Economic development in and around Colchester
Contents
The context for business in Colchester
Councils work in a wide context to enable businesses to operate. From allocated space for employment, to enabling infrastructure, business support and strong partnerships.
The Colchester Local Plan guides decisions on whether planning applications are assessed.
Learn more about the Colchester Local Plan
Colchester’s rapidly improving infrastructure is creating a place which provides active and safe sustainable travel options for the benefit of our health, environment, and economy.
Discover the full scope of Colchester’s Future Transport Strategy
This infrastructure is helping to drive Colchester’s economic recovery and fuel growth. Care has been taken to develop multiple themes at the same time so that the sector has the best chance of growth.
The course will be offered at two levels, in two streams: Life and work.
University of Essex Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) programme – A Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) is a three-way collaboration between a business or not-for-profit organisation, an academic team and a qualified graduate. The project can last between 1 to 3 years.
Funded by Innovate UK and Research Councils, KTPs are an established and successful initiative to drive innovation and growth through the transfer of expertise from a university to an external business. They help businesses to explore new ideas or strategies by adding outside expertise. And with up to £100,000 of the project cost funded, KTPs take the risk out of business innovation strategies.
Newly released data from Innovate UK has revealed the University of Essex as the leading institution for active KTPs in the UK.
Topping the UK KTP table for the first time, Essex has fast become the partner of choice for businesses looking to innovate across both the East of England and London, and now the UK, with 40 KTPs and £10.2m secured in funding to support their delivery.
This investment has also brought a link to Telehouse in London. Telehouse is the primary home of the London Internet Exchange (LINX) which is the main hub of the internet in the UK. Colchester built two very high capacity direct links to Telehouse in 1028/9 which overcame the key barrier to better connectivity of cost of affordable backhaul to London.
The Digital Forum at 43 Queen Street. Currently in development, this £6.25m nurturing hub will help small tech businesses, local talent, digital artists, and visionary entrepreneurs to thrive together by early 2025.
Studio X at the University Innovation Centre is the home of Essex Start-Ups, the University's Enterprize Zone projects and unique facilities like the 360 Degree Virtual Reality Projection Space. Studio X is a space for students to develop business ideas, for entrepreneurs to connect with the University and for Essex to showcase its research in the creative and digital sectors.
Creative Business Centre at 37 Queen Street. Opened in 2018 and run by SPACE Studios, the Creative Business Centre is home to around 40 creative and digital SMEs.
Using land for business purposes
All councils must go through a rigorous process to allocate land for different purposes such as residential use and commercial use.The Colchester Local Plan guides decisions on whether planning applications are assessed.
Learn more about the Colchester Local Plan
Transforming Colchester City Centre
Colchester is transforming with over £40 million pounds of government investment dedicated to ongoing regeneration of our city centre by 2030.
This latest regeneration programme will:
- make Colchester more liveable and attractive – for business and as a place to live, study and visit
- improve Colchester’s competitiveness – for talent, skills and investment for a higher skilled workforce
- strengthen the city’s infrastructure -transportation, digital and housing
- support Colchester’s diverse economy – enabling new businesses to get going and existing businesses to recover and grow
- showcase our unique heritage - bringing it to life in ways never seen before
Explore our interactive city centre regeneration map to discover more
The city centre also has a Masterplan which builds on existing strengths and the need to transform our city centre while conserving its proud heritage. It is also about creating a city centre for the future and looking to the needs of young people today.
Key investment locations
Outside Colchester's city centre, prime investment opportunities are available. New and existing hubs for living, learning, working and leisure offer unparalleled accessibility, groundbreaking research, retail visibility and community development.- Colchester Northern Gateway: Conveniently located at Junction 28 off the A12. This expansive space is evolving into a destination where people can live, work, relax and shape healthy lifestyles for themselves and their families.
- University of Essex: Home to the curious, brave and bold. Committed to excellence in teaching and research and - having invested some £250m in growth since 2012 - it shapes minds and futures, both nationally and globally.
- Stane Park Stanway: With 173,000sq ft of retail space located at the western end of the city, this retail park offers unparalleled visibility and accessibility.
- The Tendring-Colchester Borders Garden Community: Over the next thirty or so years, a new garden community will be created on the Tendring/Colchester Border. This new community will feature around 7,500 homes and employment spaces to accommodate new businesses and jobs. It is very much about creating a community for the future, looking ahead to the needs of young people of today.
Colchester’s infrastructure investment
Transportation improvement plans
Essex County Council aims to drive a £120 million package of transport improvements.Colchester’s rapidly improving infrastructure is creating a place which provides active and safe sustainable travel options for the benefit of our health, environment, and economy.
