A link road opening up Colchester's multi-million pound Cuckoo Farm development towards the A12 has come one step closer to reality.

Colchester Council's planning committee has granted delegated powers to the head of planning services Ian Vipond to give outline planning consent for the scheme, on land north of Mill Road and west of Severalls Lane.

It is part of the Cuckoo Farm development for 48 homes, industrial units and a spine road.

The development will use Royal London land and land owned by Mersea Homes.

A council report said if the land was not allocated for residential use there would still be planning permission for development, but none of the land or money for the spine road would automatically transfer to the council.

The report added: "Therefore the vital infrastructure link to the Severalls Hospital/Cuckoo Farm development and Northern Approaches Road would probably have to be entirely provided by the public purse."

Mr Vipond said the agreement by the planning committee brings the link road one step closer to reality.

"The development is quite complex. There are bits of the jigsaw to be put in place - this is one of the key bits of the jigsaw."

By Julia Gregory

Reporter's e-mail: julia_gregory@thisisessex.co.uk

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.