Plans to improve a congested M25 junction in Brentwood have been put on hold while the project’s environmental impacts are considered.

A development consent order for new loops and slip roads at the Brook Street M25 junction 28 had been expected in December 2021, with work set to start in the spring.

However, the Secretary of State for Transport has extended the deadline to May 16 to allow for a new assessment of the cumulative effects of greenhouse gas emissions from the scheme.

National Highways say such an assessment would require a local or regional baseline for carbon emissions, something which has not happened and which they claim they are “not in a position” to do.

At peak times up to 7,500 vehicles per hour pass through the junction and National Highways say it will be five times worse by 2037 if nothing is done.

National Highways, formerly Highways England, initially unveiled three proposals to link the anti-clockwise M25 directly with the Chelmsford-bound A12 in 2016.

It eventually opted for an £80 million programme involving a looping cloverleaf link road scheme to connect the M25 at junction 28 with the A12, as well as providing access to Brentwood via the A1023 Brook Street.