Restoration work on historic tower set to start

Work on a multi-million pound restoration of the largest municipal water tower in England is set to begin this month.

Known locally as "Jumbo", the 40m (131ft) Balkerne Water Tower in Colchester, Essex, was decommissioned in 1984 and has been empty since then.

Earlier this year, the Grade II-listed building was given an £8m grant from the National Lottery Fund to make it accessible to the public for the first time and to open a heritage and events space inside.

Sir Robert McAlpine Special Projects has been appointed to carry out the restoration, with initial pre-construction work due to start in the coming weeks and the bulk of the project scheduled to begin in December.

The firm specialises in handling complex heritage and conservation projects.

Its operations director, Mike Coleman, said: "We are delighted to have been appointed to help bring a much-loved asset of industrial heritage and part of Colchester's rich history back into public use for the residents and visitors.

"Our team will be able to call upon years of experience in the heritage sector, leveraging traditional skills to retain the tower's charm and character while bringing it up to the standards required of a modern-day attraction."

The structure, which was built using about 1.25 million bricks and 142 tonnes of cast iron, has been a fixture of the Colchester skyline since 1883.

North Essex Heritage secured a 150-year lease on the building in 2021, and has backing from UK government funding, Colchester City Council and Historic England as well as The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Jason Lowe, North Essex Heritage's project director, said: "We look forward to working with a partner who understands what Jumbo means to Colchester and the importance of putting the community at the heart of what we do.

"Together we will transform this heritage icon to inspire, engage and serve the local community".

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