A NEW two-way cycle lane is set to be built along the full length of a busy city centre road. 

Essex County Council has signed off blueprints for the new cycle lane in Head Street, Colchester. 

The plans, which were signed off last month by highways boss Lee Scott, are part of county hall’s delivery of sustainable transport schemes, with the authority having received £7million in 2020 to implement them Essex wide.

The project will see a two-way segregated cycle lane built all along Head Street, heading towards North Hill.

The cycle lane would be 3.5 metres wide abd 212 meters in length, and although Head Street is a one-way street for cars, cyclists would be able to travel in both directions using the new lane.

The Head Street junction with the High Street will also see new traffic signals installed solely for cyclists to allow easy access to the High Street and North Hill, and nearby pedestrian crossings will be widened.

An official planning document explained the proposals were part of plans by Essex County Council – which aims to be net carbon neutral by the end of the decade – to make the city centre easier to navigate for cyclists and pedestrians.

It read: “By providing safe, sustainable transport infrastructure, such as cycle lanes, we are making the streets in north Colchester safer, greener and healthier and delivering a sustainable alternative to the motor vehicle.”

A previous cycle lane, which was installed in 2020 and linked Headgate to Head Street, caused major congestion and was eventually removed last year.

The new cycle lane will finish before Headgate. 

Essex County Council’s latest planning document said a series of consultations in recent years have seen positive responses about measures which create a safer environment for people to live and work in.

The most recent advertisement for the proposal ran from January to February, with members of the public raising a total of 17 objections – but no objections were received from Colchester Council, with county councillors Lee Scordis, Sue Lissimore, David King, and Simon Crow all supporting the proposals.

The planning document added: “Over time, Essex County Council is planning more cycle lanes.”