Wivenhoe Trail should stay open!

Colchester Cycling Campaign is relieved to discover that the Wivenhoe Trail, both sides of East Bay, will almost certainly be kept open while new homes are built nearby.

Work is set to start at both Doe's Mill and the Willow Plantation which will see more homes go up.

The trail was closed at the Willow Plantation for 18 months in a row with a landowner five years ago - and many people were deprived of a handy cycle link.

The path is also still diverted near Colne Causeway nearly three years after a developer said it was necessary for new building.

Now CCC is watching carefully as developers look set to start on new homes on the East Bay to Leisureworld part of the Wivenhoe Trail.

The Willow Plantation owner has assured us their section will stay open while new flats go up.

At Doe's Mill, the path is also the entrance to an electricity substation and allotments, so the path should remain open anyway.

Path closures - and threats of path closures - have wound up cyclists to fever pitch over the last few years.

Fortunately, Essex County Council is now taking the matter seriously - and promising to get tough with developers who want to shut paths, limiting the time they can do so.

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