Ambitious and bold £43 million vision for Colchester’s future

An inspiring and bold vision of Colchester by 2030, to help grow the city’s economy for all, support our residents’ ambitions and boost efforts to make it a greener and healthier place to live, work and visit, has been unveiled.

Our ambitious strategic vision is being backed by a £43 million investment package, including a host of schemes tackling climate change, enhancing economic growth so everyone benefits, supporting health and wellbeing, improving homes and making the city an even more attractive destination.

This is not only designed to help the city bounce back quicker than other areas following the national lockdown restrictions, but to develop an inspiring vision of Colchester through to 2030 and beyond.

The forward-thinking plan outlines a pledge to invest in our communities, buildings and infrastructure in ways that will deliver tangible and sustainable benefits for all. Schemes in the plan include:

• £114,000 to provide recharging points for our new fleet of vehicles;
• £1.2 million to upgrade the council’s fleet with greener vehicles;
• Extending the cemetery in Mersea Road including a summer house, electric gates and solar lighting – costing £80,000;
• £1.5 million to help the redevelopment of the Mercury Theatre and enhancing the landscaping around it;
• £1.5 million for the St Mark’s Community Centre;
• A floating pontoon at Coast Road, West Mersea costing £86,000;
• £250,000 to replace an artificial pitch at Leisure World;
• £250,000 to provide recreational play equipment at Colchester Northern Gateway Sports Park.

This investment is on top of the £18.2 million funding boost we have received through the Town Deal for projects across the town.

These include supporting the creation of digital work hubs; transforming facilities for young people; public realm improvements in the town centre; the restoration of 1,000-year-old Holy Trinity Church and the first phase in restoring our iconic Victorian water tower ‘Jumbo’; the transformation of community facilities in Greenstead; and improved walking and cycling links across the town.

The investment being put into the town is despite the council facing significant lost income from lockdown restrictions.

To balance the budget significant savings and efficiencies have been identified in this and future years. However, it still means that another £2.4 million of reserves will still be needed in 2021/2022 to meet Covid-related lost income and other pressures, in addition to reserves already used in 2020/2021.

This means our part of the Council Tax will rise by £4.95 (2.5%), meaning the annual charge for a Band D property in 2021/2022 will be £200.52. The council will continue to offer relief to residents most in need through its Local Council Tax Support scheme, which is one of the most generous in Essex.