“Objection to A47 dualling Sutton to Wansford Scheme. We object to this application on three grounds: 1. Lack of consultation with Upton village and surrounding rural area. The 3 options in the statutory consultation did not involve severing Upton Main Road. 2. The plans are unsafe for Upton Drift and Langley Bush Road 3. The plans sever historical links for pedestrians, cyclists and horse-riders with Sutton, Castor & Ailsworth Detailed explanation: 1. Lack of consultation with Upton village and surrounding rural area. The 3 options in the statutory consultation did not involve severing Upton Main Road. In 2017 Highways England issued a preferred route document [] It listed three options and a preferred route. Non of the routes identified involved the moving of the Sutton roundabout or the severing of Uptons access road. For this reason Upton village and farms did not actively participate in the statuary consultation process. In fact the brochure (here) for this consultation had a comprehensive design that did not materially impact Upton. Then in July 2020 the village heard a rumour of the Upton road being severed. We contacted Highways England who told a village meeting of this plan (when would we have been told if we hadn’t asked?). The meeting was only open to residents (one per household) of the village and did not include the tenant farmers or Milton Estate, the main land owner. In the meeting a google map was projected on a screen and [ ] pointed at the proposed new route. We had no plan, no papers. We were then asked to vote on the following: 1. The proposal to close Upton road and have one access along Langley Bush Road (LBR) and The Drift. 2. To divert all traffic from Sutton Heath Road (SHR) and LBR through Upton and to the current roundabout location on the A47. With no written plans, no time to consider the implications we were pressed in to a vote. The village voted for option 1. On reflection the village realised that this was a sham vote for the following reasons: 1. Not all landowners, tenants and resident’s were allowed to attend the meeting or had notice of the meeting. 2. No notice of the plans in advance and time to consider the implications. 3. Voting for option 1 was on the assurance from Highways England that LBR and The Drift would be improved to two way roads (this is now being denied) 4. The options presented were not the only options available and in fact we believe option 2 above was never on the table. 2. The plans are unsafe for Upton Drift and Langley Bush Road Currently the majority of traffic to and from the village and farms is along Upton Road. The local traffic avoids The Drift and LBR because it is narrow and has blind bends caused by hedgerows and over-grown verges. The road is used by cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders as well as cars, lorries and agricultural vehicles. Forcing all traffic to use The Drift and LBR will lead to congestion at peak times and there is no safe separation for pedestrians, cyclists and horse-riders. Langley Bush Road is very dangerous for these users. (Currently separation on Upton Road is achieved through wide verges) No account has been taken in traffic modelling for the extra traffic from North of Peterborough that will use this route to the A47 after the project. Human nature is that people will be attracted to this route as the dangerous SHR junction has gone. We believe traffic volume will be substantially higher than estimated. Many residents in Upton have had accidents over the years along these roads. The roads are too narrow for modern agricultural vehicles and lorries to pass. 3. The plans sever historical links for pedestrians, cyclists and horse-riders with Sutton, Castor & Ailsworth The five parishes (Upton, Sutton, Castor, Ailsworth, Marholm) have had historical links as communities together with Milton since the 16th century (as evidenced by the book published by the CAMUS project in 2000) This project nearly doubles the distance for cycling/walking from Upton to Sutton, an additional 1.62km (from 1.92km to 3.54km). LBR is Dangerous for pedestrians, horses and cyclists as there is no separation, no escape route if two large lorries or agricultural vehicles pass. Moreover there are no plans currently for a bridge or underpass and so pedestrians and cyclists will have to negotiate across a busy dual carriageway / roundabout. The reality is that this won’t be safe or palatable to many people and so the community links will be severed.”