COLCHESTER Council’s leader has outlined the authority’s vision for the town going forward.

Paul Dundas was addressing residents during Unwrapping Colchester, an event where the council’s plans were shared in detail with the public.

The leader labelled works ongoing at Northern Gateway are what “excites” him the most, labelling the new IMAX cinema, climbing wall and golf centre “valuable assets”.

He also announced all major developments in Colchester would have to commit to having 30 per cent of all houses be made affordable and he is expecting about 350 council houses to be built over the next five years.

He confirmed the former bus depot in Queen Street, Colchester is “unfortunately” going to be “coming down,” despite admitting he would have liked to have saved it.

A hub of creative business spaces will be taking its place.

As a Stanway councillor, Mr Dundas also celebrated the construction of the town’s new £1.8million community centre getting under way.

Gazette: Paul Dundas was addressing residents during Unlocking Colchester, an event where the council’s plans were shared in detail with the publicPaul Dundas was addressing residents during Unlocking Colchester, an event where the council’s plans were shared in detail with the public

It comes as of a multi-million pound project to rejuvenate a culture-rich part of Colchester has been completed.

Read more >> 'Welcome to Colchester' - gateway gets revamp as part of £11m project

The Balkerne Gate public realm project has created a fresh look for people entering the town centre and will provide new opportunities for performance and open air activities.

The redesigned area, which came as part of the £11.3million Mercury Rising project, incorporates a kerbless public realm, complete with new trees and seating, and is the precursor to the scheme’s second phase.

The next stage will extend across a wider area to encompass the Colchester Arts Centre and Jumbo water tower.

The work was financed by the accelerated £18.2million Town Deal Fund, which was awarded to We Are Colchester last September.

While being completed, it also saw £10million pumped back into the local economy with nearby suppliers and companies being employed to help create the ambitious plan.