REVISED traffic improvement plans are set to go on show, after a controversial bus lane scheme was scrapped.

Essex County Council is hosting a consultation over proposals for Lexden Road, Colchester, which the authority hopes will help manage an increase in traffic due to the planned economic and housing growth in the town.

Original plans for the area involved a bus lane along the road, but hundreds of people objected to the scheme and marched along the proposed route before County Hall axed the plans.

The new scheme features:

  •  Improvements to junctions at London Road and Straight Road and Norman Way and Lexden Road,
  •  A no-waiting zone adjacent to the Lexden Crown
  •  New bus laybys and crossings
  •  Improvements to the Maldon Road roundabout

The new plans will go on show at Colchester Royal Grammar School on Wednesday, August 3 between 4pm and 7.30pm and Paul Avison, who lives nearby and attended the protest march, urged residents to attend the meeting and give their thoughts on the fresh proposals.

He said: “There is an opportunity for people to go and have their views listened to.

“If you do not go then you can only blame yourself when something is built which you do not want.

“In the lead up to the march there was an email group and a Facebook page set up so people could stay in touch and I hope that will hope spread the word again this time around.”

“It is very important to go and see what they are proposing - I am sure there will be parts which we don’t like and others which we think should have been done years ago.

“Credit to the county council for holding another consultation because there were fears they would go straight to a point where we could do nothing about it.

“They have also given us much more notice this time, last time around there was only five or six working days which made things difficult.”

Mr Avison said he would reserve judgement on the new scheme until the full details were available at the consultation event.

He said: “It is very difficult to have a definitive opinion until we have the full details.”

County councillor for the area Sue Lissimore has invited cabinet member for infrastructure Rodney Bass to the event, and both have confirmed their attendance.

The plans are being made possible through a £150m Local Growth Fund deal.