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Colchester
Ultra Ready for Business
New Homes for a
Growing Population
Colchester’s ambition continues around housing.
The Borough has had more new housing
completions over the past five years than any
other of the 13 local authorities in Essex.
Colchester’s build rate reflects the Council’s
willingness to work with developers to bring
schemes forward, including a flexible approach to
scheme cost appraisals. This growth is expected
to continue with a projected further 9,454 net
additional dwellings projected between 2015/6
to 2028/29.
Completion figures were particularly impressive coming out
of the recession due to Colchester’s comparatively good prices
for people moving out of the capital and also the availability of
sites for developers in the Borough.
This ability to deliver has generated a solid momentum
among house builders here. But it’s not all about the numbers.
There is a concern also to ensure quality of place so that
communities can emerge and develop solid foundations too.
Affordable Housing is key to a growing population and is
an important part of the housing strategy for Colchester,
including an active role for the Local Authority in developing
new options where opportunities arise. 259 affordable
housing units were delivered in 2014/15 which represented
26.2% of all new homes delivered. This is a significant
improvement on the previous year’s 103 units which represented
14.2% of all new homes delivered.
New build is just part of the story. There is a buoyant local
housing market with turnover of properties higher than
neighbouring authorities, at 4% in 2015/2016. For those
households that want more flexibility, there is a strong private
rented sector which has more than doubled in the last 10 years.
The market has responded well to supporting households
into owner-occupation. From 2013 to 2015 Help to Buy
equity loans enabled 614 households to buy (22nd highest in
country) of which 511 were first time buyers of new homes
(21st highest in country).
Colchester benefits from having an Adopted Local Plan which
ensures that growth is taking place in a programmed way.
This approach is also important in the Borough’s visionary
role in pursuing the consideration of new Garden Communities
as a way of addressing future long term growth across North
Essex. This approach would allow for the provision of high
quality communities together with transformational new
infrastructure, comprehensive networks of green space and
considerable local economic growth opportunities.