A CONTROVERSIAL £12 million flood defence scheme faces further delays after legal wrangling between residents and the Environment Agency.

Preliminary work for The Chelmsford Flood Alleviation Scheme is done, but a summer start date for the main project at the River Wid in Margaretting now looks unlikely.

Councillor Roy Whitehead, leader of Chelmsford City Council, said: "We understand there are small problems with one of the landowners up there and getting access to the land.

"They can't start with the major work, it's been delayed for a month or so.

"There are regular meetings with the Environment Agency (EA) and hopefully they will negotiate a settlement.

"And that's where it stands , we are frustrated, I think it's right to say."

Ken and Jean Albon, one of the families affected, say they are also frustrated at the lack of progress.

Ken said: "It's been going on for six years – we suddenly got a letter in the post about it and it was a shock – but I understand they first thought about it in 2000.

"We've been here 32 years, when we moved here a lot of it was derelict and we have rebuilt all of it over these years, day and night, to get it how we want it to be, our countryside retreat."

But they face 12 feet-high sheet piling running across their land in a horseshoe shape around their property.

Already, they have had some trees cut down and an access road is planned.

While they accept the flood scheme will happen now, they insist there has been a lack of continuity in the plans and communication from the EA.

Ken continued: "The trouble with the EA is every year someone different is in charge, they say 'we'll look after you' but won't agree any compensation with us.

"They all say 'don't worry, you will be treated fairly'.

"We feel like the sacrificial lamb so they can start development on the Chelmsford floodplain.

"We're in our mid-60s, we don't want to have to move away and start again."

The EA say the scheme will protect more than 1,200 homes and businesses in the centre of Chelmsford from flooding.

Other options have been considered but discounted.

It was decided dredging the river would only make a small increase in capacity, while a project at Whites Bridge would have a major impact on the grade II listed bridge because of the need to reroute a fuel pipeline that supplies Stansted Airport.

A storage scheme at Hylands Park was knocked back because major work would be needed to protect the A414, railway and houses in Galleywood.

It was also considered unacceptable to have such an impact on the historic park.

Downplaying the notion the scheme had been controversial, Cllr Whitehead continued: "It's one or two landowners that are most affected, for the rest of it everyone wants to see it in and out of the way – it could have been done years ago."

A spokeswoman for EA, who have already paid out compensation to another couple, said: "It is still our intention to start construction on a date this year but we don't have an exact date yet due to ongoing legal issues."

MOTORISTS on the A12 Londonbound are experiencing heavy traffic from junction 13 at Ingatestone to junction 12 with Shenfield. 

In Brentwood the Ongar Road towards the High Street at Wilsons Corner is very slow, as is the A131 Braintree Road southbound between Great Leighs and Essex Regiment Way.

On the A13 there's slow traffic on Londonbound between North Stifford and Lakeside. 

And on the M25 in Greater London there's also heavy traffic on clockwise between junction 25, at Enfield and junction 26, at Waltham Abbey due to roadworks in the area. 

Clockwise on M25 at the Dartord Bridge is congested from junction 30 to the A13. 

There's a traffic light failure on New North Road in Hainault at the Elmbridge Road junction. 

Traffic is queuing on the M11 southbound between junction 5 at Loughton and junction 4 with Woodford.

On the trains the 6.34am Shenfield to Liverpool Street is running 11 minutes late due to an earlier train fault and the 6.24am will terminate at Seven Kings.

AN air ambulance was called to help a man in his 60s in a life-threatening condition who had fallen from a tree in a rural part of Braintree. 

The Magpas Helimedix was called at 3:06pm on Sunday (June 29) afternoon, and took Doctor Peter Holden and paramedic Dan Phillips to the rural location to help the injured man. 

Magpas is a charity and are only called when a patient is in a serious "life-changing" condition.

An Essex & Herts Air Ambulance doctor and paramedic treated the patient, who had suffered head injuries after a fall from tree, before handing him into the care of the Magpas team, who then flew the man in his 60s to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. 

On arrival at the hospital, the man was in a stable condition where he is being monitored.

A MAN and teenager have denied stabbing a landscape gardener at his home in Maldon. 

Michael Cooper, 27, of Thorney Bay Road, Canvey, and a 16-year-old boy from Westcliff, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday (June 30) each charged with wounding with intent.

At a previous hearing, magistrates in Chelmsford heard that Justin Widowfield, of St Peter's Avenue, was attacked in his property at about 1pm on March 17.

