Colchester: Pollution Forcing Shop To Shut

8 August 2013, 00:00

A business owner in Colchester has told Heart he is having to close his shop because of ill health caused by traffic pollution there.

Steve Miller has run MillerStationery for nearly 50 years but has decided to shut it down after doctors told him thick fumes caused by traffic on the High Street were probably the cause of problems with his heart and lungs. 

Mr Miller says the trial car ban down the High Street was tackling the issue, until it was scrapped after just three weeks. 

He said: "Colchester has been waiting for 40 years for through traffic to be removed from the town centre. That's what Balkerne Hill and Southway were for. 

"I backed the 18-month town centre trial. For the three weeks it ran, the buses were running well and the air was far cleaner, Colchester was no longer breaking EU law with its pollution levels. The trial should have continued with changes being made as necessary. 

"Now we find that nothing will be put back in place until late 2014. I can't afford to wait any longer. My heart and lungs are suffering and the doctors say the thick fumes are most likely to blame. I could be dead before any improvements are implemented." 

And he says County Councillors caved under pressure to scrap it: "They should have fought, but instead they wasted public money. We could be enjoying a far better town centre now, with more shoppers, more tourists and it would have less traffic noise and cleaner air. 

"Most of the opponents were dead set against the scheme before it began. Neither Corba, the traders group, or the disabled were prepared to give and take for the town's benefit. They weren't concerned about health problems being caused by pollution. 

"As a member of the monitoring group, I could see that positive steps were being taken to address the issues raised by the disabled and that was happening as part of the trial." 

Essex County Council has told Heart it has "discussed early plans for a new phase of Town Centre TROs, that would be introduced to coincide with the opening of the Colchester Park & Ride scheme". 

It also said: "Essex County Council remains fully committed to the delivery of Park & Ride in Colchester by the end of 2014, and is exploring possible funding options."