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Colchester: shop centre plans put back

9:31am Friday 4th July 2008

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A PLANNED £250 million shopping centre is set to be further delayed because of the credit crunch.

Developer Caddick has admitted shoppers will have to wait longer before the Vineyard Gate shopping centre, which was due for completion by the end of 2013, will open.

Spokesman Geoff Goodwill said talks were planned over the next few weeks with no timeline set for development, but stressed the firm was "committed" to setting up the scheme.

  • The credit crunch will not affect a £45 million cultural quarter planned for Colchester, a developer has pledged. German developer Garbe and architect firm Ash Sakula want to start work on the St Botolph's "cultural quarter" in 2010.
  • More in today's Gazette
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Your Say YourColchester

Citizen 139, says...
9:43am Fri 4 Jul 08

Credit Crunch? how about we start calling it by its correct name - recession!

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Nobnee, Elmstead Market says...
9:43am Fri 4 Jul 08

Credit Crunch, what credit crunch? pull your fingers out and start building, let’s tidy up this part of town, give us something to be proud of and make our town the pride of East Anglia.


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No! I'm Spartacus, Colchester says...
9:50am Fri 4 Jul 08

So it won't affect the £45Mil cultural quarter....? Phew.....!

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Rob, West Bergholt says...
9:57am Fri 4 Jul 08

And with it goes the Bus Station so desperately needed by the town, the original having been bulldozed, indirectly, by this useless Council to make way for the unwanted VAF.
quote

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Mal, Colchester says...
10:08am Fri 4 Jul 08

Colchester could be a fantastic market town but it is being turned into London suburban dump (like many other towns and cities around Britain) by rubbish Councils and Liberal, Labour and Conservative councillors. It is time for a big change in this town and a big change in this country.

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dorian, Colchester says...
10:41am Fri 4 Jul 08

Quite right Mai, it could be a fantastic town. All we need is a decent art gallery, a cultural quarter to surround it, some nice green spaces in the town centre, some more housing in the middle, a small and efficient place to change buses, some nice new small shops and to get rid of a few down at heel underused spaces, and .. no wait! thats what is planned isn't it!


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bobby ball bag, New Town says...
10:46am Fri 4 Jul 08

We have no chance with that fat chap running the lib lab council.


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Bill, Colchester says...
11:42am Fri 4 Jul 08

Just two questions "bobby ball bag", did the "fat man running the lib lab council" have anything to do with the decision to flatten the bus station before building a reasonable replacement? Did he have anything to do with the decision to build the VAF? I think those might have been decisions taken by the last administration who we chucked out because they got it wrong. I might be wrong of course.

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bunkybill, east colchester says...
12:53pm Fri 4 Jul 08

What on earth do you mean flatten the bus station, Bill? we have a perfectly good temporary bus station and a permanent interchange on the way (eventually)

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simmons, ccolchester says...
12:57pm Fri 4 Jul 08

so what shops are we goin to get... another mobile phone shop..some more night clubs..estate agents..burger and kebab places...this is what our town is about oh yeah there is the many boreded up shops. we want some thing differet and no not another tescos

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bobby ball bag, New Town says...
1:37pm Fri 4 Jul 08

Bill wrote:
Just two questions "bobby ball bag", did the "fat man running the lib lab council" have anything to do with the decision to flatten the bus station before building a reasonable replacement? Did he have anything to do with the decision to build the VAF? I think those might have been decisions taken by the last administration who we chucked out because they got it wrong. I might be wrong of course.
No he was either driving down a bus lane or was adding himself to another committee or having another photo taken...... loves himself or what

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Mal, Colchester says...
2:07pm Fri 4 Jul 08

Who is runing Colchester council at the moment is it Labour councillors Tim Young and Tina Dopson or Lib Dem Councillors Ann Turrell and Martin Hunt? Either way on the balance of the past two months they seem to be as useless as the Tories. By the way why does the Gazette feature a photograph every day of Labour councillor Tim Young?

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Howard Eye-No, 419-833 says...
3:52pm Fri 4 Jul 08

Bill wrote:
Just two questions \"bobby ball bag\", did the \"fat man running the lib lab council\" have anything to do with the decision to flatten the bus station before building a reasonable replacement? Did he have anything to do with the decision to build the VAF? I think those might have been decisions taken by the last administration who we chucked out because they got it wrong. I might be wrong of course.
Are you Martin Goss in disguise?
That's his normal bleat and the one that the the incompetents in Government have been using for the last 11 years

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Chris, Colchester says...
5:45pm Fri 4 Jul 08

The Lib-Labs are as bad as the Tories.

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Dorian, Colchester says...
5:48pm Fri 4 Jul 08

What shops, you ask? Did you not look at the plans when they were on show?
There will be artists workshops restaurants, small artisan and craft shops, a hotel, flats and and hopefully, people like the relocated Allen the Butcher, Franklins, Miller Stationery and other ( at the risk of sounding like something out There of 'the League of Gentlemen' Local shops. There will also be performance spaces and a covered market. It is hoped that no vertical drinking establishments will be allowed. Is that good or what? Or is everyone determined to poo-poo everything on principle?

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Mal, Colchester says...
6:13pm Fri 4 Jul 08

Dorian - I love your youthful optimism. I used to be just like like you. But I've been lied to by too many politicans and toomany civil servants over way too many years that these I only judge them on results not promises. I was in Colchester today for lunch and I notice that two more stores appear to be leaving the town and I undertand that many more are only just hanging on by their finger nails. Have you seen the state of Eld Lane - empty shops and dirty filthy streets?

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hipponax, Colchester says...
6:37pm Fri 4 Jul 08

OK Mal. So we know you want "change", but can you be more specific? Please tell us what your big idea for improving Colchester town centre is, because we want to know.