The court heard the pair was arrested in South Woodham Ferrers on March 18 in connection with the incident.

Both defendants were released on conditional bail to re-appear before the court for trial on or around October 14. 

Judge Charles Gratwicke slammed the legal aid procedure as an "intolerable situation" after Cooper's counsel appeared without being paid properly. 

A NATIONAL bus firm must now wait more than a week to discover their fate after a public inquiry into services across Essex took place. 

Bosses of First Essex gathered at the Traffic Commissioner's offices in Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge yesterday (June 30) to be grilled over complaints of poor and unreliable services during the one-day hearing. 

But the company, which has 461 vehicles operating across the county, must now wait until July 10 to find out whether it will hold onto its licence, or pay a financial penalty after Deputy Traffic Commissioner Marcia Davis reserved her final decision for another day. 

 It was revealed during the inquiry that in a sample size of 327 services checked by the Vehicles and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) in April and May 2013 79 buses, or 24 per cent, had been more than a minute early, more than five minutes late or had failed to appear at all. 

However lawyer for the national company, James Backhouse, said that early arrivals had later been deducted from this total to give the firm a punctuality percentage of 83 per cent overall.

"You can't assume that 95 per cent is achievable across all services. It's very much network and service specific," he told the inquiry. 

But deputy commissioner Ms Davis presiding made clear she would analyse in detail the evidence and procedures in place to determine whether the firm had a reasonable excuse for its failures.

"They key thing for the use of public transport by the general public is its reliability. The bottom line is how reliable, how punctual is that bus at coming to particular stops when required to do so. That is the key thing for the public," she said.

A MAN who possessed more than 8,000 indecent images of children, and caused a 13-year-old to take an obscene picture of herself, has been told to expect jail. 

 John Hanning, 61, of Lyndhurst Drive, Bicknacre, admitted 14 charges at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on Friday (June 27), including possessing scores of bestiality images, . 

 Across a number of electronic devices between June 2008 and February last year, Hanning amassed 8,418 indecent images and 162 indecent movies of children, along with 162 pictures of people having sex with animals. 

Hanning also distributed 73 of the obscene images. He also admitted inciting a 13-year-old girl in 2011 to take an obscene picture of her with explicit words written on her legs specifically referring to him. 

 Andrew Jackson, prosecuting, said: "This is a man of previously good character, with charges of some 7,000 moving and still explicit images of children, some as young as five years old. 

 "They also include images of the girl, which through internet conversations, incited her to provide him an image of her posing with explicit comments on her body to him." 

Sarah Read, mitigating, asked for a pre-sentence report to be prepared. 

Judge Charles Gratwicke said: "I'm prepared to order such a report but I will make it clear the seriousness of these offences means the likely outcome is to be a custodial sentence," adding the report would be largely to determine likely length of the sentence. 

He ordered the report to be prepared for Friday, July 18, with a date for his sentencing to be shortly after that date. 

 Hanning, dressed in a dark grey suit, blue tie and white shirt, listened to proceedings in the dock with a hearing aid and only spoke to confirm his name and enter 14 guilty charges. 

He was released on conditional bail and made to sign the sex offenders' register.

It might have exotic origins but curry has long since been embraced as the UK's most popular meal.

With this in mind, we asked readers of the Essex Chronicle Facebook page to nominate their eateries, and they weren't shy in coming forward - with the appeal attracting more than 80 responses in two hours

We've selected 10 of them according to the number of times they were mentioned (comments from face. So, in no particular order:

The Essex Police helicopter was heard above Chelmsford during a search for two missing people in unrelated incidents.

A distressed man was spotted in Ridgewell Avenue in Melbourne at around 11.05pm yesterday (June 30) before he was  found safe and well around 35 minutes later.

And at around 11.10pm later a woman was reported missing from an address in New Writtle Street - before also being found safe and well shortly after 11.40pm.

The police helicopter helped search large open areas for the missing pair.

Police have closed the A414 Ongar Road at Writtle following a serious two vehicle road traffic collision this afternoon (July 1). 

All three emergency services were called to a stretch of road near Hanging Gardens Nurseries after the crash around 4.15pm.

Fire crews from Chelmsford and Ingatestone attended the scene and had cut one woman out of one of the vehicles by 4.52pm, leaving her in the care of the ambulance service.

Her condition is not known.

The air ambulance is also in attendance.

More to follow

A woman in her 70s has died in a two-car head on crash in Writtle this afternoon (July 1).

