THE road leading to Dale Farm will close to through traffic next week as Basildon Council prepares to carry out the UK’s biggest ever traveller site eviction.

From September 2, Oak Road in Crays Hill will be closed from both ends at Hardings Elms Road and Gardiners Lane North, except for access to homes in Oak Road and on the traveller site.

Essex County Council, which is responsible for highways, is bringing in the restrictions and a public notice says it could last for up to 18 months.

Len Gridley, 52, an Oak Road resident, said: “This must mean that they are actually going to soon do the eviction.”

David McPherson-Davis, a Ramsden Crays parish councillor, said: “I am not sure how they will enforce it, because how will they know if someone is just visiting a property rather than lives there?”

Other restrictions coming in include closing the layby at the southern end of Oak Lane, where it meets the Southend-bound A127, and a no-stopping zone on the footpaths of the A127. between the A176 at Billericay and the A132 at Wickford.

A county council spokeswoman said: “The 18 months mentioned is standard practice.

“When a road is closed, it is for 18 months or the duration of the work, whichever is least – the closure is not expected to last 18 months, that is the length of the order.”