They say no news is good news but is that the case with the East Hill cycleways scheme? 

We had been wondering whether Essex county council would slip out a statement in the run-up to Christmas ... but nothing has been announced yet.

The proposal is for a cycleway each side all the way up (and down) the hill, providing a safer connection between the city centre and the Moors path at East Bay. There is also the possibility of a future connection to Greenstead via the Eastgates level crossing and Greenstead Road. 

When the hoo-ha over bus stop bypasses was raging in 2024-25, the Colchester scheme was tweaked to allow wide areas of shared use adjacent to bus stops rather than the usual layout (see link from the Netherlands, below).

This drew the ire of Colchester Civic Society which by and large agrees with the need for the scheme but disliked the new version. The group, and councillors, are also concerned about both St Botolph's roundabout and East Hill being worked on at the same time, which could cause jams for motorists.

All this seems to have stayed the hand of Tom Cunningham from giving approval.

Mr Cunningham, the Essex cabinet member for highways, may also be waiting for the Department for Transport to spell out its final definition of bus stop bypasses, which is expected early in the new year. There is friction between the disabled lobby and the DfT (link below), with one saying that bus stop bypasses put disabled people, especially the blind, at risk, while the other says that not having the bypasses puts cyclists at greater risk. Any rider who has played leapfrog with a bus driver between stops will know what we mean.

As the clock ticks, inflation eats away at the funds set aside for the scheme, meaning the cost to the public purse will be higher than it was 12 months ago.

Ten bus stop bypasses for cycles. Dutch infrastructure demonstrated and explained https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ0lT7KeRls  

Controversial East Hill cycle lane 'delayed' https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/25717500.controversial-colchester-east-hill-cycle-lane-work-delayed/

Frustration after government only issues partial ban on new floating bus stops https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/frustration-after-government-only-issues-partial-ban-on-new-floating-bus-stops/

The editor writes: A fair few of us will have taken to the Wivenhoe Trail over Christmas and New Year, either for transport or pleasure. 

Bill Oddie, the TV Goodie and ornithologist, once called the trail "the most beautiful two miles of cycle route in Britain".

But how did it get there? 

Back in 1993 the route was a footpath that was largely impassable because a 1km section was flooded even by an ordinary high tide. Such paths usually lose their legal status, meaning the right of way is lost.

Wivenhoe town council, with the help of Sir Bob Russell, then Colchester MP, began to look at how to reopen it. 

Will Bramhill, the campaign secretary, was working at the Gazette and noticed the story. He spoke to Maurice Britton, the Wivenhoe mayor, and introduced the council to Sustrans, the charity behind the nascent National Cycling Network.

One of the first visitors to the site was John Grimshaw, the Sustrans chief who was responsible for the conversion of the Bristol- Bath railway path, and he saw the potential. He sent a Sustrans surveyor who stayed with Will and his wife Liz as he worked out what needed to be done.

A plan was created and a legal agreement for permissive use for cycles was  signed with a local farming family. Thank you the Gooches!

Work began in March 1996 and Sustrans made use of a "community service" scheme to rehabilitate prisoners to provide labour.

At one stage tons of gravel were needed ... but how to get them there? Mr Grimshaw tapped his nose. He called in a favour. In the dead of night a train stopped beside the trail. In the morning the workers arrived to find several railway wagons' worth of worn railway ballast had somehow been tipped down a bank, ready for them to spread as the base for the path. 

The community service workers did a cracking job. They used chainsaws to create benches and also statues, which they painted in bright colours – many people will remember their work.

The trail opened in late summer of 1996.

Last year – yes, we mean 2025 – the path was used by at least 50 pedestrians and cyclists a day (though we found when writing this piece that no one is actually keeping count). 

A walk or ride there remains one of the best ways to spend an afternoon in Colchester. 

• Sustrans is now the Walk, Wheel and Cycle Trust. You can hear John Grimshaw's talk about the first 30 years of the NCN in this video: https://www.walkwheelcycletrust.org.uk/the-hub-winter-2025-issue/30-years-of-a-people-powered-movement/

The campaign works closely with Adam Pipe, the head of roads policing at Essex police on trying to reduce road danger.

Sadly, as of December 30, 58 people had lost their lives on the county's roads.

Claudia Bradley, a reporter with the Colchester Gazette, did a splendid interview with Mr Pipe.

In it he disclosed that 28 of the 58 fatal incidents are subject to criminal prosecution. 

Mr Pipe said: “These are unlawful killings, no different to how we would investigate a murder. Death by dangerous driving, aggravated through drink or drugs, can attract a life term tariff."

He also spoke of the effect on the police themselves: "Officers have had to take time off work to recover and grieve from traumatic incidents, while many more have had extra support."

Read the full article here: https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/25718779.roads-policing-essex-look-like-2025/

This is your chance to help fund the campaign. Thanks to Leon and Cath for last month's donations.

