Colchester North Hill Moxy Hotel begins 'preparatory works'

A spokesman for the Elysium Group has confirmed that “preparatory works” have begun at the former Post Office in North Hill which is set to become a Moxy Hotel.

The planning application for the hotel was made by the Elysium Group, which owns popular restaurants like Mimosa, Hudson House, and Pavillion in Colchester, was discovered by The Gazette at the start of 2023.

Elysium Group owns the building in North Hill, which was built in 1936, and was previously home to the Post Office up until its closure in 2018 as it moved into WH Smith following a restructuring plan.

Building - the former home of the Post Office in North Hill (Image: Google Maps) The plans to launch a Moxy Hotel, alongside its brand partner Marriott, were approved by Colchester Council in August after being revised multiple times and delayed following consultations and concerns that were raised.

Now, early planning works are taking place so the actual renovation and ground works can begin once they are completed.

An Elysium Group spokesman said: "The preparatory works for the development at the former post office have now started.

“Our design team and consultants are working on discharging the planning conditions required in order for site works to begin.”

The planning conditions include various clauses to provide specifics on the site. 

Luxury - a mock up image of the Moxy Hotel from the rear of the building (Image: N/A) Such as “full details of all new brickwork, including the bond, and joint profile shall be submitted to and agreed by the Local Planning Authority” before any are laid.

Or for example, no development, ground works, or demolition can take place until a construction management plan has been submitted and approved by the council.

The future Moxy Hotel site will also have a restaurant on the ground floor with access from Head Street and the High Street.

Vision - an aerial view of how the Moxy Hotel would look (Image: N/A) Castle ward Councillor Richard Kirkby-Taylor is feeling “cautiously optimistic” about the Moxy Hotel.

He said: “These types of preparatory works are normally investigations; I haven’t looked at the exact conditions on this.

Optimistic - Castle ward Councillor Richard Kirkby-Taylor (Image: Newsquest)

“It is usually concerning assumptions and making sure things are as they are, it doesn’t mean they have started building works necessarily.

“Investment in the city centre is always welcome, I rather see high a quality hotel than a low quality one.

“The investment in existing buildings, and finding new uses for historic buildings, from a reuse of historic fabric angle, it can only be a good thing, I will wait to see what else happens though.”

The site is 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.

It is not yet known if both hotels will go ahead.