Colchester's new £6.25 million digital hub to boost tech creatives

The former bus depot at 43 Queen Street has remained vacant since 2015 after First Bus vacated the site, with the building demolished last year.

The new Digital Working Hub will serve as a collaborative space for digital artists, entrepreneurs, and tech creatives in the area and is expected to be completed early next year.

David King, leader of Colchester Council, said: "This is great news, the result of years of planning, go ahead will mark the beginning of further and significant regeneration for our city centre."

The four-storey, 1,200 square metre building is designed to echo the aesthetics of the Theatre Royal, a staple of early 1900s Colchester, since replaced by the bus garage.

Concept image of the new building (Image: inkpendownie.co.uk)

Simon Blaxill, chair of We Are Colchester, said: "Colchester's creative sector employs more than 4,000 people, with a significant portion in the digital field.

"This sector is experiencing rapid growth, and we are committed to fostering an environment that attracts investment and nurtures its development.

"Colchester has also utilised grant funding for 5G infrastructure, an advantage that many other city centres do not possess."

Colchester Council, along with government grants and investments from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, funded the £6.25million project.

Additional funding of £41.3million from Levelling Up, Section 106, and the Town Deal will contribute to further regeneration projects, including giving Saint Nicholas Square and Balkerne Gate a facelift, improving cycling infrastructure, and bringing heritage assets back into public use.

The new building is designed to echo the aesthetics of the Theatre Royal (Image: Colchester Civic Society)

Helen Russell, chief executive of the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “It was great to be on the ground to mark construction of this much-needed, creative business grow-on project getting underway.

"The South East LEP has long recognised the value of digital and creative economy to our area.

"It is exciting to see the transformation at this site from a bus garage into an attractive, cutting-edge workspace, which will support businesses in the creative sector to move beyond the start-up stage to scale-up and mature, while simultaneously freeing up incubation space for new businesses.”