to reduce the speed limit on Station Road, Earls Colne, from 40mph to 30mph, starting from its junction with the A1124 (Halstead Road) and where possible improve safety in other areas identified.

Station Road now serves substantial new residential developments, growing industrial and business centres, critical Water Treatment Works, a Golf Club, Care Home, our Scout/Guide hut and their activity area, and much more. It is no longer a lane connecting Earls Colne to Colne Engaine but an integral part of our community.

Station Road for Local Users, their lives, employment and leisure

• It is the only access/exit route for more than 391 residences along and directly off the road.
• There is a Residential Park on the road with mobile homes that are not included in the above number.
• It is the only access route to a Care Home for Dementia patients whose grounds border the road.
• It is the only access route to a popular golf club and events venue.
• It has two industrial areas (currently 7 and 13 units) that have entrances directly onto the road. These support various businesses including Carpentry, Vehicle Refurbishment, Printing, Window Manufacture and Fitting, Gate and Fence Manufacture and Fitting, Truck and Van Hire Including Maintenance and MOT and more.
• There are two bus stops for both local services and school buses.
• It has a Scout/Guide hut with activity grounds, for one of the best attended troops in the area, with its only entrance/exit directly on to the road.
• There are stables and horse riding/exercising facilities directly off the road, occasionally with horses using the road.
• The near-by Earls Colne Recreation Club is a very popular venue for all sports and recreational pursuits including Football, Cricket, Tennis, Squash, Badminton, Trampolining, Gym facilities and more, most activities include specific children’s clubs and sports holiday camps. Many villagers, especially children and families use, and cross Station Road to access these facilities.
• The local Primary School has very limited parking so many parents in this area will walk along this road daily to take and collect their children to/from school.

Station Road, Current Infrastructure and wider Usage

• The road is relatively straight, often with no parked cars, so vehicles are frequently travelling close to the 40mph limit.
• There is only one pavement, that switches sides halfway down. This means that pedestrians may have to cross the road up to three times depending on their access point and destination.
• In many places this pavement is too narrow for people to pass, especially with buggies, children or dogs, in this case one party has to step into the road.
• As well as for local use this road is a popular shortcut to the A131 road to Sudbury, thereby missing out the traffic in Halstead.
• Station Road is also the obvious starting point for many residents of Colne Engaine to use for commuting, shopping or leisure in Colchester, Coggeshall, Kelvedon (main line station), Braintree, Stansted (airport) and London.
• The roads off Station Road to the Atlas Road, De Vere Road and Aubrey Close residential areas all have 20mph speed limits, for some reason the newer Bourne Brook View has no de-limiting signs!
• There is continuous street lighting on the northern side as far as the Scout/Guide Hut and intermittent lamp posts on the southern side.
• There is a critical WTW at the bottom of Station Road, recent refurbishment/upgrades to cope with the growing local population has led to many vans and heavy vehicles accessing this site.
• The 40mph limit finishes just past Bourne Brook View to be replaced by the national speed limit for that road, leading to vehicles accelerating - just before a narrow single lane bridge over the river Colne. There are no priority signs for vehicles travelling in either direction, giving rise to urgent braking and reversing. Reducing the speed limit to include this bridge would increase safety, but a priority system would also help to ensure drivers take more care.

The usage of Station Road has grown considerably and the safety of road users, be they pedestrians, cyclists, drivers or horse riders, is at risk. Reduction of the speed limit to 30mph will make our children and elderly residents much safer and remove the anomaly of having a 40mph road in the heart of our village.

Station Road is also likely to be a link on the Greenway – North Essex route between the old railway line and the cycle path through Rogers Avenue and on to Earls Colne Airfield. This project is supported by ECC, BDC, Sustrans and many other organisations.