onionbagblog

Here’s an interesting planning application that appears to have escaped underneath the radar of the Wivenhoe Society and the like: Tesco has submitted plans for a service station to be built on the corner of Queens Road and Park Road.

It is unclear from the online plans where the exact location is. I would link, but the damn Colchester Borough Council planning database keeps on crashing. My limited geographical skills point towards the Colne Social Club, where the lease has recently become available.

Part of the planning application includes the proposal to raise the speed limit along Queens Road to 50mph. This would increase to 70mph for weekends and Bank Holidays, when there is expected to be less congestion.

It is certainly a very clever move by the supermarket giant. Lower Wivenhoe is rather weak on fast food garage style outlets. The idea it seems is to attract more drive through custom into the town, and open up lower Wivenhoe to the car lobby.

New planning laws that were introduced as part of the budget mean that the advantage now lays with the developers. With this also being a business interest rather than residential, it is expected that the Planning Committee will look favourably on the application, with the aim of stimulating the local economy.

Meanwhile, a separate planning application to build a flyover from The Folly, stretching out all the way over to the Tesco roundabout, has failed.

Colchester Borough Council threw out the application, claiming that if allowed, it would free up Clingoe Hill of all traffic, and “the bloody NIMBY’S of Wivenhoe wouldn’t have anything else to moan about.”

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