Colchester and its “cat’s litter tray” that cost £93,000! 😮

😄😄 you’ve only told half the story.

Is that the final solution? It looks as if the weeds were undaunted by the change.
Their council is fairly evenly split between the 3 main parties CP19, LD15, LP14, though they claim that the council is run by LD in sn informal coalition with the LP. I wonder who they’re blaming.

Half a story or not, it looks ridiculous, how much is lost to bad weather, drifting sand down the road, sand storms in drivers eyes. What clowns.

The full article: (the Telegraph)

“Mr Bland, a property manager, called the £93,334 cost “exceptionally high” after it was revealed through a request made under Freedom of Information law by Sir Bob Russell, the former MP and current high steward of Colchester.

Setting up camp on the roundabout in protest of its new look, Mr Bland said: “It was a perfectly serviceable roundabout and the money paid here to cover it in sand is exceptionally high.”

He said the roundabout had been compared to a “cat’s litter tray” and “desert island” by other locals.

The project was funded by Essex county council, Colchester council and the rail operator Greater Anglia.

Mr Bland said there was a “sense of frustration” over “council activities like this which are being pushed on to people in the town and council taxpayers”.

He said: “The council say they have no money and yet they’ve got the funds to allocate to a project like this.”

A spokesman for Colchester council said the planting for the roundabout was part of a nine-year project and is in its “early stages”. Its “full impact will only become evident after a couple of summer growing seasons”.

The spokesman added: “These funds were specifically allocated for the Fixing the Link initiative and cannot legally or practically be redirected

“It is too early to draw final conclusions about the roundabout’s overall aesthetic or ecological contributions.”

What did I miss? 🤔

Have you heard of Beth Chatto? She is dead, but her spirit lives on!

As part of the "Fixing the Link" initiative, the project aims to improve first impressions of Colchester for people arriving at the train station. The work, funded by Essex County Council, Colchester City Council and Greater Anglia, will take place overnight for two weeks and will involve removing the top layer of soil from the roundabout. This soil will be reused in the new Meanwhile Garden at Firstsite, which with no cost to the community has been designed and planted, by the well-known team at Beth Chatto Gardens working along with other local business and charities and community groups.

The topsoil from the roundabout will be replaced with sand sourced from a local quarry, which ensures no weed seeds are introduced and also provides a low nutrient substrate for planting into for good root establishment and long-term health of the plants.

Beth Chatto’s expert horticultural team has also designed the planting scheme for the Albert roundabout and will be responsible for the planting itself. The specially designed drought-tolerant planting will require minimal watering and maintenance, helping to keep long-term costs down. Plants have been carefully chosen for their benefit to wildlife. Additionally, habitat mounds will be created on the roundabout to encourage a variety of insects to make their home.

The "Thank you NHS" sign, which was placed on the roundabout during the COVID-19 lockdown, will also be moved to the Meanwhile Garden. This garden, created on a previously unused site, will offer a peaceful space in the city centre where people can enjoy a mix of ornamental plants alongside wild growth.

The Fixing the Link initiative, initially inspired by Colchester's historical ties to elephants, includes public art and wayfinding improvements along the one-mile route from Colchester train station to the city centre. The project not only aims to make the city more attractive but also encourages people to walk from the train station to the city centre more often.

Cllr Luxford Vaughan, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Environment and Sustainability, said: "We are pleased to be working with partners like Beth Chatto and Essex Highways to make Colchester a more attractive and accessible place. This project is about making more enjoyable for people who walk. By supporting sustainable travel, we’re helping to create a healthier, more connected community. The improvements at the Albert roundabout and the creation of the Meanwhile Garden are great examples of how we can work together to achieve these goals.”

Julia Boulton, CEO of Beth Chatto Gardens and Beth Chatto’s Granddaughter, said: “We are excited to be working with Essex County Council, Colchester City Council and Greater Anglia on their project ‘Fixing the Link’. The planting will be a different aesthetic to that usually applied to municipal spaces. We are using over 80 different species to create a beautiful and abundant planting which will not only nurture wildlife, but also reduce ongoing maintenance needs. It isn’t going to be a replica of the Gardens here in Elmstead Market as there are many issues that need to be considered when planting next to a road, for instance planting within the first 10 metres of the edge must be a maximum height of 50cm. We will be planting over 2,800 individual plants.”

If Mr Bland didn’t tell us this when interviewed I’m not surprised I didn’t know!

Yes I’ve not only heard of Beth Chatto I’ve ordered plants from their website as a present to our Yorkshire Lass and her husband.

However thank you Whitewave for fully researching this. I just thought after reading the article “that’s an awful lot of money for some bluddy sand!”. 🤣

* Still seems expensive though ….

Oh dear.

Firstsite, where the 'Meanwhile Garden' will be, used to be Colchester's Bus Station. Much missed by the residents because Colchester now doesn't have one!

Still, a garden will be a nice addition.

Oh no it certainly isn’t.

They’ve used a world famous, but local garden designer, who is providing infrastructure, design, planting and forward maintenance.

I think they’ve got a bargain.

MaizieD

Oh dear.

Firstsite, where the 'Meanwhile Garden' will be, used to be Colchester's Bus Station. Much missed by the residents because Colchester now doesn't have one!

Still, a garden will be a nice addition.

Colchester still has a bus station.

I don't know why newspapers like the Telegraph have such a down on local councils, especially any that show initiative or any interest in the arts. Would they like Central Government to have control over all of us, all the time? is that in their interest?
Or is it that writing articles designed to make people angry is in their interest?
It is a mystery to me.

