Heritage open days 9-10 September

Colchester Museums have organised a free, weekend-long event opening doors on many buildings in the town which are usually closed, or giving free entry instead of the usual admission fee. For details of buildings and timings, see the Colchester Museums What's On page.

Hythe funday; Saturday 26 August, 2006

Colchester Mayor Cllr Richard Gower will officially open a 'funday' at the Hythe this coming Saturday, 26 August. The event aims to bring the community together, attract visitors into the area, celebrate East Colchester's heritage, and help get residents involved in new activities. Something for everyone is planned, from DJ-ing to talks by local historian, Patrick Denney. Find out more here.

Approval for University of Essex Research Park

Planning approval has been given for the University of Essex to build a research park on a 43-acre site to the west of the existing buildings. It is hoped that high-tech businesses will create up to 2000 jobs, and the site will include offices, private dwellings and student rooms. Read more at Colchester2020's site. See map, waypoint 11.

Colne View

Barratt's big site down by the Hythe is in advanced stages of work. Here is 'Boston House', on the corner of Lightship Way and Colne Causeway, receiving finishing touches. Is that a helideck on top? Go to Simpson & Brown Architects for a description of the work, together with some drawings and a Quicktime visualisation. See map, waypoint 10.

St Anne's Community Centre

The new St Anne's Community Centre on Pond Field, Harwich Road, is nearing completion. It has a striking, sculptural appearance that, enhanced with the timber cladding, works well in the landscape. Architects are DSDHA. It will be a base for Sure Start, which provides services for families with children aged 0 to 4. It will also provide a centre for other local groups and rooms for hire. The building has been jointly funded by Sure Start (£500,000), Colchester Borough Council (£250,000) and The Soropitimists (£150,000) and will be managed by local volunteers from the St Anne's Community Association.
See map, waypoint 9

Hythe Hill

Hythe Hill – another place in the balance. Will it get its life back? Will it gentrify? Ancient timber houses sit alongside tool hire shops, alongside Georgian townhouses and Victorian two-up-two-downs and a fine medieval church building. Surely a good recipe for a lively and diverse community.
See map, waypoint 8.

Hythe student accommodation

In a time when anything new built near water gets done up a bit like old docklands warehouses (dubbed "wharfism" by Charles Jencks some while ago), these blocks (part of the University of Essex's student accommodation at the Hythe, Colchester) are a breath of fresh air. Design by Dawe Geddes Architects (now Dawe + Partners Architects). See map, waypoint 2.

Libeskind at Essex

Here's some trivia: Daniel Libeskind, controversial architect, did a post-grad degree in history and theory of architecture at the University of Essex in 1972. More here.

Plans for a "vibrant new community" off Turner Road

According to a recent news release from English Partnerships, a redundant site near Colchester's General Hospital "is set to be transformed into a vibrant new community as part of national plans to bring surplus NHS sites back into meaningful use". See the full text here.

Planning community

Off Magdalen Street, to the north, you can find an attempt (one of many in Colchester) to create a mature urban community from scratch. It has the advantage of being on the brow of a hill, providing views over the green valley which takes the railway and the river (and the beyond to the country park). Is Colchester unique (in Essex, at least) in having these surprising areas of green at the centre of a rapidly growing, busy town? Their random and surprise nature privides interest and charm to the built environment. But they are clearly at risk: from neglect, or the pressure to build in and around them in ways that will destroy their value and charm.

No entry

Here's an intersting feature in a wall on New Town Road. It looks worn and weathered enough to be very old, but it's probably not.

Hidden gem in New Town

Tucked away behind somebody's front garden on Artillery Street, New Town, is the Spurgeon Memorial Evangelical Church. It was here that the great Victorian preacher was converted as a lad on a snowy day in 1850. Read more at the church's website.