the inquiry began taking submissions in april 2008. the inquiry, the first ever local council sponsored inquiry into a major trunk road, heard from 24 organisations and 36 witnesses over three days including department for transport and highways agency officials, mps, local and regional agencies and authorities, the emergency services, business and motoring groups. comments were also received from over two hundred members of the public and through a petition organised by the essex chronicle newspaper. the commissions finding were published in july 2008 and its outline recommendations are: