January Footpath Forum

In addition to all our usual updates , the January Footpath Forum will showcase a Path Accessibility Fund project at Cymbeline Meadows, Colchester. This aimed to remove/redesign a series of five consecutive structures located on four connected Public Rights of Way; a 1km route section which also forms part of The Colchester Orbital (a 14-mile walking route around the City). Contributing to the presentation are:

Rowena Macaulay from Walk Colchester. Rowena founded Walk Colchester in 2010, originally as a mapping initiative, but coming to evolve around a number of core projects, of which the Colchester Orbital is one, a 14 mile walking and cycling route around the city, now a 50:50 project with Colchester City Council and partly the focus of this presentation. Rowena has an MSc in Inclusive Design with a particular focus on countryside access issues and works closely with CCC on related Active Travel/Environments themes. She is a member of Essex Local Access Forum and the Sunshine Coast Greenway project team.

Aaron Ashwood, Healthy and Active Environments Officer, Colchester City Council Aaron’s role is about creating better places to live, ensuring that our built and natural environments and the connections between, are designed or adapted around people, creating opportunities for all to increase activity levels, and improve physical and mental health and wellbeing. Aaron is based within CCC’s planning policy team, but deployed to other teams, including Parks, Transport & Sustainability, Community, Sport & Leisure etc., to ensure the embedding of these priorities across diverse policy areas. He is also a CCC Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) champion. Outside work Aaron is a member of the Sunshine Coast Greenway project team; and a lover of walking, exploring the outdoors, other cultures and foods, rugby and family!

Jem Warren, Hike Essex (Ramblers)

Jem is actively involved with the local walking community in a variety of roles. Primarily, he acts as both a Walk Leader and Walks Coordinator with the Hike Essex Ramblers group. He also helps to organize the annual Jane's Walk week in Colchester. Often found walking the Camino trails of northern Spain, he is passionate about the benefits of walking. More recently, Jem has become involved with the Colchester BOMA project, which provides an all-terrain vehicle for wheelchair users, at Colchester's Highwoods Country Park, where he also works in the visitor centre.