Come to our AGM on Tuesday March 17 |
Dear <<First Name>>
It's that time of year - our annual general meeting. Stuart Johnson, who has been a superb chair over the past several years will be stepping down, although he is likely to still be involved on the committee.
Thank you for all your hard work, Stuart.
This means we will be looking for a new chair – could it be you? Please speak up before we meet. If you would like to know what it entails, both Stuart and Will Bramhill, the campaign secretary, are happy to have a chat. We haven't heard of any more people wanting to take a back seat so the campaign leaders are likely to remain as Will, Catherine Johnson (treasurer) and on the committee: Alex Hooper, Chris Stevenson, Jean Quinn, Nathaniel Catchpole, Alan Spence, Kristin Bradley and Paul Byrne.
The fun starts at the Old New Inn in Chapel Street South at 8pm on Tuesday March 17. See you there. |
Work begins at St Botolph's and there's a hint that North Station Road scheme is to start |
• A rainbow of paint markings has appeared on the footways between the Albert and the bus stands near Colchester railway station. Fingers crossed, we hope it means that an improved connection between the Albert and Bruff Close is on the way.
Campaign leaders commented on the proposals when we saw drawings about six months ago.
Meanwhile Stuart Johnson, the campaign secretary, sent a "thank you" to Essex Highways for the improved crossings of Cowdray Avenue and Colne Bank Avenue, which allow people to cross both lanes in one go. Despite all the rain, the work was finished on time.
• Essex has begun work at St Botolph's roundabout by removing trees. This inevitably led to a reaction on social media. Will Bramhill, the campaign secretary, joined the debate to report that 83 trees have been chopped down for phase 1 of the new A1331 (A133-A120 link road) and associated works. He said "For many people, out of sight is out of mind. When councils take down trees they usually replace them twice over."
• There's been no go-ahead yet for the cycleways on East Hill. We'll let you know as soon as we hear of a decision by Mark Platt, Essex's transport convener. |
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Vote for your favourite café – give them a boost for summer |
The cycling campaign is launching its Best Cycling Café competition for 2026 so this is your chance to let everyone know your top tips for coffee/tea, scones or scones, or even beans on toast.
The cafés must be within 20km of Colchester so towns and villages such as Manningtree, Coggeshall, Mersea and even Hadleigh and Sudbury in Suffolk are included (see our map below). It is also open to city centre and neighbourhood establishments. |
We'd like you to give your favourite café a score out of a maximum of 30 points and send the completed form, with the total marked prominently, to us at admin@colchester-cycling.org.uk
The top five cafes will receive a "winner" certificate and up to 15 others will be given a "highly recommended" status. |
Talking of coffee, this is your chance to help fund the campaign.We were in a meeting recently with other cycling campaigns that have membership fees of £15 a year and after decades now sit on an embarrassment of riches.
Colchester Cycling Campaign isn't like that: we're mean and lean.
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Boxted bridge roads may stay largely traffic-free |
The Boxted bridge debate rages even though a 2m-wide stretch has been open to cyclists and walkers since late January.
The latest situation was reported to Essex's development and regulation committee last week, with chair Carlo Guglielmi expressing his "deep disappointment in how [Essex Highways] has handled themselves on this particular application".
He said: "This is the only national landscape area in Essex and it is not being treated as such. It should be treated with bit more tender loving care." |
The committee said it had still not been told whether the bridge can be repaired and reopened. "We still don't know what condition the bridge is, which was another very clear message sent by this committee a long time ago." Mr Guglielmi added.
In the meantime, the three routes to the bridge, Sky Hall Hill and Lower Farm Road (from Essex) and Wick Road (from Suffolk) are virtually car-free.
There is "no definitive timeline" as to when the latest regulation order, for permanent exclusion of motor traffic, will be determined.
Essex Highways is considering dropping its planning application for a new bridge. That would leave the old bridge in place and, tantalisingly, the prospect that the nearby roads will remain as quiet as they are at present. |
This sewing machine runs as sweetly as my bike... |
The campaign sends its congratulations to Franklins, the Colchester needlework chain that is marking its 70th birthday.
Tony and Janet Franklin began the business on March 26 1956 and Tony collected customers' sewing machines for repair using his trade cycle.
It's great to know that a business based on a bike is still such a roaring success. |
Sorry for the shorter than usual newsletter this month. Your committee has been dealing with responses to the Colchester and Tendring local plans as well as conditions for an already approved planning application for land north of Wyvern Farm in Stanway. It's been go, go, go ... and I ran out of time. |
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). |
Lord Denning is the most likely source for the "wobble" statement |
A cyclist is entitled to their wobble |
A few months ago we asked who said "A cyclist is entitled to their wobble" as part of a court case. The question set hares running (we hope not in the way of cyclists) but the answer is that no one knows.
The most likely candidate is Lord Denning (1899-1999) but it cannot be pinned down to any reported case.
According to AI, Boris Johnson is keen on repeating the phrase and Chat GPT says: "It is most often mentioned in discussions of road-traffic law but it doesn’t appear to be a direct quote from any reported case. Instead, it’s typically a summary of legal principle offered by legal commentators or practitioners." |
A lamppost? Why can't I charge my bike here? |
Digital creator Matt Gray has used his YouTube channel to show the difficulties with charging your bike at a public car power point. He played with some electrical and computer parts to come up with a solution. It is rather bulky though, so he has called for Britain to adopt the power points that the Dutch are installing. He says these would solve the problem of running out of juice and reduce ebikers' range anxiety. |
Report highways issues, including potholes, failed traffic signals and overgrowth to Essex Highways here: https://www.essexhighways.org/tell-usRemember 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. |
Roadpeace, the national charity for the victims of road collisions and their families, has been wound up. The body ran a helpline and provided support and advice. It also initiated the World Day of Remembrance (the third Sunday of each November) which was adopted by the United Nations. |
This is a shot of Colchester carnival on East Hill in 1929.We don't know who "Little Dan" was but we agree with his "be fit, not fat" message. We'd hope he would approve of Essex's plans for East Hill cycle lanes, which will help more people get on their bikes. |
Chairman: Stuart JohnsonVice-secretary: Will BramhillTreasurer: Catherine Johnson Your committee: Alex Hooper, Chris Stevenson, Jean Quinn, Nathaniel Catchpole, Alan Spence, Kristin Bradley and Paul Byrne |
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