COLCHESTER is a good place to live and work.

It has low unemployment rates, thriving businesses, great schools and all based in a pleasing setting with close links to the countryside and coast.

You can hop on a train to London and be in the capital within an hour (as long as the trains are running). What’s not to like?

And yet it is running the risk of being a victim of its own success.

The rising population needs homes, schools, medical services and roads on which to travel.

There is also inevitably more demand on support services such as the police and fire service.

But while new homes are being built across the borough, the support services seem to be lagging behind.

To be fair to Essex County Council, it has invested millions of pounds in new primary and secondary schools to meet demand.

And as frustrating as it is, work is underway to try to resolve the traffic problems such as changing the layout of the two roundabouts near Ipswich Road.

But what about medical services? The hospital trust is working hard to cope with the increased demand and is working with other organisations to increase capacity.

But GP surgeries are not so blessed.

On Mersea, a warning has been given the surgery cannot cope with any more patients.

So while having a booming borough is an admirable ambition, developers must be careful not to kill the goose which laid the golden egg.