Colchester Gazette readers on what they'd like to see at Stane Park

The retail unit which has welcomed various businesses since work started on the development in September 2020.

Colchester’s shoppers can enjoy a variety of shops there, from home furnishing, to food, home supplies and more.

Empty - one last vacant unit remains next to Mountain Warehouse (Image: Newsquest)

The site, built at a cost of £65 million, is currently home to B&Q, Aldi, Cook, Greggs, M&S, Superdrug and Mountain Warehouse.

Most recently, the site also introduced a Furniture Village shop to its premises.

It was expected just one business would be used to fill the last unit, however, a planning application has been submitted on behalf of Churchmanor Estates to split the site's final unit so it would be occupied by two separate tenants.

With that in mind, we asked Gazette readers what they would like to see, and here are some of the things suggested.

A card shop

Some readers suggested a card shop, such as Cards Direct or The Card Factory.

Colchester has a few card shops, however, they are in the city centre, which for some may be difficult to get to.

Emma Gibson said: “It’s a pain going into town just for cards and or balloons, plus expensive going into town.”

Lakeland

Lakeland is a chain of British kitchenware stores, and was another popular choice, listed by several readers.

Essex has a couple of Lakeland stores in the county, in Chelmsford and Grays, at Lakeside.

There are some kitchenware stories in the city already in town and other retail parks, but this would be a welcome addition to Stane Park.

Clothing or retail company

Several clothes shops were named as possible desires for the final vacant unit.

Stores suggested range from Cotton Traders and Zara to River Island, but other retail companies like John Lewis and HomeSense were also suggested.

Outside of the city centre and its plethora of retail shops, another one in a different location could be a good choice.

Ikea

Many Colchester Gazette readers have suggested they would love to see an Ikea added to the retail park.

The Swedish home furnishing store boasts but only one store in the county, once again at Lakeside in Grays.

This one would have to be quite a bit smaller but would definitely serve the people of Colchester and north Essex well to have one closer to them.

Hopefully, we will not have to wait long to find out, with a spokesman said “discussions with various occupiers” are taking place.