Street sequences in the town centre

It's always a pleasure to wander through Colchester’s town centre, or at least the small back streets. The non-linear arrangement of open spaces makes every turning interesting. One is never quite sure what to expect – whether it's going to be a church, a small green space, a couple of benches in a pedestrian street or a water fountain surrounded by shop frontages. The opportunity to discover the town over and over again is one of the refreshing and fascinating aspects of Colchester. Apart from the pedestrianised areas, the High Street provides generous pavements for shoppers to browse shop fronts and well-designed paving and crossing points allow for ease of movement. Gratifying, too, is the enlightened decision to do away with pedestrian barriers along the High Street. This has resulted in a central space, presided over by the attractive timber framed post office, which feels owned by pedestrians and cars alike, and even offering shoppers the chance (if lucky) to briefly stop their car outside the required shop. The only time the High Street becomes unpleasant is at weekend nights, but that problem is beyond even the powers of architects.

Colchester green spaces – a council strategy

Probably one of the principal reasons that Poncrinator was moved to start this blog was the existence of so much open space in and around the town centre, with many random plots apparently 'unclaimed' by council or commerce. An example is the green valley to the north of Magdalen and Barrack Streets, through which the railway and the river pass. The wide, green view from the back of Magdalen Street away to Highwoods Country Park is, remarkably, uninterrupted but for a few of Colchester's older buildings. This is astonishing in the centre of a busy modern town of 130,000-plus – and needing great care if not to be lost, particularly because something away from the public eye can easily become a victim of commercial greed or bureaucratic neglect. It's gratifying, therefore to see that Colchester council is now developing a new strategy to improve the amount of green spaces available in the borough, and residents are being asked for their views. You can read more about this at the council's website. For comment or opinion you are invited to contact Councillor Kevin Bentley, Portfolio Holder for Culture and Public Relations on 07770 571622. Let's hope the view above is included in his strategy. Take the following link for more pictures of Colchester's hidden inner green spaces.