Archive - Thursday, 18 October 2001


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Soccer: U's dream of new stadium

Boxes containing proposals which will transform both the north side of Colchester and the future of football in the town have been handed to planning officers today (Thursday).

It was a case of next stop Lexden Grange, as a double decker bus packed with representatives from Colchester United, Colchester Council and the health authority delivered the plans.

It will see the multi-million pound transformation of Severalls Hospital site and land at Cuckoo Farm.

But it was Colchester United's youth team, "the future of the club", which handed over the planning applications which included proposals for the club's dream of a new community stadium. Find out more about Colchester United FC The five applications for the 260-acre site - including the stadium, a business park and housing - represent the culmination of years of work and public consultations and will be supported by a £18m infrastructure.

The scheme has rested on the many parts of a complex jigsaw, involving NHS-owned land at Severalls and council-owned land at Cuckoo Farm coming together around plans for Colchester's Northern Approach Road and new A12 junction.

A delighted Marie Partner, chief executive at Colchester United, said: "We feel very proud to be housed within a stadium that will cater for all age groups and anybody that has any particular hobby or interest outside active sport."

Colcestrians first glimpsed the blueprint for this massive scheme back in 1997, and though there has been some heated local reaction, feedback on the scheme has been largely positive.

The plans being delivered to Colchester Council

By Lisa Cockrell

Reporter's e-mail: lisa_cockrell@thisisessex.co.uk

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.