Discover the full scope of Colchester’s Future Transport Strategy
Digital innovation and emerging centre for Tech
More and more businesses are immersing themselves in Colchester's growing digital landscape, where over 6,000 digital professionals enjoy substantial investments, putting Colchester in the spotlight as an emerging hotspot in the East of England.This infrastructure is helping to drive Colchester’s economic recovery and fuel growth. Care has been taken to develop multiple themes at the same time so that the sector has the best chance of growth.
Business Support – Creating a Skills Pipeline and Skills Development:
- The Digital Learning Hub, opened in Autumn 2023 at the Wilson Marriage Centre and offers a transformative space for adults, offering a range of learning avenues for businesses and individuals alike.
- Digital Access Support, The North East Essex Digital Access Support Team (NEE DAST) offers a free service that helps people gain basic skills and confidence using today's smart technology. Our team hosts both virtual and community-based events, including drop-in sessions and one-to-ones. You can also find them providing support at local surgeries.
- Essential Digital Skills, at Colchster Institute is now offering the Essential Digital Skills Qualification. These skills are essential in many job roles as more digital technology is used to carry out tasks.
The course will be offered at two levels, in two streams: Life and work.
- Entry level 3 – designed for people with no or little prior experience of using digital devices or the internet.
- Level 1 – perfect for adults with some experience of using digital devices and the internet but lack secure basic digital skills.
- Creative and digital: Digital Film Production, Creative Enterprise, Digital Media, Digital Content Creation and Social Media, Digital Marketer Apprenticeship, Esports (Electronic Sports) and Digital Marketing, Fashion and Textiles, Film and Digital Media, Graphic Design and Branding, Improving Digital Content Creation, Interactive Meda and Games Design, Junior Animator, Multimedia Production.
- Construction: Low Temperature Heating System Design, Digital Skills Training for Construction and The Trades
- Business and Professional Training: Bespoke IT courses on an in-company basis and many other training solutions.
University of Essex Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) programme – A Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) is a three-way collaboration between a business or not-for-profit organisation, an academic team and a qualified graduate. The project can last between 1 to 3 years.
Funded by Innovate UK and Research Councils, KTPs are an established and successful initiative to drive innovation and growth through the transfer of expertise from a university to an external business. They help businesses to explore new ideas or strategies by adding outside expertise. And with up to £100,000 of the project cost funded, KTPs take the risk out of business innovation strategies.
Newly released data from Innovate UK has revealed the University of Essex as the leading institution for active KTPs in the UK.
Topping the UK KTP table for the first time, Essex has fast become the partner of choice for businesses looking to innovate across both the East of England and London, and now the UK, with 40 KTPs and £10.2m secured in funding to support their delivery.
Infrastructure: The Ultrafast Gigabit Broadband Network and 5G
Colchester has long been a leader in investing in its digital infrastructure. The city has already secured more than £50m of government and private sector investment to build a large, open access fibre network across much of its urban footprint.This investment has also brought a link to Telehouse in London. Telehouse is the primary home of the London Internet Exchange (LINX) which is the main hub of the internet in the UK. Colchester built two very high capacity direct links to Telehouse in 1028/9 which overcame the key barrier to better connectivity of cost of affordable backhaul to London.
- Managing the UK's largest telecoms infrastructure: With support of government and private sector investment, Colchester has invested in an underground network of over 90,000km of cutting-edge fibre optics through a council owned company, Colchester Fibre.
- Leading the way with a 5G pilot for tourism: Colchester is now exploring how to tell the stories of its long and important history with digital innovation to keep up with visitor expectations and to support the tourism and hospitality sector in its recovery.
Workspace
The Innovation Centre. Based at the University of Essex, the Innovation Centre provides start-up space for around 50 tech enterprises. Run by Oxford Innovation, the UK's largest innovation centre operator, the Innovation Centre is drawing on and driven by collaboration between businesses and the world-leading computer science and data analytics of Essex University.The Digital Forum at 43 Queen Street. Currently in development, this £6.25m nurturing hub will help small tech businesses, local talent, digital artists, and visionary entrepreneurs to thrive together by early 2025.
Studio X at the University Innovation Centre is the home of Essex Start-Ups, the University's Enterprize Zone projects and unique facilities like the 360 Degree Virtual Reality Projection Space. Studio X is a space for students to develop business ideas, for entrepreneurs to connect with the University and for Essex to showcase its research in the creative and digital sectors.
Creative Business Centre at 37 Queen Street. Opened in 2018 and run by SPACE Studios, the Creative Business Centre is home to around 40 creative and digital SMEs.
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