happens next. Of particular concern to many is the route of a possible relief road between the A147 and the A1017. Public attention was first drawn to the proposal of the road when a route was proposed in the middle of the LDF consultation period. The route quickly hit a major problems, particularly in the region of the Haverhill Golf Course. In a recent article in the Haverhill Weekly news Ian Poole, the Planning Policy Manager at St Edmundsbury Borough Council said "The golf course is important both environmentally and for leisure and it is protected under the policies of the Braintree Local Plan". Given that a large section of the southern stretch of the road would almost certainly have to move in to land under the control of Braintree this can probably be considered an outright no to any route through the course.

Those who might think that the near impossibility of a route through the golf course would be an end to any plans for such a road may stand to be disappointed as Ian Poole also made clear that the Core Strategy Submission Document for the area says that any development in North East Haverhill will need a relief road between the A147 and the A1017. This leaves in the air the question of what alternate route the road could possibly take. The decision does not seem to have been taken yet with Mr Pool commenting that "A Lot of detailed work is needed to determine how this will be provided including looking at whether existing roads can be used or upgraded" Whether this would could refer to the B1061 or the Couples Road is unclear and no doubt of great concern to residents of Kedington's southern outpost Calford Green. It seems impossible that anyone would contemplate running a relief road along the part of the B1061 that goes through the green, but either it would have to come close on their western side or, with the a route through the golf course now no longer an option, go between Calford Green and the rest of Kedington. It should also be noted that Braintree have stated in their submissions to the LDF that they do not wish to see an increase in traffic through Sturmer. Which side of Sturmer that means they would like the relief road to terminate is unclear as it's existence would mean traffic coming out from Haverhill's southern edge to get round to Bury but also traffic coming from the road towards Essex.

Mr Poole also said that "Work on assessing the viability of the road is part of an Area Action Plan for Haverhill, which will be started in the next few months. Any proposals will be widely consulted on with the public." Few People have heard the phrase "Area Action Plan for Haverhill" before; here at Kedington News we have been asking round all week. It appears to be the next part of the LDF. Gordon Musset, town clerk for Haverhill spoke to KedingtonNews.co.uk in a conversation in which he made clear his understanding that Calford Green see themselves very much as part of Kedington and emphasised that Haverhill had worked closely with Kedington on the previous round of consultations and would continue to do so. He also commented that there are now many in Haverhill who question the need for a relief road at all.

If Ian Poole's assertions are right and the spread of Haverhill eastwards does require a relief road, is it not better to expand Haverhill in a different direction?

Article by M.P.Upton - 20/10/9
If you have news of interest to Kedington or a response or further information on existing articles please contact News@KedingtonNews.co.uk