The portion of School Lane running from Drakes Corner on the Maldon Road up to the lane to the church (variously called Church Lane or St Stephen’s Lane) will be closed for five days from 23rd January 2012. BT are doing overhead cabling works.
Reservoir News Update
The Parish Council has been awarded a grant from the project’s Community Fund to help improve the Parish Council website and to incorporate up-to-the-minute Reservoir Development news within it, so keep checking on www.winstred100.org for more updates as we invest this money. To find out more about how the project is progressing and how wildlife is being affected, you can download the project’s quarterly newsletter here or read the following précis.
Following a period of bad weather with exceptional snow and rain, the predicetd finish date for the project has been put back a couple of months since some ‘critical path’ tasks were unable to be completed. Nevertheless, work has now resumed all over the site including the new section of the B1026 and ballast extraction at Rye Farm pit together with clay extraction at Blind Knights borrow pit. More material is being carted to the main dam, by the Layer/Abberton Road, as this becomes wider and taller.
The temporary off-take pumps will soon be working to pump the water to the treatment works, this will enable the old pump building to be altered so that various vital bits are not underwater when the level goes up. The causeway on the B1026 will soon have a large hole in it (hopefully not in the lane that the traffic is using) so that the culvert under the road can be strengthened. Soon some of the concrete facing of this causeway will be removed allowing the whole thing to be widened.
The pipeline that will help supply the enlarged reservoir is being put in place very soon. They are starting at the Layer Church and Wormingford ends simultaneously and, using the wonders of modern mapping, will meet by the A12.
This winter there have been more birds than expected using the reservoir, including a rare Water Rail (RSPB estimate less than 1,400 breeding pairs in the UK). Others seen include Bewick’s swans, smew, goosander , gadwall, goldeneye, pochard, black-tailed godwit, curlew, lapwing, redshank, snipe, a turnstone, a bearded tit and bittern.
Common Ground 20
Issue 20 of Colchester Borough Council’s newsletter is now available to download from our website here.
UPDATE: School Lane, Gt Wigborough Closure
This will be good long-term news for all the residents and users of School Lane, Great Wigborough, even though it will be a nuisance in the short term.
Essex County Council have advised us that the whole of School Lane will be closed for five days from 2nd August 2010 for much needed repairs. The works will be subject to weather conditions and we will keep you posted as and when we hear anything further.
Our thanks are due to our Borough Councillors, Andrew Ellis and Kevin Bentley, who have agitated continuously to get these repairs undertaken as a priority when there are so many demands on limited resources. Guys – our suspensions and wheel rims and dodgy backs all thank you.
Update:
Essex County Council have now issued the Public notice in which they advise:
- The closure is scheduled to be for 5 days (subject to weather);
- The alternative route will be via Maldon Road – B1026 Layer Road and vice versa;
- Access for emergency service vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians will be maintained at all times during the closure.
Common Ground 19
Web Updates
There have been a few recent changes and additions to the website that you might like to check out.
- The Parish Council annual report is now on-line – access it here
- Wigborough Traditional Meats have provided yet another news update from the farm (always worth a read)
- Sharpe Graphics now have a page entry on this site here
- There have been some Club updates here.
Remember to come back to the site frequently to keep up with what is happening locally. If you have news to contribute, please contact us through the links at the bottom of this page.
Temporary Speed Limit
Essex County Council have announced a temporary speed limit of 40mph on the B1026 Wigborough Road/Layer Road that may affect residents. It is effective from 1st March 2010 and will last up to 18 months.