MORE than £17,000 will be spent on creating cycle paths across Colchester.

Essex County Council is set to spend more than £312,000 on 47 highways projects across the county.

The cash has come from developer contributions through S106 deals.

In Colchester the cash will be spent on four projects.

A total of £10,000 will be spent on a cycle path at Cowdray Avenue.

A further £3,500 will be used to extend the Parsons Lane cycleway along Hythe Hill and another £3,500 will create a path at Layer Road.

There was also £3,000 given for traffic calming measures for Mill Road and Mile End.

Last year major changes were due to be made at the junction with Severalls Lane and the road narrowed, increasing the width of the pavement in places.

The aim was to discourage vehicles using Mill Road as a through route.

An Essex Highways spokesman said: “New cycleway schemes to extend the Port Lane/Parsons Lane cycleway to Hythe Hill and a new cycleway on Layer Rd are being designed currently.

“A detailed design is being finalised to widen the pavement along Mill Road at Thomas Wakley Close as part of traffic calming measures.

"This is likely to be built during this financial year.”

A report by County Hall said the money had to be spent within a certain timescale otherwise it would have been given back to the developer.

It said: "Failure to complete these works within the documented time scales may necessitate the return to the developer of unspent funds; this may then have a negative impact on delivery of the infrastructure identified as being required at the end of the development."