'Hythe could be the next Coin Street'

9:53pm Wednesday 24th October 2012 in News

THE Hythe could be the next London south bank, according to a team set up to regenerate the former cargo port.

Community land trust Hythe Forward, which is set to launch next spring, tonight outlined its plan to transform the area, starting with recruiting hundreds of members from businesses and community groups as well as residents.

Phil Rose, a chartered surveyor from Foundation East, who is part of the project, said: "Colchester could be the next Coin Street, if that's what people want."

READ THE FULL REPORT IN FRIDAY'S GAZETTE

Comments(14)

angryman!!! says...
10:01pm Wed 24 Oct 12

This should have been done when all the original planning permission was granted. Developers should have funded the river being damded so the tide was high and could have been used for water sports and would have created a marina style development

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jim_bo says...
7:16am Thu 25 Oct 12

Statements like this make you wonder if the chaps ever left his ivory tower and been down to the Hythe?

It's already a mess a mixture of industrial units and cheap, poorly made boxes (flats).

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B1gman says...
7:29am Thu 25 Oct 12

Are we all talking about the same place. The Hythe with the lovely smell of raw sewage coupled with , at low tide, the stench of rotting vegetation . Hmmmm think these issues need sorting out before making the area any better

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B1gman says...
7:29am Thu 25 Oct 12

Are we all talking about the same place. The Hythe with the lovely smell of raw sewage coupled with , at low tide, the stench of rotting vegetation . Hmmmm think these issues need sorting out before making the area any better

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Say It As It Is OK? says...
8:30am Thu 25 Oct 12

I worked very close to Coin Street for over 20 years. I saw the place change during the Eighties and Nineties from what could only be described as bomb sites and derelict warehouses into what it is today. Clearly it was someone's dream to transform the place and they did a wonderful job.

The regeneration of the OXO building, the Globe and Tate Modern, along with the development of the gardens and markets transformed the entire South Bank area.

I read somewhere that over £300 million went into the regeneration of just the Coin Street part of the South Bank and a levy was placed upon every developer to fund that regeneration from day one. This levy was passed onto residents. In 1995 a two bed flat along the South Bank was around £250,000!

Other river and Estuary areas, eg: Ipswich, Bristol, Liverpool all saw the opportunity to develop these areas years ago whilst Colchester ruined the area by encouraging over development with poor planning decisions.

The developers were hell bent on building cheap boxes and flats in the area and all the planners and the council could see was more council taxes in their coffers.

To properly regenerate the area they need to start again! So will The Hythe be the next Coin Street? Very unlikely!

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Ginsters Dragon says...
12:33pm Thu 25 Oct 12

I was there last night. My first observation is that Phil Rose did not say that the Hythe could be the 'next Coin Street'. He talked about community land trusts and gave a couple of examples, making it clear that each has its own distinct character and focus.... In fact he made clear that Coin Street had something of an advantage in terms of location. Hythe Forward would do what's possible, wanted and needed in the Hythe - it wouldn't be the 'next' anything.

Secondly there seems to be a lot of 'they' should have done this, that or the other... Who are 'they'? What's required NOW - forget the past because it's gone - is for local businesses, landowners, residents and community groups to set out what they want and start delivering it. The council can be pressured to help, but they can't/shouldn't be doing all the work. If everybody does nothing, or just whinges from the sidelines, nothing will change. It's a case of do what you've always done and get what you've always got.

It's also worth saying that the Gazette are wrong to report that Hythe Forward is a community land trust.... At the moment it's just a process, an idea, with an ever growing group of people coming together to try to make it happen. It may end up constituted as a community land trust, but that's up to those who get on board.

Finally, you might think that the Hythe is a 'mess', but development trusts/community land trust have worked where there are far greater economic and social problems to overcome. If you want to become part of the solution then here's your chance.

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Sdapeze says...
1:09pm Thu 25 Oct 12

From my point of view, as an ex-Hythe business owner that moved away because of the traffic on the roads costing my company a lot of money, I am optimistic about the future of the Hythe as a visitor destination and quality residential property location. Not as a business hub. The Hythe's unique selling point is the river and, as such, the overriding priority for its development is the provision of a half tide barrier, at the extreme end of the Hythe, near the sewage treatment plant outfall. Permanent water in the river will open up the doors to all sorts of speculators and quality developments. Yes, it will probably cost £5m or so, but this is an investment in the future of a very special part of Colchester. Yes, the wildlife will be a bit miffed. But wildlife will adapt and new wildlife will come in. We can have boats on the water, fishing opportunities, a marina for moneybags boat owners, etc. I would hope that the Quayside pub could have access to the waterfront, as this would be a huge attraction for visitors. Unlikely I know but one can only hope. Sadly, the motorcycle and other industrial units will have to go. The sub station will need to be screened from view. I doubt that the overhead pylons and power lines can be cost-effectively taken under the river, so that will have to stay. The lightship and other houseboats are a compliment to the area in my view and should be encouraged - but only seaworthy vessels. No tat! This is the key to the future of the Hythe in my opinion, and no further development should be allowed until an unbreakbale condition as part of development approval is put in place for a tide barrier.

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Robert Ashton says...
1:37pm Thu 25 Oct 12

Oh dear, the Gazette do like their headlines! Of course it would be silly to set out to re-create Coin Street on the Hythe. As folk have already commented, that would be a major challenge.

More importantly, it would not achieve what Hythe Forward is all about. That is giving local residents, businesses, landowners and developers (yes and the university too) a forum through which they can plan, lobby and attract external funding to create the place they want to see.

Right now, there's a lot of frustration on all sides. Hythe Forward can become the place where those frustrations become coordinated campaigns for what the people who matter most, want to see happen in their community.

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julieee says...
3:48pm Thu 25 Oct 12

angryman!!! good point developers should have an input. That's what section 106 is about and this gives some focus as to how it should be spent. a cohesive group can only be an advantage.

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Ginsters Dragon says...
12:16pm Fri 26 Oct 12

Julieee... You're bang on! Getting greater control over existing funding, especially the s106 'kick back' flowing from development on the Hythe, is an obvious place to start.

Added to this a not for profit body such as Hythe Forward would potentially be able to match funding from elsewhere to deliver bigger schemes that 'hit harder'..... This is all down to local people pushing it though!

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Ginsters Dragon says...
1:04pm Fri 26 Oct 12

Sdapeze..... What a very reasonable, well considered contribution. And from someone who's previously invested in the Hythe and, presumably, experienced both the highs and the lows - more like this please!

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Sdapeze says...
5:19pm Fri 26 Oct 12

To see some old Hythe pictures go here http://www.bowcott.c
om/postcards/page2.h
tm#hythe

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king harold says...
11:39am Wed 31 Oct 12

But it stinks.....

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Ginsters Dragon says...
3:42pm Fri 2 Nov 12

Brilliant... Perhaps you'd like to contribute. This is the sort of searing insight needed to take the Hythe Forward KH.

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