Tuesday 23rd January, 2024
Colchester City Council has been left trying to find £7.7m to comple the Northern Gateway project. This will discussed at Cabinet on 24th January.
Since 2016, Colchester Commercial Holdings Limited (CCHL) has been managing the development for Colchester City Council (CCC). The site got planning permission in December 2022, but there are conditions, like improving the roads near Junction 28 of the A12.
The team at CCHL has worked with Essex County Highways and National Highways to meet these conditions. It agreed on the plan, and the construction was set for 2024/25.
Here’s the twist:
The review of CCHL commissioned by CCC early in 2023, recommended that CCC needs to bring this programme of work in house. It’s part of an overall restructuring of the finances at the Town Hall.
Out go Council owned companies, in comes a more internal way of managing big projects.
This includes finding £7.7 million in the budget for the work at Junction 28.
Ouch.
CCC now needs to find a partner to complete the detailed plan and carry out the work. To do this, the Council now needs to find money from the already over-stretched budget.
If the road work at Junction 28 isn’t done, no part of the development can be used, and it’ll be hard to find a buyer for the site. The development is a big area for jobs with its own section in the Local Plan.
The Council states that it also wants to rethink the plan for the Colchester Northern Gateway (CNG) development and come up with a new strategy by the summer of 2024.
It is unlikely that retail will feature.
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