It seems that the blindness about cycle infrastructure continues. This is a recently completed cycleway in Roundhouse Way, Cringleford, Norwich – which could be a good route serving the University of East Anglia. 

We understand from our friends in the city's cycling campaign that the path on the right was completed by a developer; the path on the left was put in some time before by Norfolk county council. For the moment, though, never the twain shall meet. 

 "This is a classic case of uncoordinated developer-led building," the Norwich campaign said. "It will still leave a gap to the north which has been there for over ten years."

It is yet another cycleway that dyed in the wool drivers will point to and say: "Look, a cycleway. No cyclists. What a surprise."

Let's hope for better this year.

It is a small improvement but at least it is something. The campaign had hoped that Essex county council would open up Wellesley Road (split in two by the Southway road "improvement" in the Seventies) but the necessary ramp would have extended too far and prevented access to homes.

For the time being Essex has cut off the corner of the planter which will allow riders easier access around the safety fences.

We now hope that Essex will be able to give us an improved connection between Hospital Road and Lexden Road as part of the Essex County Hospital redevelopment.

Colchester Cycling Campaign uses Email Octopus to create this newsletter. If you would like to do the same for your organisation please use this link https://emailoctopus.com/?urli=XN4MS. The campaign and the new group each get a "new joiner" benefit of 15 USD (about £12). 

Don't forget that you can hire cargo bikes to help you move items at https://www.spokesafe.com/colchester-ebike-hire. If you are going to the Maldon Road tip on a bike, no appointment is needed

What an RAF pilot can teach us about being safe on the road This 13-year-old article in London Cyclist has aged well – and it is exactly what it says on the tin. The story includes an explanation of why our eyes are not suited to driving and gives you a simple test of how much detail you lose in your peripheral vision. It is worth a read if you are a driver as well as a cyclist ... or you can pass the link on to someone you know.

Report highways issues, including potholes, failed traffic signals and overgrowth to Essex Highways here: https://www.essexhighways.org/tell-us

Remember to keep the record number of your complaint. If you record lots of issues it may be worth starting a personal spreadsheet giving details of location, reference number, dates and results. 

The next Bike Meet is on January 20. More details will be released nearer the time

The Labour government has dispensed with the nonsense by which local authorities had to bid for funds to improve active travel infrastructure. This used to lead to council officers spending a lot of time putting together bids for money they often did not "win".

Instead Westminster will now allocate a given sum and councils will know what they have got to spend over the next few years.

The full allocation and details are here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capability-fund-local-transport-authority-allocations/active-travel-capability-fund-local-transport-authority-allocations-2025

Essex will receive £5mn a year for capital works, £1.5mn a year for revenue works, giving a total of nearly £26mn for the financial years 2026-27 to 2029-30.

Yes, the sums could – and should – have been more but we are going to be very interested in what Essex does with its guaranteed new money.

Whenever the television news features a flooding story, the video team always capture a cyclist riding through water. It seems that Edwardian photographers were of a similar mindset. This rider was snapped pedalling through a flood in Polstead, about eight miles north of Colchester, in about 1910. Even though the house is distinctive we can't pin down the exact location.

Polstead is well worth a visit and can be reached from Colchester by mainly quiet roads. There's a beautiful pond, a village shop. the Cock pub (check hours!) and the churchyard that is the final resting place of Maria Marten of Red Barn murder fame. Sadly Georgian/Victorian souvenir-hunters chipped away her grave and she is commemorated instead by a sign on the shed where the gardening tools are kept.

Fifty reasons to want more walkable cities (Fast Company, US business magazine) https://www.fastcompany.com/3062989/50-reasons-why-everyone-should-want-more-walkable-streets  (£ but one view should be free)

How a better cycling infrastructure changed my life (Times Colonist newspaper, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada)

If you want to try leisure rides, Colchester Cycling Campaign recommends both Cycling For Pleasure and Happy Handlebars. Both clubs run a variety of events for people of different abilities. 

Cycling for Pleasure: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1594722180845186

Happy Handlebars: https://www.facebook.com/HappyHandlebarsColch

Other clubs and local routes to try: https://www.colchester-cycling.org.uk/maps-rides-clubs.html 

Colchester Cycling Campaign has lots of LOCAL cycling advice on its website. If you have a question, make our advice page your first port of call.

Visit https://www.colchester-cycling.org.uk/advice.html

... and still no news about it reopening to cyclists and walkers.

Have you signed the Colchester Cycling Charter yet? If not, please do. If you work or volunteer, please ask your organisation to sign too. The more people on bikes, the fewer traffic jams will snarl up our city.

Feel free to pass on this newsletter via email and social media by using the link at the very top ... and encourage your friends to join the campaign so they receive their own copy every month.

Chairman: Stuart Johnson
Vice-secretary: Will Bramhill
Treasurer: Catherine Johnson
Your committee: Alex Hooper, Chris Stevenson, Jean Quinn, Nathaniel Catchpole, Alan Spence, Kristin Bradley and Paul Byrne