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  "path": "/news/essex-news-planning-row-village-wild-west-housing-development",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-09T09:46:21.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Couple in their 60s forced to live in tiny garden shed for FOUR YEARS after plans to build dream home blocked by polluted river 12 miles away",
    "Council row: Charity blasts council over 'stalled plans' to transform forgotten community centre",
    "Travellers' mobile home is burned down overnight as vicious planning row spirals out of control",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nResidents of a small Essex village say their community has been transformed into a chaotic thoroughfare as heavy goods vehicles flood through narrow lanes to avoid roadworks connected to a controversial housing scheme.\n\nCressing, a quiet settlement near Braintree, has experienced a dramatic surge in articulated lorries since the B1018 was shut on March 27 for highway improvements linked to a 250-home Persimmon development.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe closure, which runs between the Millennium Way roundabout and a newly constructed junction beside the housing site, has prompted drivers to seek shortcuts through the village rather than follow the lengthy official diversion.\n\nLocals describe conditions as \"unbearable\" as large vehicles squeeze along The Street, the village's main road, creating what they said was a lawless conditions on routes never designed for such traffic volumes.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe B1018 is expected to reopen in mid-April.\n\nThose living along the route report that HGV drivers are failing to yield to oncoming traffic and mounting kerbs to manoeuvre through the confined streetscape.\n\nThe situation has sparked particular alarm among residents whose period properties sit almost flush with the roadway, with lorries passing perilously close to front doors and windows.\n\nMarilyn Palmer, a longstanding resident, expressed her frustration at the deteriorating conditions.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nShe told EssexLive: \"We've been here a long while. And we do realise things change, but this is ludicrous.\"\n\nHer husband Barry voiced similar exasperation with the relentless construction across the region.\n\n\"They just build, build, build,\" he said. \"I know it's everywhere. But it's getting to the case where it's unbearable.\"\n\nThe housing scheme, comprising 250 properties, was originally rejected by Braintree District Council but subsequently approved following a successful appeal by the developer.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Couple in their 60s forced to live in tiny garden shed for FOUR YEARS after plans to build dream home blocked by polluted river 12 miles away\n  * Council row: Charity blasts council over 'stalled plans' to transform forgotten community centre\n  * Travellers' mobile home is burned down overnight as vicious planning row spirals out of control\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nGreen Party Councillor for Silver End and Cressing James Abbott has condemned the current planning framework, likening it to the \"Wild West\" where developers frequently secure speculative schemes through the appeals process.\n\nHe said: \"Planning has become the Wild West. There is no planning anymore.\n\n\"We've got a combination of pressure on this area, the Government ramping up targets, and the planning system becoming ever more favourable to developers.\"\n\nPrior to the 2020 appeal decision, the council had argued the site occupied land designated as an open countryside buffer zone.\n\nThe planning inspector concluded that any negative impacts would not substantially outweigh the benefits and deemed the housing sustainable development.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nCouncillor Abbott warned that official inspectors appear oblivious to the cumulative strain caused by multiple developments concentrated in one area.\n\nHe cautioned that proposed local plan changes could see schemes expand from hundreds of homes to thousands, predicting gridlock across the region.\n\nEssex Highways has confirmed that The Street does not form part of the authorised detour for vehicles affected by the closure.\n\nA spokesperson for the council outlined the designated alternative route, which directs traffic via the B1018, B1389, A12, A120, and B1018 in both directions.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe spokesman said: \"This is the most suitable route for all types of traffic which already uses Cressing Road and Braintree Road.\"\n\nMotorists have been advised to consult One.network to view diversion information and plan their journeys accordingly.\n\nThe spokesman added the road closure was implemented to ensure the safety of both the public and construction workers while Persimmon Homes carries out the highway improvement works, adding that improvements will create a link between the B1018 and Long Green through newly built roundabout junctions serving the development.\n\nGB News has contacted the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for comment.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Small village turns into 'Wild West' as planning row sparks surge in lorries flooding through"
}