Campaigners fighting against plans to build more than 60 homes on a “dangerous road” in Maldon say safety measures are needed before someone is killed.

Rosalind Oakley and the Leech Garden Hall Farm group want London Road, and surrounding streets, to bemore regularly gritted during icy weather.

The Essex County Council Highways department says the road does not meet criteria for a salting route, but Mrs Oakley says the road is used by the 31a bus and should be gritted.

She said: “All the mums and children are trying to get to school. It’s a nightmare for motorists. The actual road is not gritted and it’s hilly, with dips and springs which freeze over.

“Somebody will die out there.

It’s just a matter of time.

“On January 21, there was the first hard frost of the winter and it was absolutely lethal out there.

“It’s a wicked situation where they will only think about gritting where there are buses, putting mums and children at risk.”

Mrs Oakley said she was told the area was only gritted by volunteers, which she finds “crazy and disrespectful”. She said: “It’s not to decry the work of the volunteers.

It’s the fact that it’s a very big area, it’s very exposed, that has mums and children on it.

“It’s a much bigger problem than volunteers can cope with on their own. It’s dismissing the issue.”

More than 70 people gathered earlier this month to protest against the plans by Linden Homes for land off London Road.

Two proposals by Linden Homes – one of 67 homes and another for 66 homes – were both rejected by Maldon District Council, but the developer has submitted appeals against both.

The Planning Inspectorate will hear both appeals in May. If one goes ahead, Mrs Oakley fears the icy road problem will be exacerbated.

The site would have been the size of four football pitches and was on the boundary with the LeechMemorial Garden.

An Essex Highways spokesman said: “Currently, London Road does not meet our criteria for inclusion as an Essex salting route. However, we review the network annually and add or remove roads if warranted.

“Residents concerned about the condition of the carriageway can report defects on line via our website or call 0345 603 7631 and speak to the customer contact centre.”