M12 motorway
Encyclopedia
The M12 motorway was a planned motorway starting in north-east London
and joining the A12 road in Essex
. The 1960s scheme would have started at a junction with the M11 motorway and North Circular and ended near Brentwood, Chelmsford or at the proposed new Maplin Sands
airport; the motorway was part of the ambitious London Ringways
plan to build motorways throughout London. Although most of the Ringways plan was cancelled in 1973 the M12 motorway project was still included in the Roads for Prosperity
white paper published in 1989 along with major proposed developments to the A12 road. It was not formally cancelled until 30 March 1994 by John MacGregor, Baron MacGregor of Pulham Market.
The motorway would have started in South Woodford creating a junction with the North Circular at the start of the current M11 motorway
. It was intended that the North Circular would also be upgraded as Ringway 2
to motorway standard around London and be designated as the M15 motorway. It was also intended that the M11 would continue further into London joining Ringway 1
and then into Islington as 'Eastway'. Due to the cancellation and the scaling back of London Ringways
during the 1970s, few these ambitious plans were realised except of East Cross Route
which was part of Ringway 1 and the M11 Link road (designated as the A12) which was opened in 1999 despite considerable opposition from the M11 link road protest
.
Land was set aside for the later construction of the M12 interchange when the southern end of the M11 was constructed in the 1970s - the current carriageways of the M11 at the junction with the A406 would have been slip roads between these two routes. The start of the M12 would have been located between the existing M11 lanes. Evidence for this can be seen on the ground:
and south of Hainault
then north-east to Havering-atte-Bower
then east towards South Weald, meeting the M25 motorway
(Ringway 3
) a short distance to the north of junction 28. The motorway would have ended a short distance beyond the M25 on the Brentwood
Bypass (A12).
South Woodford to Maplin Sands
The alignment of this route was not finalised before the proposed airport at Maplin Sands was cancelled but it would have matched the South Woodford-Brentwood alignment to Havering-atte-Bower. The M12 would most probably have then headed south-east and then south to pass east of Harold Hill
parallel with the M25 as far as junction 29 where it would have turned east to run north of the A127
passing to the north of Basildon
, south of Wickford
and to the north of Rayleigh
and Southend-on-Sea
before heading out into the North Sea
to the artificial island
that was to be constructed on Maplin Sands for the proposed airport.
and Essex. The motorway would have passed north of Pilgrims Hatch
and south of Doddinghurst
to meet the A12 at its junction with the A414
south of Chelmsford.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and joining the A12 road in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. The 1960s scheme would have started at a junction with the M11 motorway and North Circular and ended near Brentwood, Chelmsford or at the proposed new Maplin Sands
Maplin Sands
The Maplin Sands are mudflats on the northern bank of the Thames estuary, off Foulness Island, near Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England, though they actually lie within the neighbouring borough of Rochford...
airport; the motorway was part of the ambitious London Ringways
London Ringways
The London Ringways were a series of four ring roads planned in the 1960s to circle London at various distances from the city centre. They were part of a comprehensive scheme developed by the Greater London Council to alleviate traffic congestion on the city's road system by providing high speed...
plan to build motorways throughout London. Although most of the Ringways plan was cancelled in 1973 the M12 motorway project was still included in the Roads for Prosperity
Roads for Prosperity
Roads for Prosperity was a controversial white paper published by the Conservative UK Government in 1989 detailing the 'largest road building program for the UK since the Romans' produced in response to rapid increases in car ownership and use over the previous decade...
white paper published in 1989 along with major proposed developments to the A12 road. It was not formally cancelled until 30 March 1994 by John MacGregor, Baron MacGregor of Pulham Market.
Routes
There were three main route proposals:- South WoodfordSouth WoodfordSouth Woodford is a suburb of north-east London in the London Borough of Redbridge, situated north-east of Charing Cross. Together with Woodford Green, Woodford Bridge and Woodford Wells it forms the area known as Woodford, the origins of which date back at least to the Saxon period...
(51.593°N 0.026°E) to BrentwoodBrentwood, EssexBrentwood is a town and the principal settlement of the Borough of Brentwood, in the county of Essex in the east of England. It is located in the London commuter belt, 20 miles east north-east of Charing Cross in London, and near the M25 motorway....
(51.620°N 0.305°E) - South Woodford to a proposed new London AirportThames estuary airportThere have been plans since 1943 to build a new airport for London at various locations around the Thames Estuary.- Maplin :In April 1971 the government announced that a site at the Maplin Sands had been selected for the third London airport , and that planning would begin immediately...
at Maplin SandsMaplin SandsThe Maplin Sands are mudflats on the northern bank of the Thames estuary, off Foulness Island, near Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England, though they actually lie within the neighbouring borough of Rochford... - South Woodford (or M25 motorwayM25 motorwayThe M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...
) to ChelmsfordChelmsfordChelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
The motorway would have started in South Woodford creating a junction with the North Circular at the start of the current M11 motorway
M11 motorway
The M11 motorway in England is a major road running approximately north from the North Circular Road in South Woodford in north-east London to the A14, north-west of Cambridge.-Route:...
. It was intended that the North Circular would also be upgraded as Ringway 2
Ringway 2
Ringway 2 was the second innermost of the series of four London Ringways, ring roads planned in the 1960s to circle London at various distances from the city centre...
to motorway standard around London and be designated as the M15 motorway. It was also intended that the M11 would continue further into London joining Ringway 1
Ringway 1
Ringway 1 or the London Motorway Box was the innermost of the series of four motorway standard roads, known as the London Ringways as part of a comprehensive scheme developed by the Greater London Council to provide high speed motorway-standard roads within the capital linking a series of radial...
and then into Islington as 'Eastway'. Due to the cancellation and the scaling back of London Ringways
London Ringways
The London Ringways were a series of four ring roads planned in the 1960s to circle London at various distances from the city centre. They were part of a comprehensive scheme developed by the Greater London Council to alleviate traffic congestion on the city's road system by providing high speed...
during the 1970s, few these ambitious plans were realised except of East Cross Route
East Cross Route
East Cross Route is a dual-carriageway road constructed in east London as part of the uncompleted Ringway 1 as part of the London Ringways plan drawn up the 1960s to create a series of high speed roads circling and radiating out from central London...
which was part of Ringway 1 and the M11 Link road (designated as the A12) which was opened in 1999 despite considerable opposition from the M11 link road protest
M11 link road protest
The M11 link road protest was a major anti-road protest in east London, United Kingdom, in the early 1990s opposing the construction of the "A12 Hackney to M11 link road", also known as the M11 Link Road...
.
Land was set aside for the later construction of the M12 interchange when the southern end of the M11 was constructed in the 1970s - the current carriageways of the M11 at the junction with the A406 would have been slip roads between these two routes. The start of the M12 would have been located between the existing M11 lanes. Evidence for this can be seen on the ground:
- both the northbound and southbound carriageways of the M11 have stubs of slip roads leading to nowhere in the centre of the road at the point where the carriageways have diverged from one another.
- the southbound carriageway has a flyover seemingly over nothing before it splits to join the North Circular RoadA406 roadThe A406 or the North Circular Road is a road which crosses North London, UK, linking West and East London. It, together with the South Circular Road, forms a ring road through the inner part of Outer London...
. - land immediately to the east of this bridge has been reserved and kept free of housing.
South Woodford to Brentwood
From South Woodford the M12 would have headed east over what is still mostly open land north of ClayhallClayhall
Clayhall is a district of Ilford in the London Borough of Redbridge in north east London, England. It is a suburban development. The name is derived from an old manor house that stood within the current area...
and south of Hainault
Hainault
Hainault is an area in the London Borough of Redbridge in north east London. It is a suburban development located north east of Charing Cross...
then north-east to Havering-atte-Bower
Havering-atte-Bower
Havering-atte-Bower is a village and outlying settlement of the London Borough of Havering, located 15 miles northeast of Charing Cross and close to the Greater London boundary. It was one of three former parishes whose area comprised the historic Royal Liberty of Havering...
then east towards South Weald, meeting the M25 motorway
M25 motorway
The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...
