It was announced work on a £65million leisure complex in Colchester will finally start this month after years in the pipeline. 

Construction will will get underway for the Northern Gateway Leisure Park in a matter of days. 

Turnstone Estates has appointed HG Construction  as the main contractor for the 200,000 sqft development.

Plans for the Northern Gateway scheme were first mooted in 2015 and were given permission in December 2020. 

What will be at the new leisure park?

The multi-million pound leisure park will have a Cineworld, Travelodge with 90 rooms, while restaurants Wendy’s and Greggs will now each boast a drive-thru on the site.

There will also be a Kervan Kitchen serving up authentic Turkish cuisine.

The project has already secured a 20-lane bowling alley from Hollywood Bowl and a Puttstars indoor golf centre.

Jump Street will also be opening a climbing centre and agreements are in place for Fastned to provide eight high-power electric vehicle charging bays.

As part of the scheme there will also be parking for 750 cars.

When will it open to the public?

The building work on the project is  scheduled for completion in the autumn of 2023. 

No more specific dates or timescales have been given at the moment. 

With many factors influencing how quickly work is completed this may move. 

Once work is completed the leisure park will then finally open to the public. 

Natalie Greig, associate director of Turnstone Estates, said: “We are delighted to reach this stage of the project and be starting work on site.

"Our fantastic line up of operators are raring to go and we are confident that HG will help us deliver a state-of-the-art leisure scheme for Colchester.”

Sue Lissimore, Colchester council's resources boss, said: "We welcome the appointment of HG Construction to deliver a high quality, best value development that will take our exciting plans for the Leisure Park at Northern Gateway from vision to reality.

“This is another leap forward in ensuring Colchester builds its reputation as a great place to visit, live and work whilst securing high levels of commercial income that can support Council services into the long term.”