COLCHESTER is forever changing, growing and adapting with the times.

Whether it is new housing, developmentsor road networks, it is certainly not what it was 20 years ago.

We have gathered some aerial shots of Colchester to see how parts of the city have changed since the year 2000.

Here is how they looked then and how they looked in 2022.

Berechurch

The ward in the south of Colchester has changed dramatically.

The major change was the introduction of 153 homes in Berechurch Hall Road.

The homes were approved at the end of 2021 by planners despite fears over crashes causing long-term residents to leave the area.

Other noticeable changes are solar panels being built on a field near the north of the ward and the industrial estate to the north of the development growing in size.

Stanway/Tollgate

In Stanway, there have been major developments which have been completed during the last two decades.

Stane Leisure Park opened first in 2018 with KFC and Nando's, with Stane Retail Park arriving in late 2021, with the opening of Aldi and B&Q. 

It has continued to grow, adding various shops and retail outlets.

Tollgate Centre Shopping Park also opened, home to McDonald's, Boots, Next, Iceland and more.

There have also been plenty of homes built in the south as part of the Lakelands site.

Elsewhere, the pictures show the removal of the old Sainsbury's site, which was replaced with the new site nearby.

The space remains free which is where Tollgate Village will be built.

The £65 million development will see new shops, restaurants, an eight-screen cinema, bowling alley, a 60-bed hotel and business units built.

Planning permission for a previous iteration of Tollgate Village was approved on appeal in 2017, however, Tollgate Partnership revised proposals in the wake of changes in the market.

Severalls

The site around the former psychiatric hospital has changed hugely over the last two decades.

At the top of the image, you will see Colchester United's now Jobserve Community Stadium appear.

Replacing the club's Layer Road ground, which had been their home since Colchester United's foundation in 1937, it opened in 2008.

The Via Urbis Romanae road was constructed to link the A12 to the stadium and then into the city where new homes have been built.

There is also an empty space where the Northern Gateway development is ongoing.

Work on the £65 million complex, which is located close to the football stadium, got underway in March last year.

The development will be home to a Travelodge hotel, Greggs, American fast food giant Wendy’s, Hollywood Bowl bowling alley, Puttstars indoor golf centre, a Jump Street climbing centre, and seven restaurants.

One of the major changes however is the closure, demolition and revamp of the site of the former Severalls Hospital.

The hospital off Boxted Road closed in 1997, and was replaced with more than 700 homes.

The Garrison

Last on the list is the area near to the Colchester Garrison.

On the left, St John's Green Primary School has changed after it had a £6million extension.

A two-storey building on Abbey Fields in Circular Road East was built for September 2014 to help cope with increased demand.

There have been plenty of new homes built, including the construction of Robert's Road, Sergeant Street, Garrison Parade and more.

Elsewhere, an industrial estate to the north has changed and expanded.