Ancient Oaks step aside for new Cycleway

Ancient Oaks step aside for new Cycleway.

Work on the long awaited cycleway between Wivenhoe Fire Station and Essex University campus will soon get underway.

Essex County Council will be delivering their Option 1 scheme with initial work to clear vegetation and remove trees starting during the school holiday period. The main works are planned to commence in September, and the entire programme is scheduled to be completed before Christmas.

Plans for the cycleway, which is to be constructed on the existing pathway, will considerably add to the width of the path. As a consequence, Colchester Road will be realigned. Realignment will involve removal of the hedgerow and Oak trees on the Eastern side of the carriageway.

Essex County Council’s plans for this option were suspended for an ecological survey into a possible Bat habitation of the Oaks. Those surveys failed to find any such evidence. At the same time, Colchester Borough Council raised an objection to the destruction of the ancient oaks, considering them to be archaeologically significant.

Following discussions with Essex County Council, Colchester Council’s planners have now consented to the hedge being removed.

The scheme requires a replacement hedge to be planted alongside the realigned road.