Consultants have said plans for over 1,000 homes in South Woodham Ferrers should be refused due to the "severe impact" the development will have on local roads.

The Woodham and Dengie Infrastructure Group says the report they commissioned from specialist transport planning consultants SCP strengthens their view that plans to turn Burnham Road into an urban street will add to current traffic queues.

Developer Countryside Properties hopes to build up to 1,020 homes, an 88-bed residential care home, a community centre, care centre and primary school in South Woodham Ferrers under the plans submitted to Chelmsford City Club.

As it stands, this would see the B1012, as the primary route from the Dengie to all feeder and trunk routes, turned into an urban street with six uncontrolled pedestrian crossings and an additional roundabout.

SCP has now said the plans should be refused on highway and transport grounds because "the transport assessment has not modelled the junctions correctly or considered the effect of one junction on another".

The consultants say the base flow models have not been calibrated against observed traffic queues and most of the junction models understate the queue and delay at each junction.

They also say the junction models do not correctly model HGV traffic and committed developments which will add to traffic have not been taken into account.

They argue "overly optimistic assumptions" have been made about how many people will choose to walk rather than drive.

The report adds: "As currently submitted, SCP believe there are sufficient grounds to refuse the application on highways safety grounds and due to the likely severe impact the extra traffic will have on the transport network in terms of capacity and congestion."

A spokesperson for the Woodham Infrastructure Group said: "We are not opposing the houses which are much needed.

"The problem is that the plan is to build the houses without making the necessary improvements to infrastructure.

"This will severely disadvantage the current South Woodham Ferrers residents and businesses and those who will have homes in the new development and many if not most of those who live or work in the Dengie Peninsula and rely on road transport."

Councils across the Dengie have come together as the United Dengie Councils to raise concerns about the development, and say SCP's findings "reinforce" their fears.

Councillor Mark Raffray, from North Fambridge, said: "Alternative viable routes in the area are extremely limited.

"In medical emergencies, residents in the south of the Dengie already face long transfer times to the main receiving hospitals.

"We're particularly concerned about possible delays to ambulances and other emergency services due to traffic congestion being worsened along this key road corridor.

"We're very troubled that, so far, Dengie communities have had little chance to provide input on matters of such fundamental importance to the area."

A Countryside spokesperson said: "The Chelmsford Local Plan, including this site, was independently assessed by a Government Planning Inspector – including all transport aspects – and was found to be sound.

"The recently submitted planning application includes a comprehensive Transport Assessment which is being considered by the highways authority Essex County Council as part of the planning application process, and we will look to address any feedback from the highway authority in due course."

An Essex County Council spokesperson said: "Work is currently being carried out as part of the Chelmsford Local Plan which outlines the highways infrastructure which developers need to provide to support new housing in South Woodham Ferrers. This includes new access points, roundabouts, bus services, additional pedestrian and cycle connections and improvements to the local road network.

"It is important that infrastructure to support continued growth across key areas in Essex is considered by all Local Plans. Plans for this area have previously undergone an Examination in Public (EIP) and were approved by the inspector in terms of highways and transport."

The deadline to submit comments on the plans, which will be decided by Chelmsford City Council, is Friday, 7 January.

You can access the consultation here.