We Are Colchester updates

Hello and welcome to the latest We Are Colchester Update. We are now preparing for our bid submission deadline of 31 October.

Since our last newsletter, the result of our August questionnaires have been analysed and the results fed back to our Board, Advisory Group and Assembly, to help them in shaping and deciding on the final projects to be included in our bid for £25 million. The Board will be making their final project decisions on 12 October before our Town Investment Plan (bid) is submitted at the end of the month.

The impact on Covid -19

As you will know from our previous updates, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on We Are Colchester. It has impacted not only on timings but also the content of our engagement and project development work. We were expecting to submit our bid in the summer, but this was pushed back to the end of October. Over the summer, we asked the views of 400 people. These were gathered around the town. We would have liked to have worked face-to-face with lots more people, but this was not possible under current restrictions.

We have had be flexible in our approach and so online surveys were launched back in August, at the same time as our work around town. 351 people submitted their views in this way. Contained in our online surveys were specific questions about Covid. Obviously, lockdown has affected people in lots of ways, many of them negatively. However, what came out clearly from these surveys was that a sense of community was identified by lots of people as being a really positive outcome.

Over 100 people who answered the online survey left their details to find out more / become involved in future engagement work. This is great and hopefully they’re enjoying this update!

We have met with members of the local youth council. Meeting with the youth council was important as it has ensured that even with current restrictions, the voice of young people has been heard. We will make sure that going forward lots more young people can express their views on the We Are Colchester projects.

As well as all of this we have also received project ideas via email and over the telephone. Our Advisory Group and Assembly have held online meetings, to make sure that they have fed in their ideas as well.

In the future, as restrictions ease, we will ensure that many more engagement opportunities are created. Listening to the views of local people will continue to be a vital part of We Are Colchester until our projects are finished.

£1 million has just been awarded

As a direct result of Covid, the government announced that We Are Colchester could bid for an additional £1 million which would be released much earlier than the £25 million. Very recently, we were delighted to hear that our bid had been successful. This money will be spent on public realm projects in the town centre. You may have already heard that it will be spent as the first phase in the redevelopment of St Nicholas Square and Balkerne Gate. You should see work, on these exciting projects, start early next year.

Results of our public engagement work

A wide variety of views emerged from our engagement work, but the most popular themes to emerge were:

• Making Colchester more attractive
• Cycling
• Infrastructure
• Schools
• Engagement with young people
• The “green” agenda
• Traffic
• More to do (particularly for children and young people)
• Public transport/ buses
• Jobs
• Culture/ tourism

Some of these themes, for example schools, do not fall within the scope of our funding criteria. Those that do, have very clearly influenced the projects that are being developed. Just to give you a few statistics from the survey: 93% of people said that there should be more plants in the town, 88% thought that people would be encouraged into the town centre if there was a better ambiance and 96% thought that better use should be made of empty shops.

People were also asked what they thought would make Colchester better, outside of the town centre. The top 4 answers were: better designed community spaces, better public transport, more/ better cycle lanes and more for young people to do.

Funding criteria

Just to remind you, here are the areas that the Government want to see projects addressed if we are to get the money:

1. Local Transport
2. Digital Connectivity
3. Urban Regeneration
4. Planning and Land Use
5. Arts, Culture and Heritage
6. Skills Infrastructure
7. Enterprise Infrastructure

Below is a bit more information about the project themes that our Board have chosen. I’m sure you’ll agree that the We Are Colchester project themes very closely match both the funding criteria and the views expressed by local people.

Project themes

Three themes have been developed for We Are Colchester, which are shown with projects ideas that fall within them:

1. How We Grow (Our town, your future potential)

• High-quality working spaces reflecting Covid-19 and new patterns of working.
• Projects which transform services for young people.
• Projects which raise skills levels particularly digital skills levels (for Young and Working Age People).

2. How We Live (Building a better town)

• Walking & cycling infrastructure.
• Public space and heritage projects.
• Making the town centre greener and more attractive.
• Investment and regeneration to transform key urban hubs outside the town centre.
• Making empty historic buildings more attractive and sustainable.

3. How We Connect (Connecting ahead)

• Investment in 5G provision.
• Boosting broadband connectivity and boosting digital skills levels.
• Making neighbourhoods more liveable with walking & cycling networks, including linking residential areas, education establishments and the town centre.

You can read more about the three project themes and ideas here: https://colchester.cmis.uk.com/colchester/MeetingCalendar/tabid/70/ctl/ViewMeetingPublic/mid/397/Meeting/845/Committee/8/Default.aspx

What happens next (if we get the money!)...

After we submit our bid, we then must work towards our Heads of Agreement. This will take until the end of 2020. If the government say yes to this, in 2021 we will be developing detailed business plans for each of the submitted projects. Only once these have been agreed will we get our money. Throughout this phase of the project and during the delivery and implementation phase (2022-2026) we have a commitment to continued and deepened engagement with our partners, stakeholders and the wider community.

Thank you!

I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has engaged with We Are Colchester, whether that has been through answering one of our questionnaires or feeding in your ideas in other ways. You will have seen in this newsletter that the views that people expressed really have shaped our bid. Only with the support of our partners, stakeholders and the wider community, will We Are Colchester succeed.

Simon Blaxill
Chair, We Are Colchester Board