Major regional businesses have today (11.07.19) attended the A120 board meeting at County Hall, Chelmsford to show their support for proposals to dual the A120. The creation of a business board and establishment of A120 Campaign Champions is a key part of the campaign to persuade the Government to include the £550 million dualling scheme as part of the its next multi-billion pound strategic roads investment programme (Road Investment Strategy (RIS) 2, 2020-2024).
Following lobbying from Witham MP Priti Patel the Government provided match-funding to support Essex County Council in developing the dualling scheme proposals which businesses in Essex and throughout the East of England are backing.
Witham MP Priti Patel said: “It’s great to see so many key businesses and major employers supporting the proposals to dual the A120. We all recognise the huge economic benefits to growth and job creation throughout the region that will come from this scheme and it is vital that the Government listens to the strong case we are putting forward and agrees to fund the dualling of the A120. The A120 is a major economic corridor and dualling the road to meet growing demand will reduce congestion, improve safety, be better for the environment and turbo-charge our economy.”
The A120 connects Stansted airport with Harwich port and it the only major strategic road in the country connecting two major international hubs via a single-carriageway stretch. The proposed dualling scheme will add £2.2 billion in gross value to the economy, support the creation of up to 20,000 jobs, reduce traffic through local villages and reduce accidents.
