PLANS to revive Colchester’s town centre by building the state-of-the art Vineyard Gate shopping centre have taken a step closer after council bosses bought up a large swathe of land.

Colchester Council chiefs have confirmed the former Kwik-Fit building, in Osborne Street, has been bought from the Caddick Group developer.

The building, which has been a temporary home to homeless charity, Emmaus, was bought up by the Yorkshire-based developer more than a decade ago, when the shopping centre scheme was first mooted.

But the developer’s interest has waned and council bosses became frustrated at a lack of action, despite an upturn in the economy.

Paul Smith, leader of Colchester Council, said: “This means we are now able to move forward positively, which we haven’t been doing for some time.

“This is a significant purchase for us and it shows exactly what we are aiming for as a council - to do the best we can do for the town centre.”

Mr Smith said the buy-up - for an undisclosed sum which includes a car park at the back of the building - will make it easier for the council to approach developers because much of the land needed for the development is already in its own hands.

In its latest budget, a £6million pot was agreed to be spent on acquiring land in the town centre.

During the summer, the council bought two properties in Osborne Street, as well as a car park behind them.

It already owns Vineyard Gate car park and a number of small premises off Arthur Street and is looking at buying a number of other buildings, including sub-standard homes in Osborne Street.

The council leader added: “There has been slow progress and I know there has been frustration, from the public and also from the council.

“But clearly this is something that shows we are serious about this scheme.”

Mr Smith also revealed there is “considerable interest” from developers who want to play a part in the project.

Although the Liberal Democrat said there are no current plans to buy either the popular Alishan Tandoori or the Tasty Garden Chinese takeaway, he admitted: “We certainly aware of other properties in that area, but I cannot go into too much detail.

“This is a very positive move for the town centre in Colchester and believe it is just the start.”

The original £250million blueprint. in 2002, showed plans to bring major retailers to the town, as well as cafes, bars and restaurants.

But work was delayed in 2008 because of the economic downturn.

In 2013, the Caddick Group signalled renewed interest in the site and a reduced 175,000sq feet blueprint was drawn up but still nothing happened.

  • VINEYARD Gate shopping centre “should have settled a long time ago”, according to a business leader. 

Ron Levy, secretary of the Colchester Retail and Business Association, also warned if the controversial Tollgate Village is approved on appeal in January, it could threaten Vineyard Gate’s viability.

He said: “There are two ways of thinking about this.

“If it was to happen today, this is the sort of thing which would be fantastic for attracting people to the town from miles around. 

“But my concern is the council using millions of pounds in taxpayers’ money to buy up land which I believe developers would think twice about, given the impending decision on Tollgate Village - a huge retail and leisure park which would be ten minutes away by car.”

Mr Levy added: “To this day I do not think Caddick was ever a viable in proceeding with the development. 

“As a result, we have lost a lot of time and ground. 

“This should have really been finalised a long time ago.”

A decision on the Tollgate Village plans will be made by personally by Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid after an appeal hearing in January. 

It was rejected by Colchester Council in February but the developer opted to fight the decision on appeal.