Revamp of Colchester's oldest building put on hold

Plans to turn an 11th Century church into a community hub have been paused after one of the partners in the scheme dropped out due to financial constraints.

Colchester City Council had teamed up with St Helena Hospice to bring the Holy Trinity Church back to life, but the hospice has had to withdraw from the project.

David King, leader of Colchester City Council, said: "The hospice movement is having a tough time, so we understand why St Helena has decided to step back from the Holy Trinity Church project."

The council said it was still committed to the revamp of the Trinity Street church, which is believed to be the city's oldest standing building.

Holy Trinity ceased being used for religious services in 1954 and the church has been lying empty since 2017.

The revamp included repairing the church's heating, installing insulation and giving improved accessibility.

Kate Heslegrave, co-chief executive of St Helena Hospice, said redundancies were made over the summer.

She added: "We would have loved to have been involved with the Holy Trinity Church project and were thinking about exciting ways we could use the historic space to support the work of St Helena once we had taken occupation in 2028."

The £4.3m scheme has been supported by a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and others, and essential roof repairs begun earlier this year.

King said: "Last year, many organisations expressed interest, and we are positive Colchester's oldest building has a great future."

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