How Colchester is looking towards a post-retail high street

“That was a big loss for Colchester,” says Sam Good, the chief executive of the Our Colchester Business Improve District, which represents about 450 businesses in the city. “We have struggled to replace it.”

Mr Good says challenges bring opportunities, in this case the chance to reimagine what the community wants its city centre to be.

“For me it is about moving away from transactions,” he says. “We can’t just prioritise the city centre as being transaction-driven.”

Shops and other businesses will remain, he says. But their offering is likely to change.

The future he says is in “experience-led businesses”.

A deal has recently been struck, for example, to turn the former Debenhams complex, which has been empty for the past three years, into an indoor karting track with other activities on offer such as bowling and trampolining.

“So how do we get those people into the centre, where people want to bring their kids?” he asks.

Rather than people choosing to go into the city centre for shopping, he says, people might visit the Mercury Theatre, visit the Norman Colchester Castle, take a stroll in the park or watch a film at one of the city’s museums.