When will Wall be repaired?

12.20.00am GMT Tue 25th Mar 2008

When will the Abbey Wall in Mersea Road, Colchester, be repaired? Why has the work not been done during the time the road has been partially closed to allow roadworks to be done nearby?

They are the two questions which Colchester MP Bob Russell has put to Essex County Highways.

Mr Russell said today: "Last year I made representations to English Heritage over the ugly appearance of the Medieval Abbey Wall on which sheets of corrugated iron had been fixed in several places because the Wall, which is of historic importance, is in a state of poor repair. I was assured that repair work would be carried out - and similar assurances were given by Essex County Highways when I wrote to them last summer, but nothing has been done."

He added: "For the past month, while roadworks have been carried out at the junction with Napier Road, traffic movements in Mersea Road have been severely curtailed and in effect it has been a one-way street. Why, then, has the opportunity not been taken to carry out repairs to the Abbey Wall?

"Or are the authorities going to wait until the roadworks are finished - and then come back to stop the traffic again while repairs are carried out to the Wall? Some joined up thinking between the various agencies, councils and others involved would ensure a common-sense solution for the Wall to be repaired at the same time as the roadworks are taking place. Why has this not happened?"

Mr Russell said that he had now written a further letter to Essex County Council urging them to co-ordinate repairs to the Abbey Wall as a matter of urgency so that the work is done before the roadworks are completed.