Colchester collapsed weir: plans to be discussed in July

Colchester Council documents reveal a report will be presented to members of the authority’s scrutiny panel at a meeting on July 9.

The report will outline how much it will cost to fix the Middle Mill Weir at Castle Park, where brickwork collapsed and fell into the River Colne in December.

At a meeting in February, the council’s neighbourhoods boss, Martin Goss, said the options to fix the weir would be published “as quickly as we can in the coming weeks” – subject to consultation with everyone involved in the project.

Action - Martin Goss (Image: Steve Brading)

But a report published before a meeting next week reveals the council “has not been able to procure the required survey work as quickly as it would have wished”.

“Without this, the council has been unable to draw up the plans to get a potential weir priced,” it adds.

“This is a vital pricing that will be required to make the decision regarding potential replacement of the weir, and so the item has been scheduled for July 9, by which time the necessary information should be available.”

The former Colchester mayor Theresa Higgins flagged concerns about a lack of access for cyclists to Lower Castle Park because of the collapsed weir at a full council meeting last week.

Frustrated - Theresa Higgins (Image: Newsquest)

Council leader David King told her the council and Colchester Events, a council-owned company which runs events in the park, are “doing what they can to expedite recovery and repair”.

Sir Bob Russell, the High Steward of Colchester, thinks it is “mindboggling” it has taken so long to get to this point.

“Major events have already started at Lower Castle Park,” he said. “I wonder what bridge will re-open first: Baltimore Bridge or Middle Mill Bridge?”

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed on March 26 and transport officials in the US state of Maryland have already set out an estimated timeline for its rebuild.

A Colchester Council spokesman confirmed contractors are due to start surveys this week, river levels permitting.

"Once the first set of surveying works are completed, we will have a clearer understanding of which further surveys will be required, which will lead to a future scope of works to safely remove the partially collapsed structure and enable us to start to price for potential future works," the council said.