Colchester Borough Council has selected Turnstone as its development partner to deliver a new £50m sports and leisure development at Colchester’s Northern Gateway site.
The site comprises 18 acres of development land, located at junction 28 of the A12. It is situated within the Northern Growth Area and is linked to Colchester town centre by the recently completed northern approach road.
Designs and uses for the scheme will be subject to further discussion, but the current proposed development includes a 40,000 sq ft 12 screen cinema, 12 restaurants, an 80-bed hotel, 80,000 sq ft of other leisure uses, including extreme sports and new public realm.
The council sought expressions of interest from developers to build out the scheme based on a masterplan prepared by Allies and Morrison, and granted Turnstone a leasehold interest.
Chris Goldsmith, managing director of Turnstone, said: “We are delighted to have been selected for this exciting new sports and leisure project and look forward to working with the local authority and appropriate statutory bodies in the coming weeks.”
Bill Frame, portfolio holder for economic growth and planning, said: “[The development] will be a real boost for economic development across the borough and will also create substantial job opportunities.”
Wareing & Partners and Whybrows are advising Turnstone.