Garnetts in Takeley faces a 47-day closure from 2 November to 18 December for Affinity Water works. One way in, about 68 homes, and no confirmed access yet.
About 68 households in Garnetts, a cul-de-sac in Takeley with only one way in for vehicles, face a proposed 47-day road closure from 2 November to 18 December 2026 for works linked to Affinity Water, according to a resident who has spent the past week trying to find out how people will get home.
Morgan Hunting, who lives in Garnetts, says Essex Highways said in a recorded phone call on 8 October that the closure would be “complete and continuous”, and that the adviser “was unable to identify confirmed arrangements allowing residents to drive to their properties during the works.” The works are listed under street works permit MX06162953PW. We have not been able to view the permit ourselves, and the dates and figures here are the ones residents were given.
Garnetts is just over the county boundary in Essex, but, as Hunting puts it, “the proposed disruption concerns the wider Bishop’s Stortford and Stansted Airport area, making it relevant to readers on both sides of the boundary.”
What residents are worried about
Hunting says the closure has raised “significant concerns about emergency vehicle access, elderly and disabled residents, carers, medical appointments, deliveries and where residents will safely park their vehicles.”
The single entrance is the heart of it. In the resident’s words:
“Garnetts has only one vehicular entrance. Residents are understandably concerned about how fire appliances, ambulances and police vehicles would reach properties if that entrance were obstructed by excavation or construction equipment.”
Hunting is careful not to overstate it: “I am not suggesting that emergency access will necessarily be prevented, but I believe residents deserve clear, documented reassurance.” Because the road is close to London Stansted Airport, Hunting has also asked whether off-airport emergency planning has been taken into account, and has written to Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, the East of England Ambulance Service, Essex Police, the Essex Resilience Forum and Essex County Council’s Emergency Planning and Resilience Team.
Why Parsonage Road matters
Some residents have been told, Hunting says, that displaced cars could be parked on nearby Parsonage Road. Hunting argues that road already has enough to deal with: “Parsonage Road and the surrounding Takeley area have already experienced longstanding problems associated with airport-related parking.” The email lists pressure from airport parking, obstructive and inconsiderate parking, road safety worries where parked cars narrow the road, reported criminal damage to vehicles in the wider Takeley area, and residents’ unease about leaving their cars away from home for weeks.
“I am not suggesting that every incident occurred on Parsonage Road itself,” Hunting writes, “but it is relevant background when considering whether relocating dozens of residents’ vehicles onto surrounding roads is reasonable or safe.”
The parish council’s own papers show the Parsonage Road parking question is still open. The clerk’s report for Wednesday’s meeting says the consultation on red lines for Parsonage Road ended on 11 September and that “no update has been received from the County Council on their progress for implementation of the Traffic Regulation Order” (Takeley Parish Council agenda, 14 October 2026, item FC 26/89).
There is a further clash. Hunting says Essex Highways also advised that separate works are proposed on Parsonage Road itself between 1 and 23 December, which would overlap the Garnetts closure for its last 18 days.
The questions still unanswered
Hunting has put formal questions to Affinity Water and Essex Highways, asking:
- who requested and authorised the closure;
- whether less disruptive options, such as phased works and controlled access for residents, were considered;
- whether the new water main is for existing network improvements, a particular housing or commercial development, or both;
- who requested the installation and who is paying for it;
- whether other pipe routes were looked at.
Hunting says those questions “remain unanswered in the substantive correspondence available to me.” The Essex County Council enquiry is logged as FS-Case-881423984, and Hunting has also contacted Essex Highways, Affinity Water, Takeley Parish Council and Councillor Geoff Bagnall.
Hunting is not against the work itself. “I want to emphasise that I am not opposed to necessary infrastructure improvements,” the email says. “My concern is whether the proposed arrangements are justified, proportionate and safe, and whether residents have been properly informed and considered.”
Hunting adds that the email is written “as an individual resident rather than an appointed representative of the entire road.”
What it means for you
- If you live in Garnetts, the proposed closure starts on Monday 2 November. Until access arrangements are confirmed in writing, it is worth telling carers, regular delivery firms and anyone who drives you to appointments now.
- Takeley Parish Council meets on Wednesday 14 October at 7.30pm at the Old School Community Centre, Brewers End, CM22 6SB. Members of the public are welcome. The agenda has a public forum of up to 15 minutes, with three minutes for each speaker, and ward and county councillor reports (agenda). Hunting says an update on the works is expected; the published agenda does not list the closure as a separate item.
- If you use Parsonage Road, expect more parked cars if Garnetts residents are sent there, and separate works on the road itself in December.
We will report what Affinity Water, Essex Highways and the parish council say when they respond. For other closures around the town, see our Bishop’s Stortford roadworks and travel page.
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