NEW murals and parking permits could be introduced to help regenerate the Hythe.

With community land trust Hythe Forward showing uncertainty over future regeneration, there is a worry the area could be neglected.

Ward councillor Lee Scordis (Lab) warned improvements are needed, but said there are ideas in the pipeline.

He said: “I would say the Hythe has been seriously affected by the global financial crash of 2008.

“At that time there were plans for massive regeneration but once the crash hit, businesses did not want to take the risk.

“The Hythe as a whole is still finding its identity. Many of the houses are still new.

“The area itself has huge potential. Only recently Pizza Hut opened and the Boadicea pub has been running for a number of years. We also have a monthly classic car event on King Edward Quay.”

He also said Colchester Council and Essex University are looking at ways to improve the area.

Mr Scordis added: “Where the Hythe needs improving is in several aspects. Firstly the flooding on Haven Road needs to be resolved.

“Since recent works it no longer floods when there is heavy rain. However at high tide there are still severe issues with flooding and more needs to be done with Essex Highways and Anglian Water.

“The university should also be offered more involvement. Colchester Council is looking at removing the caravans and bus on King Edward Quay by installing double yellow lines and introducing permit parking for the boat owners, which will help improve the area.

“We are also looking at working with the university to design a new mural for the walls along Hythe Quay.

“Ideally we would like The Hythe to be like the old docklands in Ipswich.

“We are slowly seeing businesses open up in the area and when we hit more prosperous times I would like to see Colchester Council lobby for investment in this area of Colchester so it can reach its full potential.”

The Hythe is also famously the home of Colchester Sea Cadets, who base themselves on the TS Colne Light.

Elliot Robertson, commanding officer for the cadets, said: “The development we’re seeing around the Hythe is very welcome. As a charity that wishes to serve the community it’s obviously great to be part of one that’s growing.

“The Hythe has really started to come back to life in the last few years.

“It would however be nice to see a sluice or half-tide lock somewhere down river of the quay to ensure there’s always some water - something that would clearly help us, but that would also encourage even more investment in the area, surely from a development point of view, water is more attractive a backdrop than silt and old shopping trolleys.”

Council still supportive of Trust 

COLCHESTER Council says it is still very much in support of Hythe Forward’s vision.

The community land trust’s chairman, Richard Bailey, said with no land up for potential development members felt they were being overshadowed by other projects in the Hythe area.

However a spokesman for Colchester Council said it continues to stand behind the group.

The spokesman said: “We continue to be supportive of Hythe Forward, having met regularly with representatives of the trust, and we were delighted to support its work with a £30,000 grant several years ago.

“Whilst one of the trust functions has been to find sites and projects which contribute to the regeneration of the Hythe, we recognise that this has been a difficult process as there are already numerous developers working in this area.

“The trust has, however, contributed in other ways by setting up the Hythe Business Group.”

The Hythe Forward website lists its partners as being Colne Housing, which helped win the group start up funding, Colchester Council, who provided the necessary £30,000 funding and specialist council staff, Robert Ashton, consultant advisor, Ben Locker & Associates copywriting agency, The Colchester Chronicle blog, Fever Marketing and Ovenden Bookkeeping