Some years ago I can remember Colchester town centre being very busy during the day, every day.

People from other nearby towns and villages chose Colchester to do their shopping.

We had a lovely selection of independent shops selling everything but the kitchen sink and on Saturday’s market day you couldn’t move. In the evenings, there were a couple of cinemas and nightclubs the younger ones could visit.

The history of Colchester was widely known and brought in visitors from far and wide.

I realise the town has changed, and needed to, due to its expansion but we have so many music venues, eateries allowed to stay open until 3am and pound shops, the town centre for shopping is unfortunately dying, apart from a couple of large chain stores, such as Fenwick and Marks & Spencer. The old Co-op building is still empty.

I have read the council is trying to attract more visitors as we are lagging behind other towns, but then read that we cannot afford to light up the Romans Walls.

The market is virtually non-existent, a few stalls along the High Street.

We do not appear to have a cohesive plan on how to take Colchester forward.

The park and ride operated by Essex County Council was expected to make a loss in the first few years, but I wonder how long it will be before it makes a profit as the times and stops do not appear to have been thought through properly.

The council receives millions of pounds from the Government in the New Homes bonus and I would be interested to know what it puts this money towards?

The council has hundreds of thousands of pounds in reserve.

Surely some of this money could be put towards paying for the Roman Walls, Jumbo etc to be lit up at night.

What about buying the old Co-op building and turning the ground floor into a large indoor market with apartments above.

This would bring more visitors and the council would have a regular source of income from the rental of the apartments.

Unfortunately until we have some new blood on the council, who I would hope have some business experience/acumen, I cannot see any improvement.

Avril Foster Prettygate, Colchester

  • Our town centre is figuratively thriving

I TOURED Colchester with officers involved in some of the activities overseen by Colchester Council’s Trading Board.

I am chairman of the Trading Board, which is a cross party group responsible for commercial initiatives and ways of saving and making money as Colchester Council struggles with diminishing government funding.

What was most striking was the way that the culture of trading for the benefit of the people of Colchester while saving or making money to protect services is being embraced.

I was so impressed with the plans for the future including: Helpline services evolving into a 24/7 hub; CCTV dovetailing into the safety plans of local businesses; the Town Hall and castle becoming top venues for corporate and personal celebrations; Castle Park attracting and providing leisure activities for far more people; increasing vibrancy and frequency of events at Charter Hall and even the Crematorium and Cemetery extending and changing, improving the environment whilst keeping the kindness.

I encourage residents to look around and appreciate how the town centre is blooming, literally and figuratively.

Rosalind Scott Labour borough councillor for Wivenhoe

  • Go to theatre...you won’t regret it

I am pleased to be in total agreement with your columnist who praised the cast of Colchester Operatic’s Youth ensemble (CO2) for their production of Carousel.

Most people enjoy seeing hugely talented young people succeed in whatever field they excel.

I was privileged to watch this iconic masterpiece of musical theatre in Colchester’s Mercury Theatre performed to an incredibly high professional standard by our young performers.

The quality belied their ages and audiences would have paid considerably more to watch something so polished and enjoyable in the West End.

They engaged the audience throughout this long show, and I cannot praise them, and their creative team, highly enough.

In any context, musical theatre is something we do particularly well here in Colchester.

Admittedly, it is not everyone’s cup of tea but I am confident many readers would have thoroughly enjoyed the production I saw, and maybe shed a tear at the final chorus, marvelling at this incredibly talented group of young people.

But what it needs for this type of enterprise to survive is for more people to go to the theatre and enjoy themselves.

You may have missed Carousel but Colchester Operatic Society will be back on January 18 with Jekyll & Hyde, and CO2 will return next September with the songs of Elvis in All Shook Up.

I urge you to make a note in your diaries and do yourselves, and them, an enormous favour.

Geoff Osborne Trinity Close, Wivenhoe