Council Reports Planning & Highways Committee So what is happening to the former Rugby Club site on Mill Road? Well, the good news is that the clubhouse will be demolished (perhaps already has been?), and replaced with a new community centre. The St Marks Community Centre will be an extremely sustainable building with solar panels on the roof, access to air source heat pumps and has been designed to allow for potential expansion, should the need arise. There will be a small hall downstairs, with a licensed café and a larger hall upstairs (seats 120), with a balcony overlooking the new village green. There will be space for toddlers and playgroups as well as many other uses – from dance classes to birthday parties, bridge clubs to music sessions. The community centrewill be located toward at the eastern end of the “Pedestrian Boulevard”, which starts at the roundabout on the Via Urbis Romanae, close to the football stadium. A brief YouTube film, as part of the consultation process, can be found here: SEE YOUTUBE FILM HERE The rest of the site is due to contain a 75 bed care home, a private acute surgical hospital, and about 650 homes, as well as office space, a medical centre and retail premises. The planning application (199665), which was registered at Colchester Borough Council over two years ago, on 29th March 2019, is still not resolved. I understand that the delay is in reaching agreement on the S.106 agreement, - a legal agreement between the developer and the planning authority designed to mitigate against any detrimental impact caused by the development – probably about money! There were many objections to this application, and I hope that they can be resolved. Objections such as the one which asks “Why can’t the only two bridleways in Myland, (Tower Lane and from Severalls Lane to Axial Way), be joined up? Why are the Highways Authority insisting on widening the VUR – which was completed fairly recently? What concern is being shown for the climate emergency that will be our legacy? Development comes with opportunities to protect and enhance our environment – the National Planning Policy Framework says so. 13
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