A donation of £55,000 from developers in Wivenhoe will have to be returned because it was not spent in time.

Town councillors say they are "outraged" the money will have to be returned and plan to write to the developers at Wivenhoe port to appeal to them to return the money for community use.

Essex County Council was given £120,000 to spend on highway improvements as part of a special 106 agreement designed to make sure the community gets something back from major developments.

The cash was part of work at the Wivenhoe port site being carried out by Wivenhoe Quay but it was revealed in a letter to the town council from Essex County Council that only £65,000 had been spent.

The projects the money paid for included two new pedestrian crossings in the town but the council was informed the rest would have to be sent back because the time limit for using it had now run out.

Town councillor Peter Hill said the whole council was united in its condemnation of the situation.

"We were informed in a letter about the situation and we consider it outrageous. We are asking the county council to delay repaying the money whilst we write directly to the owner of the site to ask him to consider sending the money to the town for community use," he said.

Mr Hill said the money could pay for a cycle track along Colchester Road, which many residents had expressed a strong wish for.

A county council spokeswoman said it had not been possible to spend the financial contribution within the timescale and the situation had come about because the agreement had been "poorly worded".

Published Wednesday December 19, 2001