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Hughie, Here says...
7:46pm Fri 4 Jul 08

people like the relocated Allen the Butcher, Franklins, Miller Stationery


Some of these own their current premises, they won't be able to survive if they have to pay sky high rents. That of course is the plan, drive them out of business so the marketplace is dominated by by a few multinationals. Watch out Crouch St, bet you're next on the list.

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Mal, Colchester says...
8:15pm Fri 4 Jul 08

In reply to Hipponax
For a start I would tear down Lion Walk, Culver Square shopping centres, most of the High Street (Marks and Spencer side)to Short Wyre and all of Eld Lane and Sir Issacs Walk and the Debenhams sides of Headgate. I would fill this hole with a proper covered shopping centre with plenty of underground parking. In addition I would call a halt to the current drinking laws and go back to the old drinking times. I would ban Sunday trading to give people working in the shops a proper old fashioned weekend off. Sunday trading was a good idea but it is being abused by the big stores and the workers are not paid enough to work on Sundays. I would cut all the stupid politically correct and bull5h1t health and safety schemes, and the traffic consultations that Essex and colchester council operates and halve the number of councillors from 60 to 30. I would ensure that a good portion of the new covered shopping centre would include a farmer's market and small traders market that could operate Monday to Saturday. I would also shut down a number of the fast food outlets around the town. They are dirty and cause the footpaths to become covered in grease. With regard to the VAF I would sell it off at Bonhams or Sotheby's Art Dealers hopefully to a very rich art collector would use the VAF to house their private art collection. With regard to the Community Stadium I would also sell this to someone who wants to own a football club and a football stadium. If the present company running Colchester United couldn't buy it I believe that someone who would like to see Premier League Rugby in Colchester might be interested in buying the stadium and thereby getting the council out of the loop. In addition to all this I believe I could knock £100 off the average council tax bill and ensure that every person got there rubbish collected every week, had police officers on the street to arrest the yobs and everyone (not just pensioners) had free bus travel around Colcheter borough - thereby sorting out the traffic problem in the town. That would be my plan. What ideas have you got?

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Bill, Colchester says...
9:33pm Fri 4 Jul 08

Howard Eye-No wrote:
Bill wrote:
Just two questions \"bobby ball bag\", did the \"fat man running the lib lab council\" have anything to do with the decision to flatten the bus station before building a reasonable replacement? Did he have anything to do with the decision to build the VAF? I think those might have been decisions taken by the last administration who we chucked out because they got it wrong. I might be wrong of course.
Are you Martin Goss in disguise?
That's his normal bleat and the one that the the incompetents in Government have been using for the last 11 years
I'm not Martin Goss and I don't know who know who he is, sorry Martin. Last years failed politicians ad their supporters are all too ready to condemn this years new crop before they are given a fair chance to change things, hopefully for the better. Let's face it, they can scarcely be worse than the last useless articles.

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Colchester resident, Colchester says...
11:11pm Sat 5 Jul 08

There goes the bus station, anybody been to Norwich recently you can see there what wonders a council can do, cheap park and ride and a state of the art bus station. Take your spending money there.

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John, says...
11:42pm Sat 5 Jul 08

Ma's suggestion sounds awful -just like Chelmsford Town Centre

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Helen, Colchester says...
10:01am Sun 6 Jul 08

I think Mal might be on the right track. Although we would have to careful that the place doesn't end up like Chelmsford. Colchester town centre needs a fresh start and Mal in fairness has come up with a few good ideas. I also agree that the number of of councillors and the all the council red tape, political correctness and health and safety stuff should be reduced. We need some bold and daring plans like Mal's but be careful not to turn into Chelmsford.

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dorian, Colchester says...
9:51am Mon 7 Jul 08

QUOTE: "Dorian - I love your youthful optimism. I used to be just like like you." Youthful! I can take any amount of that! I am over sixty and have seen Colchester through my and its history. I saw the bus station being swept for needles and prostitutes ejected from behind the bus station and my own stepdaughter was badly beaten. No wonder I was delighted to see it swept away and a neater, smaller temporary one put in its place- about which incidentally there have been precisely zero meaningful complaints.
I am certainly not a Tory- very far from it, but I was glad to see somebody, anybody, come up with some sort of coherent plan to do something comprehensive and far sighted. The plan to build a covered mall would be good if it was completely underground like Les Halles, but the costs would be prohibitive unless we could reuse the rumoured underground ex RSG cavern under Tymperleys, Much of the rest of the suggestion is simply wishful thinking . there are not the powers in place to cut councillors, give free travel or ban Sunday trading.

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bunkybill, east Colchester says...
9:59am Mon 7 Jul 08

How can having plenty of underground parking in the town fit in with with reducing traffic?
The last thing we want is a bl**dy great mall with national chains, I like the idea of the cultural centre, makes it more like Brighton and less like Romford

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Bob, Colchester says...
5:10pm Mon 7 Jul 08

I think Mal has been smoking the waccy baccy. If we lived in a cloud cuckoo land place of make believe his plans might stand a snowball's chance in hell. We don't.

"I would also shut down a number of the fast food outlets around the town. They are dirty and cause the footpaths to become covered in grease."

PMSL

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Steve, Colchester says...
3:52pm Thu 10 Jul 08

It's revealing how many people think the same things.. A modest redevelopment project in Colchester is doomed to take years and years.. The local council sets up a great website full of pretty pictures, while the town centre decays. Never mind St Botolph's "cultural quarter" - what about all the boarded up/charity shops, filthy streets (no more burger take-aways, please!), and the vagrants using the subway as a toilet..? I think Colchester has started looking decidedly tattier over the past few months alone..

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