(Ringway 3
Ringway 3
Ringway 3 was the third from the centre of the series of four London Ringways, ring roads planned in the 1960s to circle London at various distances from the city centre...
) a short distance to the north of junction 28. The motorway would have ended a short distance beyond the M25 on the Brentwood
Brentwood, Essex
Brentwood is a town and the principal settlement of the Borough of Brentwood, in the county of Essex in the east of England. It is located in the London commuter belt, 20 miles east north-east of Charing Cross in London, and near the M25 motorway....
Bypass (A12).
South Woodford to Maplin SandsMaplin SandsThe Maplin Sands are mudflats on the northern bank of the Thames estuary, off Foulness Island, near Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England, though they actually lie within the neighbouring borough of Rochford...
The alignment of this route was not finalised before the proposed airport at Maplin Sands was cancelled but it would have matched the South Woodford-Brentwood alignment to Havering-atte-Bower. The M12 would most probably have then headed south-east and then south to pass east of Harold HillHarold Hill
Harold Hill is a place in the London Borough of Havering, east London, England. It is a suburban development situated 16.6 miles east-northeeast of Charing Cross....
parallel with the M25 as far as junction 29 where it would have turned east to run north of the A127
A127 road
The A127, also known as the Southend Arterial Road, is one of the trunk roads in England linking London with Southend-on-Sea, the other being the A13. It is a dual carriageway for its entire length, rare on a trunk road since the only others are the A14 and the A282, and is known as the Southend...
passing to the north of Basildon
Basildon
Basildon is a town located in the Basildon District of the county of Essex, England.It lies east of Central London and south of the county town of Chelmsford...
, south of Wickford
Wickford
Wickford is a town in the south of the English county of Essex, with a population of more than 32,500. Located approximately 30 miles east of London, it falls within the District of Basildon along with Basildon, Billericay, Laindon and Pitsea....
and to the north of Rayleigh
Rayleigh, Essex
Rayleigh is a market town and civil parish in the District of Rochford in Essex, England, located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea. It lies to the east of central London. It has a population of 30,196, having expanded rapidly in the 1960s.-Toponymy:...
and Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated...
before heading out into the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
to the artificial island
Artificial island
An artificial island or man-made island is an island or archipelago that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means...
that was to be constructed on Maplin Sands for the proposed airport.
South Woodford to Chelmsford
The M12 to Chelmsford would have run on the alignment previously described to Havering-atte-Bower then continued north-east to meet the M25 (where an additional junction would have been constructed) south of Wattons Green at the administrative boundary between Greater LondonGreater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
and Essex. The motorway would have passed north of Pilgrims Hatch
Pilgrims Hatch
Pilgrims Hatch is a residential suburb of Brentwood, Essex, in the east of England. There is a borough council ward bearing the name 'Pilgrims Hatch' which covers the Bishops Hall and Flower estates and a small rural area to the north up to Ashwells Road and Days Lane. Pilgrims Hatch usually...
and south of Doddinghurst
Doddinghurst
Doddinghurst is a village and civil parish in south Essex. It is 3 miles to the north of Brentwood.-History:The village was recorded in the Domesday Book as Doddenhenc, an Anglo-Saxon name meaning "the wood of Dudda or of his people"...
to meet the A12 at its junction with the A414
A414 road
The A414 is a major road in England. It runs from the A41 at a junction west of Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, through the town to junction 8 of the M1 motorway at Buncefield, and running parallel to the M1 until junction 7, heading south of St Albans, east through Hatfield, Hertford, then...
south of Chelmsford.