Colchester Council leader heralds significance of city status

The leader of Colchester Council, a Liberal Democrat councillor since 2018, believes Colchester will blossom and thrive like never before as a result of becoming a city.

The former market town was awarded the coveted and much sought-after status and royal seal of approval as part of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Colchester dignitaries had long campaigned for the area to be named a city and were delighted after securing the “badge of honour” at the fifth time of asking last year.

Mr King, who was elected leader of the authority last May, has now outlined exactly how Colchester being a city will benefit the area and the people within it.

He said: “City status draws attention to you, makes it easier to bid for funding, attracts businesses and it adds extra status to the institutions here already.

“It can bring about differences in lifestyle choices and quality of life, as well as job opportunities and career prospects.

“You can catch attention in a way you cannot as a town - we know brands will look at a city but will not look at a town. That alone is a reason to celebrate it.

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“These are the reasons to have confidence we can make changes across community and areas of the city which will bring benefit to our residents.”

Although Colchester being awarded city status has been welcomed by many in the area, some residents remain reluctant to accept the former town has become just that.

Mr King says it is healthy for people to have differing opinions but believes more and more people are coming round to the idea of Colchester moving forward as a city.

“Those views are changing and I think the majority are okay with it and many are enthusiastic about it,” he added.

“If you ask people who have come fresh to living here or who have children growing up here I think they are easier about all this because their times are different.

“My opinions have changed with the city. Once it was a market town and had all the qualities of a market town but whether we like or not that is long gone.

“What we need to do now is to accept the town that was is not the city that is or will be.”

Mr King, who is working with Essex County Council to improve pavements and roads in the city, says Colchester is also now becoming much more than just the High Street.

He added: “What we now have is an ancient and modern cultural and heritage centre with lots of great shopping and places to stay and eat and drink,” he added.

“That is what people think of as the centre of Colchester. But Colchester is also rural and coastal and in terms of urban we have Stanway, Tollgate and Stane Park.

“We also have a leisure park coming which is just months from completion in Northern Gateway with fantastic sports provision.

"We have 15,000 students at the university which recognises and encourages people to see wider Colchester as their home.

"And as the university grows we want people who come here to study to stay here, to work here, to set up their businesses here, to marry here and to bring their families here.

“So, we have all of these difference points of reference but we now need a new narrative to stich all this together and to think a bit more broadly [about Colchester].