Buzz Bingo in Colchester could become shops and bars

The building, which houses the bingo hall in Osborne Street, which is currently run by leisure operator Buzz Bingo, is among the sites identified for potential redevelopment in Colchester Council’s masterplan for the city centre.

The NCP car park and ground floor bingo hall “could come forward for mixed use development”, the 91-page masterplan document says.

It says the council would “encourage change of use” of the ground floor of the building, creating “active frontages” on all sides, which could include retail space, food and drink outlets, and co-working spaces.

Site - the NCP car park in Osborne Street, Colchester (Image: Google)

The masterplan says NCP would also be encouraged to upgrade its parking facilities and explore moving its entrance to neighbouring Southway.

Concerns about the inclusion of the bingo hall in the masterplan were put to the council’s cabinet members by High Steward of Colchester, Sir Bob Russell, at a meeting on Wednesday.

He asked why the council is “so anti the bingo hall in Osborne Street”, pointing out it has “more members than all the political parties in Colchester combined”.

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The leader of the council, David King, responded to defend the masterplan.

“I think it’s a cracking document if you accept what it is – it’s shaped for the city of now and the future in terms of guidance and the vision which will be tested and developed stage by stage,” he said.

“There’s a lot more to do on each and every possibility that’s encompassed within the masterplan.”

Worried - High Steward of Colchester, Sir Bob Russell, raised his concerns at a cabinet meeting

Colchester councillor Martin Goss previously suggested the NCP car park could be knocked down if the parking firm were to exit the site to make way for a new bus station, which would also encompass Stanwell House in nearby Stanwell Street.

The masterplan states the redevelopment of multi-storey car parks isn’t immediate because of their “embodied carbon value, demolition costs, and the continued need for parking for a significant proportion of city centre users and businesses”.

It adds the sites identified within the document “could come forward for mixed use development” when these issues are satisfied and “after a modal shift in transport habits”.