Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to the public purse was of purchasing (a) land and (b) properties as part of the A12 widening scheme; and how (a) much land and (b) many properties were purchased.

As announced on 8 July 2025, this Government inherited a series of commitments that could not be afforded. Therefore, the Secretary of State for Transport had to take the difficult decision not to progress the A12 (Chelmsford to A120) Widening Scheme.

The cost to the public purse to date of purchasing a) land is £0.8 million and b) the cost to the public purse to date of purchasing properties is £19.9 million; and a) 38,600 square metres of land and b) 26 properties have been purchased. Following cancellation of the scheme, National Highways will be working to bring the scheme to a close and will publish details on costs incurred in its Annual Report and Accounts in due course.