News releases and highways newsletters

Opportunity to meet St Botolph's Circus contractor ahead of roundabout works

Residents can meet the contractor delivering the St Botolph's Circus regeneration project.

The contractor overseeing the regeneration of St Botolph's Circus is hosting a drop-in event for residents. The event takes place in August and marks the start of major works on the roundabout.

Essex County Council appointed Jackson Civil Engineering to deliver the £15.2 million redevelopment.

Jackson has been carrying out enabling works in recent weeks. These include site surveys, the establishment of a site compound and office facilities.

Representatives from Jackson will be available at the event to explain how the project will be delivered. This includes the phasing of works and traffic management arrangements during construction.

Coat of Arms Competition - Help Us Create a New Piece of History in Harwich

To mark our regeneration work, we are inviting young people to take part in a competition to design a new Coat of Arms celebrating all things Harwich.

Your design can be hand-drawn, painted, created using mixed media, or designed digitally. We want to see your creative interpretation of what makes Harwich unique.

We will recreate the winning design for display outside Harwich Library, with a celebratory unveiling for the winning designer and their family.

This competition is open to young people aged 18 years and under who either live in Harwich or attend a school, college, community group, or organisation based in the town. Entries on behalf of children under 13 must be submitted by a parent or legal guardian.

Competition dates

• Opens: 28 July 2026
• Closes: 8 September 2026

East Hill construction update - update 23/07/26

Works on East Hill are now underway and progressing well, following the appointment of Octavius Infrastructure as the main contractor.

Works completed so far:

• Construction of a temporary pedestrian crossing and pedestrian diversion on the northern footway
• Removal of the central island on Roman Road
• Removal of the pathway build-out west of Priory Street

Upcoming works:

• Deep drainage investigation works will take place on Thursday 30 July and Friday 31 July on Guildford Road. To minimise disruption, work will be undertaken during overnight hours only, and during this time traffic will be maintained throughout the works using multi-way temporary traffic lights. These temporary lights will be removed ready for the next day
• Removal of pathway build-out east of Priory Street
• Zebra crossing widening
• Footway works continue on south side of East Hill

St Botolph's Circus works - Drop-in event 6th August

Jackson Civil Engineering, appointed to deliver the redevelopment of St Botolph's Circus, has been carrying out enabling works in recent weeks. These activities have included site surveys and the establishment of a site compound and office facilities.

Ahead of more visible construction works getting underway, representatives from Jackson will be running a drop-in event to explain how the project will be delivered, including the phasing of works and traffic management arrangements during construction.

This will take place at St Botolph's Church (St Botolph's Street Colchester CO2 7EE) on Thursday 6 August from 2.30pm to 6.30pm.

Residents invited to 'meet the contractor' event ahead of start of East Hill works

The first stage of a new walking and cycling route linking Colchester City Centre with the east of the city is set to get underway this month, with construction work beginning on East Hill. 

Residents are being invited to attend a drop-in event before the main works start on a East Hill.

Ahead of the main construction phase, contractor Octavius Infrastructure will host a drop-in event at : The Minories Art Gallery (74 High St, Colchester CO1 1UE) from 2.30pm to 6.30pm on Monday 20th July.

Pothole Emergency spurs 30% increase in road repairs across Essex

Extra funding has helped address the potholes most concerning to residents

Road repairs across Essex have increased by 30% compared with the same period last year, with more than 5,000 carriageway defects repaired during the first quarter of the financial year.

The increase follows Essex County Council’s decision to declare a Pothole Emergency, alongside this £7.5 million investment in highways maintenance during 2026/2027.

The investment has funded additional repair crews, with a dedicated team now working in each of Essex’s 12 district, borough, and city council areas, enabling more defects to be repaired across the county.

Bakers Lane / Cottis Lane, Epping – latest news

Following the recent pause of works to allow essential utility works to take place, we will be restarting our activities to complete footway and carriageway works on Bakers Lane/Cottis Lane in Epping from 13 July 2026.

East Hill - Surveys and Site Compound

Works to improve walking and cycling on East Hill in Colchester are set to get underway later this month, following the appointment of Octavius Infrastructure as the main contractor.

Following the relocation of telegraph poles, the team will be on site this week undertaking surveys and establishing the site compound for the works. To ensure the project is delivered as efficiently as possible, the compound will be located adjacent to East Hill, in an area next to Firstsite.

First phase of new A1331 Link Road completed

The first phase of a major gateway road which will help unlock thousands of new homes has opened on schedule.

The A1331 Link Road will connect the A120 and A133. It will support delivery of up to 7,500 new homes as part of the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community. 

Alongside the planned Rapid Transit System, the link road will ensure that infrastructure needed to support future growth in the area is being delivered first.

The scheme has been funded through Homes England, recognising the importance of investing in the infrastructure needed to support large-scale housing growth. 

Cabinet Members visit as work underway on latest phase of Dovercourt regeneration programme

New improvements begun this week as part of a wider transformation of the area.

Work has started on the latest phase of the Dovercourt regeneration programme, marking another major step in the transformation of the town centre.

This new phase forms part of the wider Dovercourt Capital Regeneration Programme. The programme is designed to revitalise the town, improve public spaces, and create lasting benefits for residents and visitors.

Essex County Council has appointed M Group Highways to deliver the £2.39 million Dovercourt Public Realm Scheme.

Cabinet Members from Essex County Council and Tendring District Council visited the site this week. The visit included the route from the train station, the recently refurbished Harwich Library and the neighbouring Tendring District Council schemes.