Shops in Colchester city centre – what you want to see

More units are being filled on the High Street and throughout the city centre but there is still plenty of opportunities for new businesses to move into the city.

But what is it shoppers and residents actually want?

Gone – Marks and Spencer shut for good in September 2022 (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest) The answer is some shops which Colchester had up until relatively recently – with BHS, Marks and Spencer, and Debenhams high on readers’ wish lists.

Whilst BHS and Debenhams went into administration, Marks and Spencer willingly moved out of the High Street to Stane Park in 2022.

In an impassioned response to our call-out on Facebook, Davina Rayner said Colchester needed to be put back on the map.

She wrote: “A good mixture of shops – big stores alongside quirky little independent stores (perhaps with realistic rents that would help their businesses to survive) that add character to the city, which would entice more people to visit.

“That blended with the wealth of history that Colchester is built upon (how lucky are we), it could be a thriving and desirable place to go to!”

She also spoke out about plans for Jumbo and the former Odeon site, which still feel years away from coming to fruition.

Small – many feel Colchester bus station is not big enough to cater for the number of users (Image: Steve Brading) “And as for Jumbo and the old cinema...why does it take so long to make decisions about these things?

“Just when it looks like there is progress, someone changes the goalposts, and we're back to square one again.

“Both buildings could be turned into really brilliant venues that could bring tourism and money into the shops and businesses which would then feed growth into the city – Colchester needs to be put back on the map.”

Other people want to see an indoor market, an idea which was mooted following the closure of Debenhams.

Marian Carey wrote: “An indoor market - could have used Marks and Spencer, Debenhams, the old cinema in Crouch Street.”

Dorian Kelly’s focus was more on culture.

He wrote: “A proper, full-scale town centre concert hall for our two orchestras and the touring bands, opera and ballet who really want to come to Colchester regularly instead of Ipswich.

“We definitely have the audience for these but we have got no venue.”

Changed – Head Street is much quieter without the Debenhams store, which has been closed for four years (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest) In some senses, a good infrastructure is as important as decent shops, a point Paul Seear was keen to make.

He wrote: “A bus station befitting city status, not one where the average Joe's garden shed is bigger.”

Noel Bullard, Trisha Lynch, Iain Cannon, David Pattinson, and Kelli Francis agreed.

Regardless of what the city centre will look like in ten, twenty, or even thirty years’ time, one thing won’t change – there will always be people who care about Colchester.