Major Colchester road shuts for repairs to 'unsafe building'

A major Essex road shut for repairs to an 'unsafe building' which caused disruption. Queen Street in Colchester was shut from High Street to Priority Street yesterday afternoon due to an 'unsafe building' (November 18).

It was reported that the road closure was in place for several hours while structural engineers assessed it. The road closure was in place to ensure public safety while repairs were carried out to a listed building which was damaged earlier in the year.

However, the council confirmed that the traffic management plan was 'no longer adequate' which saw the road reopen. The council confirmed they are "working closely with the traffic management company responsible to address issues with their initial plans."

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The repairs are set to be revised with overnight works to take place to reduce disruption to the roads. Essex Highways confirmed they requested "the scaffolding and road closure to be removed as soon as safely possible" but cannot do so just yet due to the vulnerability of the building.

A spokesperson for Essex Highways said: "A road closure for Queen Street was put in place to ensure public safety while structural repairs are carried out to a listed building damaged earlier this year.

“However, once works started it became clear the traffic management plan would no longer be adequate. We are working closely with the traffic management company responsible to address issues with their initial plans.

"We have instructed them to revise these urgently and prioritise overnight works to reduce disruption. While we've requested the scaffolding and road closure to be removed as soon as safely possible, this cannot happen immediately due to the building’s structural vulnerability.”