Moxy hotel could be built at old Odeon in Colchester

Architects working with the Marriott hotel group have launched a bid to transform the old Odeon site, in Crouch Street, into a 120-bed Moxy hotel.

If approved, the building would retain its 1930s façade with the new hotel sitting behind it.

Cavaleri Partnership, a firm of architects based in Cambridge, has been working with the building’s owners for the last six months to put together what it calls a “well-designed and deliverable scheme”.

Site - the old Odeon in Crouch Street, Colchester (Image: Newsquest)

A planning statement says Marriott, which has also eyed up the former post office at the top of North Hill, has been involved in the process so far and considers its Moxy brand to be the most appropriate for the site.

“Marriott has been reviewing several sites within Colchester for some time and considers that this site provides them with the level of accommodation and style of accommodation suitable for their brand,” it adds.

The plans include provisions for an on-site shop, restaurant, and hair salon, and the new hotel would provide parking for 35 cars and 22 bikes.

The site has remained empty since 2002, when Odeon moved to its current home in Head Street, despite there being several attempts to regenerate it.

Throwback - the former cinema in the 1990s

Plans to convert the former cinema into a nightclub were thrown out in 2006 after Colchester Council said it would create too much external noise, disturbance, litter, anti-social behaviour, and crime.

Councillors later gave proposals to build 57 flats and two retail units at the site the green light, but owner Matt Ellis pulled the brakes in 2018 after saying the plans were no longer financially viable.

In July this year, firefighters rushed to the old Odeon after a deliberate blaze tore through part of the empty building.

City centre councillor Steph Nissen, who has previously condemned the actions of arsonists, was pleased to see a “well-respected international chain” show interest in the site.

She said: “I think the fact another international chain wants to come to Colchester is another sign of our continuing growth and improvement. They wouldn’t come here if they didn’t see value in the city.”

She added she also hopes the building’s other original features can be protected.