TUNNELS could hold the key to breathing new life into Colchester, according to a radical report.

Campaign group Save Britain’s Heritage says the ring road surrounding two sides of the Roman wall is an “impossible canyon, creating a fortress-like town under siege from the automobile”.

It wants sections, including the Maldon Road roundabout, to be covered by tunnels, with parks and cycle paths established above them.

The project would cost many millions and is highly unlikely to win approval at a time when councils and Government departments are looking to slash spending. But heritage campaigners say Colchester needs to think big if it is to realise the full potential of its ancient architecture and historic assets.

Save Britain Heritage’s report says building tunnels would reconnect the town centre with surrounding streets. It says they were brutally cut adrift when the Southway and Balkerne Hill dual-carriageways were built in the Sixties and Seventies. It cites the success of projects in Birmingham and Boston, USA, where a huge stretch of multi-lane highway was moved underground, and more than 40 parks and plazas took its place.

In Colchester’s case, Save Britain’s Heritage suggests costs could be kept down by concentrating on sections where the tunnels would have the biggest impact.

“Burying” the Maldon Road roundabout would allow the two sections of Crouch Street to be rejoined.

It would also create a better setting for the remains of Britain’s oldest Christian church, which is currently marooned amid the traffic next to Colchester police station.

Save Britain’s Heritage secretary William Palin said: “The idea of burying the roads is fairly ambitious, but it has been done internationally.

“It is just one of many ideas in the report, but we are saying it may be there are ways some of the most damaging roads can be sunk and some of the damage reversed.”

The report, which will be published on Thursday, is to be used as part of community group Destination Colchester’s bid to make the town a World Heritage Site.

Save Britain’s Heritage, an influential body formed 35 years ago, says the town can become “the envy of Britain” if it sorts out its infrastructure and makes more of its ancient sites.

Lyn Barton, Colchester councillor responsible for planning and regeneration, said: “The issue of the by-pass roads has come up before, but it has always been felt the cost of building tunnels would be prohibitive.

“More generally, we are keen to boost the town’s heritage.”