THE planning section of Colchester Council’s website collapsed due to “overwhelming traffic” as campaigners rushed to submit their last-minute objections to divisive plans to develop the eastern edge of the town centre.

A cabinet-backed scheme, which will see more than 300 gated student homes built on the site of the old bus station, off Queen Street, has been put forward but has deeply divided opinion.

Critics have labelled the plans a ‘cultural slaughter’ and claim the proposals bear little relation to the ‘cultural quarter’ which had initially been mooted.

Gazette:

As the window for submitting views on the scheme closed yesterday, there were 376 objections and five comments of support.

About 40 protesters staged a sleep out overnight between Wednesday and Thursday to mark the final day.

Jean Quinn, who helped to organise the sleep out, said: “There has been an overwhelming response to this.

“We have worked so hard because so many people did not know about this; they had no idea what a terrible thing was planned for this site.”

She added: “The website actually crashed, owing to the large volume of traffic it was experiencing.”

“The numbers tell a clear story; people do not want this.”

Anyone who tried to submit a view online and could not were given an email address to send their response to instead. 

No one missed out on putting their view forward as a result. 

Being a Cabinet-backed scheme, the proposals will have to go before the Colchester Council ten-member planning committee.

Mrs Quinn added: “The time has come when people have to stand up and say, if my councillor votes for this to go through, they will never get my vote again; that is the sort of pressure we have to apply.

The committee is made up of five Conservative members and five alliance members.

Tory members have been vocal critics of the scheme, spearheaded by developer Alumno, so it is possible the plans could be refused if just one of ruling alliance party members Chris Pearson, Cyril Liddy, Lyn Barton, Theresa Higgins or Philip Oxford vote against or abstain.

Colchester Council cabinet members have previously addressed the issues, stating the scheme is “the best to have been put forward”.

The proposals also include performance spaces and eateries. For the plans to go ahead, Essex County Council must agree to lift a decades-old covenant, which states the land must be used for a bus station.

Talks are ongoing between Colchester Council and County Hall bosses.

A spokesperson for Colchester Borough Council said: “The views of residents play a key part in the decision-making process for planning applications.

“We always encourage people to submit their views via the council’s planning page, but very occasionally at peak times or with high-profile applications, some people may experience technical issues while submitting their views.

“If this is the case, we would advise them to try again during a quieter time of day or to send in their comments via email.”

In 2005, a Colchester Council masterplan document stated: "The removal of the bus station in the Berryfield/Queen Street area provides the opportunity to create a different, visitor-based mix of uses.

"Concentration of various visitor attractions and historic buildings within and around this site, the proximity to the existing Minories Gallery, the potential to provide a location for the new Visual Arts Facility (VAF) and the somewhat calmer nature of this area at the eastern edge of the Town Centre reinforce the idea of creating a new Cultural Quarter."

It added: "The western part of the development includes four urban blocks of mixed-used developments, including a blend of small, specialist (cultural-related) shops, restaurants, cafes and office units.

"The proposed blocks are mainly 3-4 storey buildings, which represent the common scale of buildings in Colchester Town Centre, with three storey town houses overlooking the Town Wall and higher elements in the middle of the scheme."