Council approves plans for Moxy hotel in Colchester centre

Members of the council’s planning committee have agreed to a proposal for a new 75-bedroom Moxy hotel in the former post office building on North Hill.

The plans were recommended for approval by a planning officer after being revised multiple times following consultations and concerns raised. 

The site is just a five-minute walk from the old and abandoned Odeon site, which already had plans approved to become a 120-bed Moxy hotel earlier this year.

The plans were discussed during a lively debate at the last planning meeting, and saw a wave of support from councillors. 

Old Heath and The Hythe councillor Michael Lilley: “I think when you look at it, it is one of the best buildings in the town centre. 

Favouring - Councillor Michael Lilley called the plans a great thing for Colchester

“An application like this is going to be an asset for Colchester. The city centre is growing quite fast, we are thriving, it is busy. 

“If I was a tourist looking to come to Colchester and I wanted to look at places to go, I’d look at booking a play at the theatre, the Mercury, a band at the arts centre, go to the castle and you look for a hotel, and this would be ideal for all of that. 

“Let’s stop being negative about Colchester and be positive and this is a positive thing whether you like it or not, it’s a great thing for Colchester.” 

New Town and Christ Church councillor Kayleigh Rippingale echoed the enthusiasm, saying the proposal would attract more business to the city. 

“I think the proposal offers an amazing opportunity to create a new cultural quarter," she said.

“We have to be welcoming of these big brands. This will give us an opportunity to bring other big brands into the city centre. And that’s what we need to do, create high-quality jobs as well.” 

Site - The former post office building (Image: Google)

Some attendees of the planning meeting suggested to ask the developer to display any findings made during the archaeological works at the site, similar to the Fenwick treasure found in 2014. 

It was agreed to include in the conditions to add an informative note to display findings, including mosaics, where possible. 

Councillor Kemal Cefoglu questioned during the meeting whether two hotels by the same operator, the Marriott chain, would become reality, however planning officer Chris Harden replied the site would merely have the approval to have a hotel built there, irrelevant of who the operator will be.