COUNCILLORS, residents and a town’s MP have objected to a bid to build two houses in a row over “garden grabbing”. The practice sees homes being built in the gardens of existing properties. Applicant Mark Plummer has resubmitted his bid to build two
A SAPPER who lost both his legs in a bomb blast has been reunited with friends and family at a charity barbecue. Colchester soldier Ashley Hall, 20, arrived at the event on the back of a motorbike at a combined homecoming and UK-wide motorbike ride for
A LANDSCAPE gardener is offering north Essex residents a taste of the good life. Graham Stein, owner of Cymbeline Garden Services, in Prettygate, Colchester, has set up a new service helping people grow their own fruit and vegetables in their back garden
TWO entrepreneurs who overcame adversity to start their own businesses have been selected for a national competition to recognise their achievements. Dominic Morgan and James Ramplin feature in the top 100 inspirational stories in Barclay’s Trading Places
A COMPANY that started out as a tiny travel agents 15 years ago now has an annual turnover of £120million. Reader Offers opened in Colchester’s East Hill in 1995. It now sells cruise holidays to hundreds of thousands of people each year, by
EVERY geek’s favourite pin-up, Isy Suttie, is a musical comedian with a childlike imagination that makes her stand out from the crowd. She is probably best known for playing the IT geek Dobby in C4’s Peep Show, but has many strings to her bow. A trained
THE work of Clacton’s voluntary life-savers is being recognised on a new development. Roads on the new housing estate, off St John’s Road, will be named after celebrated former lifeboat crew, in recognition of the town’s long-standing contribution to
LEAKED proposals by the Ministry of Defence which suggest laying off injured soldiers who can no longer fight have been branded “appalling”. Until now, the Army has retained troops who are medically unfit for frontline duties in administrative
A TEENAGER helped launch a new darts zone in Colchester with a remarkable victory over a world champion. 13-year-old Brandon Western, from Prettygate, beat BDO World Champion Martin “Wolfie” Adams in a one-off match when he faced him at the opening of
More than 7,000 watched as England under-21s beat Lithuania 3-0 at the Weston Homes Community Stadium this afternoon. Danny Welbeck scored twice and Marc Albrighton was also on target in the victory, which books the Young Lions' place in the play-offs
COLCHESTER is a major centre in the UK’s food and drink industry, according to a new report. The eating and drinking economy in the borough has been estimated as worth £240million a year – 28th out of more than 2,200 areas across the UK. This means
A HORSE riding group is furious after the council accused riders of causing £2,000 worth of damage to a Benfleet park. South East Essex Driving and Riding Club claims Castle Point Council has threatened to kick it out of Woodside Park, in Manor
SWIMMERS are being urged to sign up for one of the few remaining places at this year’s Colchester Fire Swim. The annual fundraising event will take place at Colchester Leisure World, on October 2. The marathon event, which is sponsored by Travis Perkins
THE chairman of Essex Police Authority has called for a unique patrol on one of the country’s worst roads to be saved. Fears have been raised that the £1.25million A12 patrol could fall victim to Government cuts in October. But Robert
MILLIONS of commuters and other passengers were facing travel misery as a strike by rail workers caused major disruption to London Underground services. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union said every Tube line in the capital was suspended
My proposal to use the Turner Road walk-in centre for drunks is based on its availabilty outside normal working hours when it stands unused. Any facility should be used to optimum availability, i.e. in this case, according to Mr King, when normally
I am curious why Stephen King (Letters, August 31) should need to travel from Elmstead to Turner Road in Colchester for medical treatment. Is he saying there is no satisfactory medical treatment in Elmstead? He does say at Turner Road he can
In reply to my previous letter about the inefficiency of wind farms, Paula Whitney defended her stance by arguing: “It is pretty obvious the wind doesn’t blow the turbines at 100 per cent all the time” (Gazette, August 23). Of course, no one
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Julian, from Clacton railway station customer services, and the other staff involved, on Friday, August 27. My 55- year-old sister, with various disabilities, was embarking upon her return trip to Chelmsford
ESSEX courts ordered £2million worth of free labour to be carried out by offenders over the past year. The work was performed by 3,000 offenders given community orders instead of prison sentences. Ongoing work currently being carried out across the
Stuart Pearce reckons playing in Colchester will be perfect for his England youngsters.Under-21 coach Pearce leads the Three Lions into battle this afternoon against Lithuania, in a crucial European Championship qualifier at the Weston Homes Community
CLAIMS a property developer plans to build on “half” of a village green have been denied. Scott Properties, of Colchester, has called a public meeting to discuss the plans for its AEW Delfords site, on Main Road, Dovercourt, after Tendring Council made
