Colchester is set to receive £1 million to revamp two gateways to Colchester town centre, following an announcement by the Government.
The money, which has been awarded to We Are Colchester, which is leading on Colchester’s £25m Town Deal bid, will be spent on the first phases of two public realm schemes, at St Nicholas Square and Balkerne Gate, with bids for further funding to follow.
Image credit: HAT Projects
Image Credit: Mercury Theatre: The Mercury Theatre has confirmed that its £9m redevelopment plan, Mercury Rising, will go ahead following an exceptional award of £1.2m from the European Regional Development Fund.
Image Credit: The Observer: One of Colchester’s most popular restaurants, The Church Street Tavern, was celebrating today after coming a close second in The Observer Food Monthly Awards 2018. The restaurant, which has recently extended its bar was awarded ‘Runner Up’ in the Best Places to Drink category.
Image Credit: Colchester Arts Centre: Colchester Arts Centre has been awarded £499,000 funding from the Arts Council for a bold capital project that will transform the venue’s accessibility for deaf and disabled artists and audiences, as well as improving energy efficiency and technical infrastructure.
Colchester Borough Council will continue to show that it has all the right ingredients to help businesses grow and flourish in the borough despite missing out on being one of Channel 4’s new creative hubs.
The council submitted a 20 page prospectus, developed in partnership with inward investment and business support agency INVEST Essex and the University of Essex, outlining why Colchester would be a great location for Channel 4 who are looking to move much of its production out of London to adopt a ‘multi-site operating model’.
However, neither Colchester nor the other submissions from the East Anglian area – Ipswich and Norwich – were on the shortlist announced today (30 May).
With more than 30 towns and cities around the UK entering the bidding process, it was clear that competition was fierce.
Colchester’s prospectus included three potential locations for one of Channel 4’s new bases: Colchester’s emerging Northern Gateway, the Knowledge Gateway at the University of Essex and the town centre which benefits particularly from Ultrafast Gigabit fibre Broadband.
Councillor Nick Barlow, Portfolio Holder for Commercial Services, said: “This is a blow to Colchester, but all is not lost. Colchester has all the right ingredients: a strong talent pipeline, Ultrafast Gigabit broadband, a competitive cost base, space for growth and a great network of existing companies which together are proving compelling in attracting new companies here.
“The important thing is that the partnership has been confident and bold in its bid which has put Colchester on the national map as a contender.
“We will not lose the momentum built up by the bid. We have the Mercury Theatre’s refurbishment and extension project, the redevelopment of St Botolph’s around Firstsite including a new Curzon Cinema.
“There is also the new £10m Innovation Centre at the University of Essex combined with strong interest in Colchester’s emerging Northern Gateway development proves that there is economic confidence in the town.”
Channel 4 will make its final decision on the three locations in October.
Credit for Image: Newman Commercial: Newman Commercial, on behalf of clients, have secured a 10,000 sq ft letting at The Octagon, Colchester’s largest and most prestigious office building, to online Estate Agents House Simple. The UK’s second largest on-line estate agency, House Simple offers a relatively inexpensive alternative to traditional estate agents.
The Culver Square shopping centre in Colchester is to become part of a national “business incubator” project offering £300,000-worth of support of start-up ventures.
Ultrafast Broadband – a game changer in attracting major new gaming festival to Colchester in May.
Regeneration work has begun on the historic and much-loved former Jacks building in Colchester town centre.
Colchester Borough Council is set to demolish St. James’s House, in a move that will further regenerate and revitalise St. Botolph’s area of the town. Anglia Demolition will demolish the building, which has stood unused for many years.