West Mersea Gets Full-Fibre and City Centre Parking Changes Hands

Thousands of homes and businesses in West Mersea can now get ultrafast broadband, as Colchester's independent network builder, Amphora Connect, switched on its new local service this month. The move is part of a series of low-key but important changes across the Colchester business scene in August.

Other developments include a change of operator for two city centre car parks and a key local hire for a growing consultancy firm.

Amphora Connect Expands to West Mersea

Amphora Connect announced that its new full-fibre network in West Mersea went live in August, making faster broadband available to around 4,000 properties. As Colchester’s largest independent full-fibre provider, this expansion marks a significant step in its growth. The company reports its network now has the capacity to cover almost 30,000 homes and businesses across the city and surrounding villages.

For West Mersea, which has traditionally lagged behind the town centre in connectivity, access to a full-fibre network is a big deal. It provides residents with more choice for their home broadband and gives local businesses access to the fast, reliable connections needed for modern commerce.

Q-Park Takes Over Two City Centre Car Parks

Shoppers and commuters will have noticed a change at two of Colchester’s multi-storey car parks. From the start of August, National Car Parks Limited (NCP) stopped running the sites at Nunn’s Road (off the High Street) and Osborne Street.

As reported by the Gazette, the car parks have not closed. Instead, operations have been taken over by Q-Park, another major UK parking operator. While it’s a straightforward changing of the guard, it affects two of the most-used car parks in the city centre, and regular users will need to get used to a new operator and potentially new payment systems.

Other Colchester Business News

It has been a reasonably quiet month for openings and closures, but a few other local organisations have been in the news:

• Affinia, a consultancy firm, has appointed Lee Gardham as its new group finance director. He will be based in their Colchester office, a move Affinia says is part of its leadership team expansion.
• Colchester Events was shortlisted for two Colchester Business Awards, according to the council. The nominations recognise the organisation's work managing events at Charter Hall and in Castle Park.
• Wheels for All, a charity, launched a new community cycling hub in Old Heath. The new facility offers cycling sessions with adapted trikes, increasing accessible activities in the city.

An unnamed city centre bar also announced its closure after nine years, as reported by local news outlets, but the business was not identified in the available information.

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