Our meetings are free and open to everyone, not just members, and usually take place on the first Monday of alternate months (but not when it falls on a Bank Holiday).
Better transport for Colchester town centre is the topic for our next Open Meeting –
Traffic and transport are topics that are raised time and again by residents when we do the rounds in Colchester. Following our successful meeting on air quality in February 2018, we’ll be looking at how to make Colchester town centre better for everyone, especially those who get left behind by our car-dominated culture, including cyclists and pedestrians, bus users, young people and disabled people.
We have a wide range of speakers –
Topics include bus privatisation, pedestrianisation of the High Street, air quality, and how the town infrastructure can cope with an increasing population (like the latest controversial proposal for student flats in Painters Yard by Firstsite - see below). We hope to have the latest on “Transport for Colchester”, the council’s master plan for the future. Whatever your interest do come along with your comments and questions.
Here is a link to the Green Party ‘Green Guarantee’ on transport
On the subject of the student flats proposal (see above), please sign and share the 38 degrees petition by Community Voice Colchester to call on Colchester Borough Council to use its control of land between Firstsite Gallery and the Curzon Cinema and rethink the current proposal to build 330 student flats and an 85-room hotel on the site and to instead seek the development of the Cultural Quarter in accordance with the published local plan. (Thanks to our member Amanda Kirke for creating the petition.)
Download our full 2017 manifesto and list of 2017 Local Election candidates here.
Read our response to Colchester Borough Council's 'Local Plan' here.
Download our revised (2016) constitution here.
Our Annual General Meeting was on 3 September 2018 and our new Exec details are at my.greenparty.org.uk/group/colchester-green-party (with a list of the Exec job roles here).
Our candidate in Castle Ward, Mark Goacher, came tantalising close yesterday to becoming the first Green Councillor in Colchester. He got 920 votes and the Conservative got 931 – a difference of just eleven votes! Labour came third with 750 and LibDems last with 434. Full report at my.greenparty.org.uk/news/colchester-bc-elections-3-may-2018
On Saturday 14 April Jenny Jones, the Green Party member of the House of Lords, came to Colchester to boost the local Green Party campaign to get Mark Goacher elected in Castle ward in the town centre and support all the Green Party candidates in the Colchester Borough Council elections on 3 May. Once again there is a Green candidate up for election in every ward.
Jenny spoke to a public meeting attended by 25 people at Firstsite about her role as the only Green Party member in the House of Lords, where she has been able to put the unique and independent Green point of view and raise points that none of the other politicians usually consider.
Green candidate for Castle ward, Mark Goacher, said, "People can see how effective a Green voice is, whether it is Jenny Jones in the House of Lords or Caroline Lucas MP in the House of Commons. The strong support I am getting on the doorsteps in Castle ward is largely because of the way voters realise what a difference it would make to have a Green voice on the Council."
During the morning and afternoon Jenny joined Mark Goacher and his campaign team to speak to local residents in Castle ward.
See www.cleanaircolchester.org to view a short film "Air", shown at our meeting on air quality in Feb 2018 - click on is-air-quality-an-issue and scroll down to foot of page.
