A FAMOUS comedian, actor, and president of the Victorian Society is throwing his weight behind the "last realistic chance" of saving Colchester’s iconic 'Jumbo’ water tower.

Jumbo is the largest Victorian municipal water tower in the country and is in urgent need of repairs due to significant structural damage and deterioration. 

Griff Rhys Jones – an actor and comedian best known for Not the Nine O'clock News and his long-term collaboration with the late Mel Smith – told the Gazette that Jumbo needed urgent funding and public support “as it is part of what will give Colchester a commercially successful future”. 

Griff said it would be a “great tragedy not to reuse or use” Jumbo because by being an attractive landmark in the centre of the city for tourists and residents, it has a secure future unlike the “wibbly wobbly retail sector we all know”.  

Gazette: Conservation - Griff Rhys Jones (Left) and Andrew Crayston (Right) who is a Trustee of North Essex HeritageConservation - Griff Rhys Jones (Left) and Andrew Crayston (Right) who is a Trustee of North Essex Heritage (Image: North Essex Heritage)

He said Jumbo was a “fantastic example” of how the Victorians were "forward thinking” and put issues such as water hygiene first not just for themselves, but for future generations.

He said young people also care about historical buildings such as Jumbo much more, adding: “Far more young people are really deeply concerned about where they live.”

“It is about the quality of the places we live in and the best thing we can do with buildings is recycle them. Demolishing things and building a new building is a hugely carbon intensive response. It is so much greener to recycle a building like we would a paper cup."

Gazette: Support - Griff Rhys Jones was in Colchester to perform his sell-out show at the neighbouring Mercury TheatreSupport - Griff Rhys Jones was in Colchester to perform his sell-out show at the neighbouring Mercury Theatre (Image: North Essex Heritage)

Simon Hall, chair of the North Essex Heritage, which is applying for a National Lottery Fund later this year, said: “The importance of Jumbo both locally and nationally cannot be overstated.

“We and others have been working for years to create a solution and it is now within reach.

"We must not let it slip and the statutory bodies and grant funders should get behind this opportunity, demonstrating how effective cooperation can deliver for the community and the future.”