Two female drivers in a bronze Kia Picanto and a black Ford Focus collided on the A414 Ongar Road west of Writtle shortly before 4.10pm.

While the motorist of a bronze car, a Chelmsford woman, was pronounced dead at the scene, the driver of the black Ford Fiesta was carried to Royal London Hospital via an air ambulance with injuries not thought to be life-threatening.

All three emergency services crowded the scene while the road will remain shut between the junction with Highwood Road and the turn-off to Newney Green until about 9pm

Ongar Road resident Jamie Clements, 24, described hearing a "horrendous" bang after returning home from work.

Mr Clements said: "I'd just got home from work and stepped through the front door and heard an almighty bang which I can only describe as sounding like a horrendous car-on-car bang.

"I just came steaming out of the front door and my mum said  get your phone, call the police, call anybody."

Mr Clements remained on the scene parked in a 4x4 to deter motorists from approaching the aftermath of the crash.

"There were people on the phone when I got around there, about half a dozen people and a few ambulances, I just saw bits of car everywhere," he said.

"There was a good chunk of people seeing if the woman in the bronze car was OK and a couple of people around the Focus making sure the girl was OK."

Detective sergeant 1367 Kevin May said: "Two vehicles, both travelling in different directions, for reasons unknown at this stage, collided head on with one another.

"We are awaiting to speak to all witnesses at the scene but a lady has been declared dead and we are still waiting upon enquiries to ascertain next of kin.

"The other lady has got a few injuries. We are still trying to establish those. She has been taken by helimed to Royal London Hospital."

The Serious Collision Investigation Unit remained on site at 6.30pm studying the scene.

Any witnesses who have not yet spoken to police are asked to contact the unit on 101 or email: collisionappeal@essex.pnn.police.uk.

A MOTHER says she and her daughter are lucky to be alive after they survived a crash with a lorry at a dangerous set of crossroads where the road markings have worn away.

Clare Stone, of Dog Chase, Wethersfield, was travelling with her 16-month-old daughter Isabel, friend Suzy Clark, 37, and her two-year-old son Michael when she failed to stop at a crossroads in Little Totham where she should have given way.

Ms Stone, 35, whose Volkswagen Passat was written off, told the Chronicle: "When I approached the junction the first thing I saw was a lorry. It hit the right-hand side of my car, we spun around and were pushed 100 yards down the road.

"If I had been in a different car, I don't think I'd be here."

Although Ms Stone admits she was at fault for the incident, she has criticised Essex County Council's poor maintenance of the junction.

Ms Stone said: "I was approaching the crossroads from Witham Road, but the road markings telling motorists to give way are all but gone.

"The sign telling people to give way is almost totally obscured by the bushes too, and there are two confusing 40mph and national speed limit signs on the other side of the road.

"Are these just not encouraging you to speed up? I know someone complained to the council a few weeks ago and highlighted the dangers here warning there would be a serious accident.

"I had my daughter in the car, along with a friend and her two-year-old son. Thankfully I took the brunt of it, but was lucky to escape with serious bruising, glass in my arm, cuts and whiplash.

"The others had bruising to their necks and stiffness."

Ms Stone, who says she has been unable to work as a freelance journalist without her car, added: "I'm disgusted at the council and will be pursuing the matter with them."

Ms Stone claims local residents who came out of their homes after hearing the crash told her there is an accident at the junction at least once a month. She also said the police officer at the scene encouraged her to pursue Essex County Council.

An Essex Highways spokesman said: "The county council regrets that an accident took place at this crossroads and would always urge caution when proceeding at junctions like this.

"While we would not accept that markings are necessarily a critical feature, the cabinet member has arranged for the markings to be refreshed as soon as possible."

COMMUNITY groups, businesses and councils could stump up to switch street lights back on at little more than £12 per light by the end of the year.

Essex County Council's part-night lighting task force says the 105,000 lights currently off between midnight and 5am could go back on if there are "third party contributions".

The leader of Chelmsford City Council, Councillor Roy Whitehead, said his authority would consider paying up.

"I made that suggestion about seven or eight months ago as it seemed we might need additional lights, and we were told they would see how the roll-out went," he said.

"We were as an authority prepared to make additional contributions."

The task force's findings go before Essex County Council's Place Service and Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee this morning after a nine-month investigation.

Nine recommendations are expected to be forwarded to highways boss Cllr Rodney Bass, which are mainly concerned with implementing a strategy so paid-for street lights can be turned back on if funded.

