NEW data has revealed the facts behind the myths of the changing face of Colchester High Street.

The traditional High Street is being reinvented as shops move out of town and more shoppers favour the convenience of shopping online from the comfort of their living rooms.

But rather than becoming empty, Colchester High Street has changed its front facing businesses.

Data from Ordnance Survey shows as department stores and banks notably fell in number with the most notable loses in Colchester being the closure of Marks and Spencer and Debenhams in Culver Square shopping centre.

But beauty salons, tattoo parlours and food and drink venues have thrived in recent years despite social distancing measures introduced at the height of the Covid pandemic.
The data, which spans 2020 to 2022, found 11.5 per cent of banks in Colchester closed. 
This was significantly more than the rest of East of England which saw a 8.4 per cent decrease and the rest of Great Britain, which saw an 8.1 per cent decrease in banks.

However, nine per cent more beauty services opened in Colchester, which was significantly more than the 4.8 per cent increase for the East of England and the 5.9 per cent increase for Britain as a whole.

In addition, 11.5 per cent more fish and chip shops opened in Colchester, which was far greater than the 1.4 per cent increase in East Anglia and the 2.6 per cent increase across the country.

There were no changes in the number of public toilets in Colchester with a 1.3 per cent decrease in the East of England and a 2.3 per cent decrease in Britain.

The figures also show there was a 10.7 per cent increase in supermarket chains in Colchester compared to a 3.2 per cent increase in the East of England and a 2.5 per cent increase in Britain as a whole.

New fashions have led to an 18.8 per cent more tattoo and piercing studios in Colchester which was higher than the 12.6 per cent increase in the East of England and the 8.2 per cent increase in Britain as a whole.

Despite the change in dynamics in Colchester city centre, Sam Good, Business Improvement District manager for Our Colchester, said the occupancy of units was still high. And he said reducing business rates could be a good way to encourage growth.

He said: “It is also important to note that the city centre vacant unit rate in March 2020 when we first went into lockdown was 11.89 per cent.
“Our latest report for November 2022 shows a vacancy rate of 10.11 per cent.
“In that time, our vacancy rate dropped as low at 7.92 per cent which was when we saw a large influx in new pop-up premises as a result of the Government’s business rates freeze, enabling small businesses with a low-risk opportunity to trial their business in the city centre.

“This is clear evidence that the business rates system is broken and is one of the key battles faced by city/town centres across the country.

“This cannot be delayed any further by the Government.

“Despite the above vacant unit rate, in that time we have seen an increase in vacant space by square foot with closures of Debenhams and M&S which has increased the empty shop window space giving more of a perception of empty premises.”