A POST box is set to be removed from one of Colchester’s best-known streets… to make way for a new cycle lane.

Found in Crouch Street East, the Royal Mail post box at the mouth of the Balkerne Hill underpass is set to be replaced next month as Essex County Council push forward with plans to construct another cycle lane through the city centre.

A notice on the post box reads: “We’re permanently removing this post box from service because: new road layout.”

The post box, which is collected at 4pm from Monday to Friday, and at noon on Saturdays, will be inactive from Friday, April 21.

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Plans for new cycle lanes have been met with widespread criticism from residents, with many also objecting they were not properly consulted in advance of Essex County Council’s proposals.

There has also been significant opposition to plans to fill in the subway which runs underneath Balkerne Hill, connecting Crouch Street East with Crouch Street West.

When contacted by the Gazette about future cycle lane plans, a spokesman for County Hall said a decision on Balkerne Hill subway has not been made, and nor has a decision been made on the future of the post box.

He said: “No decision has been made on future plans for Balkerne Hill, Crouch Street West or Crouch Street East, including the post box in Crouch Street East, and will not be made until the results of the recent call for public feedback have been reviewed.”

Read more:

• Views sought on revised Crouch Street cycling plans after 'significant objections'

• Crouch Street West revamp poses 'real risk of injury to students', say campaigners

• Plan for timed disabled bay in Crouch Street labelled 'ridiculous and discriminatory'

But a spokesman for the Royal Mail said the post box was being removed at the request of Essex County Council so the authority could build a cycle lane on the street.

The box will not be replaced. 

A statement read: “The post box on Crouch Street East, Colchester, is being removed at the request of a local authority, to facilitate the opening of a cycle lane on this street.

“As the proposed alternative location for the post box was not viable and as there are already three other post boxes within easy walking distance, we took the decision to permanently remove this post box.

“We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused.”