Colchester city centre retail scene fights for survival

There are now three empty retail units in Colchester city centre which have become towering and unwelcome symbols of the modern retail era.

Debenhams, once the flagship store for Culver Square Shopping Centre, has been vacant since April last year, five months after the retailer announced it was going into liquidation in 2020.

Other staple high street names, whilst still financially healthy, have left Colchester city centre out of choice; Next left for Tollgate Retail Park in March, and earlier this month, Marks and Spencer joined them, moving out of Colchester High Street after 90 years despite a spirited resistance from campaigners.

Some independent businesses have also thrown in the towel after decades of trading.

Allen and Son’s butchers, which for so long was a permanent fixture in St Botolph’s Street, ceased trading in July, following Geller’s butchers which suffered a similar fate in 2017.

The steady decline of Colchester’s retail offering in the city centre, accelerated over the past 18 months, has left shoppers and residents demanding answers on how the area is going to bounce back from a series of setbacks.

Parking charges, business rates, and the increased popularity of online shopping have all been blamed for the decline of the traditional high street – and Colchester is by no means alone in its plight.

But although the problem is easily explained, there are complexities beneath the surface which make finding a solution to the issue much more challenging.

The Marks and Spencer retail unit is a case in point.

The front of the store is freehold, meaning Marks and Spencer still own both the building and the land it’s on; but the back of store is lease hold, meaning the company owns only the building, and not the land.

Another well documented issue relating to the former High Street branch is the age of the building. Although the rear parts of the building were built in the 1970s, much of the traditional frontage was built long before.

Safely removing asbestos, which was used extensively in the UK construction industry up until the 1980s, could be a major expense for any potential buyer of the retail unit. material.

Indeed, the chief executive officer of Marks and Spencer acknowledged there had been a degree of mismanagement in how the retailer has run its store estate over the years, with Stuart Machin admitting in an email to campaigners that the company had numerous stores, similar to Colchester’s, which are no longer fit for purpose.

With Marks and Spencer still owning the building, however, one source said it is likely the retailer will be keen to offload the property to prevent the business from haemorrhaging any more cash.

They said: “Marks and Spencer may still be paying rates and potentially service charges at the back.

“You’ve got landlords who will want to keep the lights on and virtually lease it for nothing, and you’ve got landlords who will dig their heels in – there’s a deal to be done, because it can’t be left sitting empty like Debenhams is.

“There is stuff churning away in the background, but there’s nothing concrete as yet.”

Added to the issue of business rates in the city centre, another major concern of shoppers is the cost of parking fees, with some lots charging as much £4.90 for two hours of parking.

Any reduction in parking fees, however, would run contrary to Essex County Council’s Safer, Greener, Healthier campaign, which aims to promote walking and cycling in city centre areas as part of the ambition to ease congestion and gradual phase out the use of cars.

Despite the push towards greener forms of travel, campaigners have argued the retail development at Stane Retail Park – where the new Marks and Spencer store is only half a mile away from the Sainsbury’s supermarket – will both increase reliance on cars and worsen levels of congestion in Stanway.

With the problems easily identifiable, the conversation turns to what can be done to rectify them.

Sam Good, the manager of Colchester’s Business Improvement District, told the Gazette although there is still hope the city centre can reinvent itself, it is going to have to adapt quickly.

Equally, he explained Colchester is not seeing a dearth of highs street retailers because of its own flaws – rather, it is because retailers have not run themselves efficiently over the years.

He said: “When reviewing businesses closing, it is never a simple equation of business closing because they are failing, in fact, this is often in the minority of reasons for business closures.

“When looking at our large closures in Colchester, what did they all have in common? Their premises or business models were not fit for purpose.

“BHS, Debenhams and Topshop, all poorly run businesses which failed to evolve to meet the changing needs of customers.

“Next, a unit that wasn't functional and lacked the basics of accessibility for its customers and JD Sports, who grew their premises and re-opened in Lion Walk with a new flagship store.”

He added, however, negotiations are ongoing behind the scenes to bring new names to the High Street.

“In the last two weeks, we have been speaking with numerous national organisations interested in opening in Colchester and are confident that, if the deal is right for them and the landlord, they will be moving very soon.”

Change is happening but Colchester is well placed to adapt. It has a strong identity, an array of indepdent and national lines...and a determination to survive.