Job centre turning into 40 flats in Colchester city centre

Colchester Council has granted permission for the “acceptable proposal” which will see the conversion of a former commercial property to 44 new apartments.

The former "temporary" Job Centre - which had 32 work coaches - is on 14 Headgate and next to the Headgate Theatre and Southway.

Essex County Council estimates that the new housing development would generate 1.98 early years and childcare places, 6.6 primary school places, and 4.40 secondary places.

This estimate excludes one-bedroom units which are not for families and also means no new childcare, primary, secondary, or post-16 education places should be needed.

Conversion - The building was a Job Centre which opened to its doors in 2021 (Image: Google Maps)

As part of the 1964 Public Libraries and Museums Act, a developer contribution of £3,423.20 is considered necessary to extend facilities, equalling £78.80 per unit.

The unit size and mixture of properties were assumed to be houses of two or more bedrooms.

As part of the agreement, no demolition or construction work shall take place outside of the 8am to 6pm on weekdays, 8am to 1pm on Saturdays, and there will also be no work on Sundays or Bank Holidays.

To “promote the use of sustainable means of transport” there will be an approved cycle store which will be provided before the first people live in the accommodation.

To further encourage people to use sustainable transport, as approved by Essex County Council, new residents will be given six one-day travel vouchers for “relevant” public transport.

Central - The new flats will be next to The Headgate Theatre, a central Colchester location (Image: Submitted)

The number of car parking spaces have yet to be agreed, but there will be one electric charging point for every 10 spaces.

There will be a communal bin store with a digital lock and code provided to residents, with a minimum provision of four 360 litre bins per 10 properties for recycling and one 1100 litre bin per 10 properties for general waste.

Essex County Council Highways said that areas of the site for loading, unloading, or storing any materials or vehicles, including construction traffic, must be clear of the highway.