As a Colchester resident, I can assure you the roundabout is hideous, and yes would have much preferred pot holes attended to. Have lived here many years, we are now a city, it would be rude of me to put in print how down the pan Colchester has fallen, the High street is a joke, no decent shops, as in many other high streets, M&S moved to retail park along with Next etc, getting a parking space is unheard of, if you do find one, can take up to an hour to get out, I could go on and on, but am boring myself, and need a large gin!

Nannylovesshopping

As a Colchester resident, I can assure you the roundabout is hideous, and yes would have much preferred pot holes attended to. Have lived here many years, we are now a city, it would be rude of me to put in print how down the pan Colchester has fallen, the High street is a joke, no decent shops, as in many other high streets, M&S moved to retail park along with Next etc, getting a parking space is unheard of, if you do find one, can take up to an hour to get out, I could go on and on, but am boring myself, and need a large gin!

Where gardens are concerned, you need patience. When I do a new project in my garden, the area always looks devoid of everything and pretty horrible, but give it a couple of years to maturity and voila!

Whitewavemark2

MaizieD

Oh dear.

Firstsite, where the 'Meanwhile Garden' will be, used to be Colchester's Bus Station. Much missed by the residents because Colchester now doesn't have one!

Still, a garden will be a nice addition.

Colchester still has a bus station.

It must be very new, then. The Colchester facebook page I'm on has been moaning about its lack of bus station for years.

Mind you, the facebook algorithm hasn't been sending it my way for quite a while..

I just asked google snd it came back along with a map. So it could be incorrect I guess?

Nannylovesshopping

As a Colchester resident, I can assure you the roundabout is hideous, and yes would have much preferred pot holes attended to. Have lived here many years, we are now a city, it would be rude of me to put in print how down the pan Colchester has fallen, the High street is a joke, no decent shops, as in many other high streets, M&S moved to retail park along with Next etc, getting a parking space is unheard of, if you do find one, can take up to an hour to get out, I could go on and on, but am boring myself, and need a large gin!

I was born and brought up in Colchester. While I still had relatives living there I visited regularly, up until Covid. It's decline has been horrible to watch. It's only redeeming feature is the superb Castle Park...

Nannylovesshopping

As a Colchester resident, I can assure you the roundabout is hideous, and yes would have much preferred pot holes attended to. Have lived here many years, we are now a city, it would be rude of me to put in print how down the pan Colchester has fallen, the High street is a joke, no decent shops, as in many other high streets, M&S moved to retail park along with Next etc, getting a parking space is unheard of, if you do find one, can take up to an hour to get out, I could go on and on, but am boring myself, and need a large gin!

Re the roundabout: You need only ask why the weeds are growing happily in an area designed to deter weeds.
Any gardner knows that weeds don't mind topsoil, sand, gravel or even paving flags. Maybe they didn’t realise when they poured on all that sand.

So eventually it will look lovely

Yes, eventually it will not only look lovely, it will be very low maintenance too. I pass this roundabout every couple of days. We do have a bus station, albeit very small. It is always the same here, whatever initiative is introduced, especially if it is anything vaguely "artistic" or heaven forfend "alternative", all the moaners get the press coverage.

Mollygo

Nannylovesshopping

As a Colchester resident, I can assure you the roundabout is hideous, and yes would have much preferred pot holes attended to. Have lived here many years, we are now a city, it would be rude of me to put in print how down the pan Colchester has fallen, the High street is a joke, no decent shops, as in many other high streets, M&S moved to retail park along with Next etc, getting a parking space is unheard of, if you do find one, can take up to an hour to get out, I could go on and on, but am boring myself, and need a large gin!

Re the roundabout: You need only ask why the weeds are growing happily in an area designed to deter weeds.
Any gardner knows that weeds don't mind topsoil, sand, gravel or even paving flags. Maybe they didn’t realise when they poured on all that sand.

Oh dear, - Chatto was and is still famous for dry gardens - so her plants of choice will be those that require drainage to survive. The sand will provide that.

I am assuming, although I don’t know, that this will be planted up in the spring. Skimming off the weeds will take no time at all.

^Re the roundabout: You need only ask why the weeds are growing happily in an area designed to deter weeds.
Any gardner knows that weeds don't mind topsoil, sand, gravel or even paving flags. Maybe they didn’t realise when they poured on all that sand.^

NOTHING deters a weed 😁

Ilovecheese

I don't know why newspapers like the Telegraph have such a down on local councils, especially any that show initiative or any interest in the arts. Would they like Central Government to have control over all of us, all the time? is that in their interest?
Or is it that writing articles designed to make people angry is in their interest?
It is a mystery to me.

I suppose we all have different ideas about where money for ‘improvements’ could be thrown. If I were a resident, sod the aesthetics - just fix the bluddy potholes. And spend any over on cleaning the grids out so that leaves don’t gather causing ‘lakes’ at the kerb edges. Or clean off the graffiti. Or sweep away more litter. You know - basic maintenance that reflects a sense of pride in a city? No good having a beautiful floral and shrub roundabout in the midst of unattractive neglect, in my opinion.

Any residents of Colchester out there?
What are YOUR thoughts on this project? Are you delighted, or disappointed?

its topsoil was replaced to prevent weeds growing
Our council spent a lot of money planting weed wild flower seeds!

I wonder what these drought-tolerant plants will be? They can't be getting as much rain over that side of the country as we in the West have been getting.

Putting membrane down and planting through it might have been a better idea.

I'm just wondering how resistant to pollution this planting will be. Unless there has been a radical redirection of traffic since I last visited, that's a very busy roundabout.