IF Colchester’s High Street car ban had been run by a business its bosses would have been sacked, it has been claimed.

Essex Chambers of Commerce has expressed its dismay at the county council’s decision to scrap the car ban just 36 days into an 18-month trial.

David Burch, director of policy, said few members had been badly affected by the restrictions, which meant only buses, bicycles, motorbikes and taxis could use the High Street between 11am and 6pm.

Mr Burch said: “Members were disappointed the council pulled the plug on the scheme after just over three weeks.

“You wouldn’t run your business in the way that the county council has approached this scheme.

“If you did you would be sacked by the shareholders.

“It’s difficult to know what the thinking was behind the decision, but we are left with the impression that because we had county council elections coming up that it was a political decision.”

Essex County Council’s decision, taken without the knowledge of project partners Colchester Council, was welcomed by many traders, disabled groups and other residents who said their access to the town centre had been restricted by the limits.

Mr Burch said the monitoring group looking at potential tweaks to the trial should have been set up long before it was launched on March 17.

He said: “We felt if they believed it was justified in the first place they should have carried on with the experiment.

“There were issues over access for disabled people and access for weddings at the Town Hall, but these things weren’t insurmountable.

“The communication of the whole project was very poor.

“Visitors from outside Colchester saw signs about the High Street being closed to cars, and it gave the impression it was closed for roadworks rather than anything else.

“It almost gave the impression Colchester was shut for business.”

Mr Burch said new scheme should be introduced once all seats on Essex County Council have been contested on May 2.

He said: “We don’t think the scheme should be abandoned.

“We’d like to see something continue, because we believe something needs to be done to improve the offer for visitors as far as the High Street is concerned and attract new retailers into the town.”


Essex County Council was approached for a comment but did not respond.