Two things rather conveniently came together in Wednesday’s Gazette.

The new square at St Botolph’s Station in Colchester and the letter from Bridget Parrick concerning the disgusting state of the nearby underpass.

I’m all for improving the overall state of this part of town, but let’s get things in the right order. Should money be spent on a fancy new square when people living in the area have little choice but to walk through (to use Bridget’s term) “a nauseating” and intimidating mess? She is not exaggerating!

I have been attempting to get this filthy underpass cleaned for the past three years and there is still food and God knows what else smeared across the ceiling and walls when I moved into the area ten years ago.

When the underpass was built, the walls were tiled in order to make cleaning an easy task.

The biggest problem is that Colchester Council will pick up the litter from the walkways, but it is Essex County Council which is responsible for picking up the litter from the surrounding landscaped gardens. The result is that proper cleaning (ie the walls and ceilings) is never carried out.

I can answer Bridget’s point about getting people who are on community service punishment to carry out the cleaning.

Some time ago I arranged to meet the person responsible for organising this type of work at the underpass. The young lady travelled down from Chelmsford to meet me and we walked around the underpass as I pointed out the state of the place. At the end of the meeting, she informed me that it was indeed the sort of work community workers could carry out, but unfortunately, as there were no toilet facilities or a place to plug a kettle in, it would not be a viable project for them.

Might I suggest Colchester Council and Essex County Council get together and carry out a feasibility study on the possibility of creating a Colchester dedicated underpass cleaning facility (one man and a van).

I’m pretty sure the shared cost of such a scheme would be less expensive than the present inefficient way of doing things and would definitely be more efficient and provide a better option for the users of all of the underpasses in Colchester. I am available at any time to visit the underpass with Lyn Barton and Anne Turrell so they can see for themselves the state of this facility.

Patrick Donnelly
Chairman, St John’s Green
Residents’ Association
St John’s Green
Colchester