An end-of-year deadline for a system for street lights to be switched on at short notice in the event of emergencies has also been requested.

It noted they would have been useful during the bad weather and high tides experienced last November.

Cllr Whitehead added: "We were one of the first to be switched off and it hasn't been a major talking point, but we would seriously consider it."

But he felt that if any lights did go back on, it would largely be from a road safety rather than a crime perspective.

Essex Police have previously said that burglaries did not increase as a result of the switch-off, but national statistics suggest road accidents have increased since the blackout.

Street lights have been switched off between midnight and 5am in the Chelmsford and Braintree districts since September last year, and since 2007 in the Maldon district.

About 105,000 street lights in the county now operate part-night lighting, which County Hall says is saving them roughly £1.3 million a year, equating to a £12.38 saving per street light.

Those street lights exempt largely fall into the categories of those in town centres, accident blackspots and areas police say are prone to crime.

Parish, district and city councils were also able to request certain lights stay on, but Essex County Council had the final say.

A LANDMARK county council-led social care scheme has become the very first to be funded by national charity the Health Foundation.

Prosper, tipped to be a "beacon project" for the rest of the UK, was launched at Essex County Council HQ following the £450,000 grant.

The two-year pilot scheme will train carers from across 21 residential homes in how to help reduce the number of elderly people being admitted to hospital over avoidable hazards.

Cabinet member for adult social care Cllr Anne Brown said too many residents were being taken out of homes and to hospital with pressure ulcers, catheter infections and after falls.

She stressed the need to "improve" the service on the back of bad press.

Earlier this year the authority placed the Old Deanery care home in Braintree in special measures after covert filming revealed evidence of abuse.

Cllr Brown said: "Our ambition is for innovation to change the way carers work in care homes and improve the services for all people in our care.

"The Prosper project is an example of how social care, health and the independent sector can work in co-operation to bring significant improvements.

"We need and must have improvements in the safety and wellbeing services for our frail and vulnerable residents to live well in homes."

Cllr Brown said the council's safeguarding portfolio was so big there were bound to be "some things that were not right".

About 25 per cent of the county council's annual budget is ploughed into safeguarding residents at 700 care homes.

She said: "There is always room for improvement and we would not have had the Old Deanery if we were perfect, but in that Panorama programme they did not criticise Essex County Council but did criticise Croydon council during recordings of a care home there, so we must have been doing something right."

The Health Foundation gave the project, partnered with London-based academics UCL Partners and the care homes, the grant after whittling down 109 applications to ten.

A total of £250,000 is being used to implement the scheme, which includes training, while the remainder will pay for UCL Partners to find out if the project is successful.

North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group director of nursing and quality Lisa Llewelyn said carers would be encouraged to identify the causes of infections and ulcers, be it for example alterations to medicine or an increase in fluids.

Ms Llewelyn said: "These are causing admissions and people are ending up in hospital when the best place for them to be cared for is in the home, so let's prevent that from happening.

"You don't want to take people who are vulnerable out of their care setting."

Mike Roberts, of UCL Partners, added: "I don't see why this won't be a beacon project for Essex over the next two or three years."

"Did you miss me?" #221back. #Sherlockhttp://t.co/sJXE1VeFaG

— Sherlock - #221back (@BBCOne) July 1, 2014

It isn't long now until the world's eyes will turn to Essex as top cyclists race through the city's streets battling for victory in the Tour de France. 

However the scale of the event on Monday July 7 is not without it's difficulties and residents are urged to plan ahead to ensure they're aware of road closures, and the timings of the route. 

Roads in Chelmsford to be closed from 8am to 5pm:

B1417 > B1008 > Main Road > South Street > Breeds Road > Woodhall Road > Chignal Road > Roxwell Road > A1060 > Vicarage Road > The Street > Skreens Park Road > Elms Road > Shellow Road

Roads in Braintree will close from 7.30am to 4pm:

B1053 > unnamed road towards Shalford Green > Duckend Green > Shalford Road > Gore Road > New Road > School Road > A120.

Roads in other parts of Essex will also be closed during the following times: 

Epping Forest: 8am to 5pm 

Epping Forest A414 area: 9am to 5pm

This length of time is needed to allow the route to be prepared, infrastructure to be put in place and removed afterwards, the Tour's publicity 'caravan' of vehicles to travel through the stage, the race itself and the safe dispersal of spectators.

The route will need to be clear of all public vehicles prior to the road closure time, with pedestrian access available while the roads are closed through stewarded crossing points with access only for emergency vehicles. 

