MOTORISTS in Cressing face imminent road closures while a roundabout providing access to a new housing development is being built.

The roundabout is under construction to accommodate access into a planned new housing development of up to 250 homes on land south to Galley’s Corner and McDonald’s.

A resident said they were notified at the start of January that Long Green would close for three months.

The resident said: “They haven’t done any due diligence with the road, for the people who live in Long Green and Ashes Road.

“We’ve been invited to no meetings, nothing. They don’t want to know us.

“We tried talking to people.

“Apparently, they got permission to do the roundabout on January 1, 2024.

“It’s beyond a joke.”

The resident also highlighted disruption faced by others, including their grandchildren now facing difficulty getting to school.

They said: “They’ve blocked the road - the postman has to go all the way round. 

“He has to do the first few houses in Long Green, then he has to come back up to the roundabout on Galleys Corner, down Witham Road, down Polecat Road, into the street in Cressing, then back up to do the rest of the houses.

The resident said closures on Polecat Road were planned for Thursday, January 18 and Friday, January 19.

They added: “It’s a two mile detour for everyone who lives on Ashes Road and Long Green.”

District councillor James Abbott said: “It’s the second time Essex County Council have scheduled an extraordinary number of road closures.

“A closure of several months of a road into Braintree and Cressing.

“People have to work out how to get in and out of their homes over several months.”

He added: “They’re building a roundabout to another housing estate.

“We’re getting a lot of growth from sites never in the local plan - this is land south to Galley’s Corner and McDonald’s.”

A spokesman from Essex Highways said: "The road closure in place on Long Green, Cressing, is to construct a roundabout that will provide access to the nearby development of up to 250 homes.

"The road will be closed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, due to the nature of works. This is to protect the workforce and road users.

"Contractors sent letters to local residents advising them of the works on January 2.

"We appreciate that these works are likely to cause disruption and we thank residents for their understanding while we carry out these improvements.

"For more information about these works, and others in your area, please visit: https://one.network/public."