COLCHESTER’S city centre is in need of everything from a Bershka and a Zara to a TGI Fridays and a good department store,” according to Gazette readers.
Earlier this month, we revealed how Elysium Group had submitted plans to turn a currently vacant property at the top of North Hill into a Marriott Moxy Hotel.
The large commercial building, which was built in 1936 and boasts a neo-Tudor facade, was previously home to the Post Office up until its closure in 2018.
If the blueprints are signed off by planning bosses the otherwise abandoned site, sandwiched between Yates and Centurion, could be transformed in a 73-room hotel.
READ MORE: Mock-up images show what new Colchester hotel could look like if plans are approved
Should the up-market complex materialise, it would prove a welcome boost for the area, according to Mark Goacher, Colchester councillor for Castle ward.
But, aside from a fancy new hotel, which could also boast a restaurant, what other ventures need to be explored in order to truly rejuvenate our historic city centre?
Alison Lungley said: “I don’t think the people of the oldest recorded town need another hotel - that's just for tourists.
“We, the people of Colchester, need more shops, so we can spend our money here instead of online or in other towns.
“There is nothing for us who live here - everything has moved to Tollgate but there are a lot of us who can't get there.”
Rowland Wright, however, believes a new hotel in the city will help boost the local economy and help other businesses.
She said: “We need good hotels to attract business travellers to stay in the town - then they eat in the restaurants and drink in the pubs.
“We also need to improve the accessibility – there are far too many steps and kerbs.”
In addition to independent businesses, big-name retailers, an indoor market and an activity centre for youngsters, there have also been calls for free parking.
Luke Gibney, meanwhile, wants transportation in the area to the improved.
He said: “It would be nice to set up a road network, you know where you can drive from one side of ‘town’ to the other, in under three hours.”
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