Motorways

Drivers should be aware junctions 7 to 13 on the M11 are expected to be busy and delays are likely.

Planned closures - Junction 9a of the M11 northbound, both slip roads. Drivers will be directed onto the M11 southbound and exit at junction 8, but motorists should be aware that from junctions 10 to 13 congestion is likely due to local road closures and event traffic.  

A11 Stumps Cross southbound, both slip roads. Non-motorway traffic will be directed to use the A1307.

Car parks on the day

There will be two designated Tour de France car parks in Chelmsford which will offer all-day parking for £5 per car. 

The High Chelmer Car Park is offering this promotional day rate, and there is also a dedicated car park at Melbourne Park, a few hundred metres from the Tour's Chignal Road passing point. 

A car park is also being provided for the Tour de France in Roxwell by the Parish Council for £5 per car and will be on the Recreation Ground on Stonehill Road, accessible from the South of Roxwell. 

It should be noted that there is no additional car parking provided in Howe Street, Great Waltham, Chignal or Writtle and these locations could become congested, so people are advised to consider walking or cycling where possible. 

Bus disruption from start of service to 5pm

42, 42A and 542 Galleywood to Stansted Airport 

42 journeys which would normally terminate at Warners Farm will terminate at Little Waltham (Ash Tree Corner), turn at roundabout Essex Regiment Way and A131 Junction. Take stand time in lay-by Ash Tree Corner.

42A and 542 will operate via A131 and Great Leighs bypass and A120 to Dunmow - Due to the closure of the A130, Great Waltham, Ford End and Barnston will not be served. 4

6 & 46A Chelmsford to Ongar

This service will operate as normal between Oaklands Park and Chelmsford Bus Station, then via Waterhouse Lane, Westway and A414 to Ongar Four Wantz roundabout, and as normal route to Ongar Two Brewers.

Roxwell, Willingale and Fyfield will not be served. 

51 Galleywood to Chignall Estate

This service will only operate between Galleywood and Chelmsford Bus Station.

The section between Chelmsford and Chignall Estate will not be able to be served due to closure of Chignall Road. 

54 Beaulieu Park to North Melbourne

Will operate as normal route as far as Queensland Crescent, then divert via Melbourne Avenue, St Nazaire Road, Oliver Way, Copperfield Road to Nickleby Road. 

X30 Southend to Stansted Airport

This service will operate via A131 and Great Leighs bypass and then onto the A120 to Stansted Airport. From 0700 Ex Chelmsford, and 0700 Ex Stansted. Due to the closure of the A130, Ford End and Barnston will not be served.

Get more from the Tour de France here

Tributes have been paid to the former Essex Chronicle stalwart and grandmother killed in a two-car crash in Writtle yesterday (July 1).

Petal Hawkins, 79, of Chelmsford, was pronounced dead on the A414 Ongar Road after her bronze Kia Picanto was in a head-on collision with a blue Ford Focus shortly before 4.10pm.

The female driver of the Focus, another woman, was airlifted to Royal London Hospital but her injuries are not thought to be life-threatening. 

Former Chronicle editor Stuart Rawlins has paid tribute to his former editorial secretary, who used to organise the Chronicle's Mrs Chelmsford contest. 

"She was a very, very, approachable person and had basically a heart of gold," he said. 

"It's very sad news and she will be hugely missed. 

"She was involved in a number of organisations and groups within the area. The tragedy of course is her husband died very recently." 

Peter Hawkins died aged 83 in Broomfield Hospital on June 16 following a short illness. 

The family, including children John and Velda, were expected to hold his funeral at All Saint's Church in Writtle on Wednesday, July 9.

During Mrs Hawkins' stellar 27-year career at the Chronicle she was well-known for running a travel club which ballooned to as many as 6,000 readers. 

"Petal was certainly one of the major contributors," said Mr Rawlins. 

"She was a stalwart of the editorial department as the editorial secretary and was well known, and well respected, by all the staff at the Essex Chronicle in organising a lot of the social activities as well as in the admissions." 

Petal retired in 1997 and from then on dedicated her time to the Writtle WI and the village's bowls club. 

Following the crash this week the road was closed between the junction with Highwood Road and the turn-off to Newney Green until about 9pm. 

The Essex Police Serious Collision Investigation Unit is appealing for witnesses and those with any information surrounding the crash to come forward. 

Witnesses can call 101 or e-mail: collisionappeal@essex.pnn.police.uk.