Colchester Positive Parking Strategy

We are enhancing the city’s parking and transport infrastructure to ensure that there's more than enough parking for residents and visitors. As part of ongoing city centre improvements, we are focusing on major repairs and upgrades to St Mary's and St John's car parks based on 2019-2024 modelling - using actual car park data - and factoring in future growth in population.

Key parking upgrades

In March 2026, we completed £1 million worth of repairs and upgrades to these car parks. 

Improvements include:

• waterproofing and structural repairs
• enhanced payment systems, CCTV, and lighting
• improved pedestrian areas for safety and convenience

Further work is planned to widen bays to accommodate larger vehicles.

These upgrades are part of a broader effort to modernise Colchester’s infrastructure, alongside the planned redevelopment of Britannia Car Park and enhancements to public transport, including the rapid transit system.

An independent study shows that the city centre has 500+ spaces available at busy times. Find out where!