ECSTATIC campaigners are celebrating after the planning committee overturned officers’ recommendation and threw out the proposals to transform St Botolph’s.

Protestors, who collected more than 700 written objections to both iterations of the scheme, staged a rally outside Colchester Town Hall before the crunch meeting.

Some wore face masks in protest at the speaking arrangements, which allowed five people to speak on each side of the argument.

However, by the end of the three and-a-half hour meeting, protestors cheered and clapped when the committee unanimously rejected the plans.

Alan Short helped spearhead the residents’ campaign against the development.

“We are ecstatic about the decision,” he said.

“It is nice to see our hard work pay off. Some of the issues we raised were commented on by the committee and the Castle councillors.

“The campaign was run across politics and we had support from all sides.”

READ MORE: Planning committee unanimously rejects Cultural Quarter plans

Dorian Kelly spoke on behalf of 107 named campaigners.

He said: “Let me make something very clear. Tonight is a turning point for Colchester.

“If you allow this to go through, you won’t just be passing an application for yet another building on a brownfield site.

“What you will be doing is setting a precedent for the whole course of how the future of Colchester town centre will be.

“You will have given up on this ancient town with its huge unexploited potential of being a centre for tourism, heritage, the arts, leisure, and yes, retail.”

Colchester’s High Steward Sir Bob Russell asked committee members to reject the plans on behalf of the town.

He said: “In 55 years as an observer and participant in the council I have never witnessed anything like this before - it is without precedent.

“The illustrations you have just seen show what an appalling scheme this is. Who actually supports this monstrous proposal?”

Kathryn Oelman, representing Lawson Planning Partnership, spoke against the plans on behalf of a number of business and residents’ groups, including Greyfriars Hotel and Friends of The Minories.

She criticised a heritage statement by the developer, which admitted the proposals would cause “harm to heritage assets”.

“No consideration is given to views from East Hill,” she said.

Castle ward councillor Simon Crow (Con) said: “I have banged on for years about wanting to encourage more inward investment into Colchester so I take no pleasure from objecting to a company wanting to make a considerable investment into our town centre but I cannot support this application.”

Mr Crow raised objections on layout, density, economic impact, privacy and parking.

He added: “If this application is approved residents will have every right to feel cheated out of the Cultural Quarter they were promised.”

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