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Private car ownership per Colchester property revealed
A Freedom of Information request submitted to the DVLA has shown that the number of private cars in Colchester has risen by over 30 per cent in just under ten years, with the number of cars per household above the national average.
The Freedom of Information request revealed that on December 31, 2003, there were 69,175 privately owned cars in Colchester. This increased to 79,910 privately owned cars on the same day in 2013.
By September 30, 2022, there were staggering 91,332 privately owned cars in Colchester, showing an increase of 32 per cent, more than a third.
Combining this with Census data from 2021, which revealed Colchester’s population was 192,700, this means there were 0.47 cars per person in Colchester during this period.
Census data from the same period revealed that Colchester was above the national average of numbers of cars per household.
The data revealed that 41.5 per cent of Colchester residents had one car per household, versus the national average of 41.3 per cent.
29.2 per cent of Colchester households had two cars per household, versus the national average of 26.2 per cent, with 11.9 per cent of Colchester homes having three or more cars, against the national average of 9.2 per cent.
With hopes to improve the city, the city centre masterplan had set out a clear vision the future development of Colchester.
To combat issues of congestion, the masterplan, which was recently voted in, earmarked the option of creating a low-traffic and people focussed city centre.
Part of the plan included extending the existing High Street car ban across the city centre, to include streets such as St John’s Street.
The long term goal of the masterplan hopes to increase sustainable transport options, encouraging people to cycle or use the park and ride.
Increasing sustainable transport to the city centre was described as vital to reducing the city’s carbon emissions.
Colchester city councillor and Green Party leader, Mark Goacher, observed that the idea of a 15 minute city shouldn’t be entirely ruled out, when looking at ways to reduce congestion around the city.
He said: “As far as I know there are no plans to make the whole of Colchester a 15-minute city.
“I wouldn’t say it’s something that could be ruled out, when dealing with climate change, everything should be discussed.
“There had been some mention of 15-minute cities in the meeting, but it was not discussed as an overall proposition, there was some very brief discussion of it.”
Some residents didn’t appreciate the idea of a 15-minute city, or the looming car ban being implemented into Colchester.
Speaking to the Gazette, a member of the ‘concerned citizens’ group, who were also involved with the A12 go slow protests, called the idea ‘government propaganda’.
He said: “Climate change is not real. We are still in a mini ice age from the Tudor era. The idea of this car ban or a 15 minute city is a way for the government to control our car use.
“It is government propaganda, made just to control people. There is no climate change.”
Earlier this year, the same group burst into an environment and sustainability meeting to protest the idea of a 15-minute city coming to Colchester.
The ordeal, which depicts the concerned citizens asking councillors questions regarding its sustainability policies, was captured on video by the concerned citizens, as well as live-streamed on Colchester Council’s YouTube channel.
Co-leader of the Green Party, Adrian Ramsay, promoted the idea of a 15 minute city, when speaking to the Gazette during his to the city last month.
Praising the idea, Mr Ramsay said: “There have been all sorts of connotations attached to it to the phrase, but if you strip it back and look at what it means, the idea is that if you live in a town or a city you can have access to the services you need.
“If you live in a town or city, you ought to be able to have access to these facilities, it certainly makes things more practical. That idea of having services available locally is important.
“It’s about transport measures, if we improve public transport and make it safer and cleaner for people to get around, that has to be a good thing.”
