Colchester & district · Local news you can trust
Les Kurkendaal-Barrett premieres his Reed Peggram solo show at Three Wise Monkeys on 24 October: six Fringe performances to 1 November, £13 a ticket, 12+.
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Events
What's On in Colchester: Banksy at the Minories, Then Fireworks
28 Banksys at the Minories from 10 October, Edgelands from the 15th, the Fringe from 21 October, fireworks on 5 November and the lights parade on 14 November.
Christmas
Santa's Grotto Colchester 2026: Castle, Zoo and Mercury
Three Colchester grottos are on sale for 2026. The Castle's is £12.95 a child, the Zoo's £17 plus entry, and the Mercury's runs 5 to 24 December. All dates.
Colchester
A12 Bridge Rescue: Colchester Trio Commended by Police
Three people who held on to a woman in distress on a bridge over the A12 near Braiswick until police arrived have been given Chief Constable's commendations.
Colchester
Colchester Council Fines Peabody and Anchor £23,600
Colchester has fined Peabody £13,600 and Anchor £10,000 over rented homes. A tribunal also backed its fire safety notice on a New Town house, 11 months after the landlord appealed.
Colchester
Colchester Leisure Pool Closes 28 September for £1.4m Work
The Leisure Pool closes Monday 28 September, reopening early 2027. The rapids have already gone. What shuts, what stays open, and what is still unpublished.
Bins
Colchester Christmas Bin Collections: Days Move Forward
Colchester brings Christmas bin collections forward a day, not back. Last year's full table, the garden waste pause, and when the 2026 dates are due.
Schools
Colchester School Term Dates 2026/27: Half Terms and INSET
Essex half term is 26 to 30 October and Christmas starts 21 December. CRGS, County High and Philip Morant add their own INSET days. Every date, school by school.
Bins
Colchester Recycling Centre: Winter Hours 9am to 4pm
Shrub End tip moves to winter hours, 9am to 4pm daily, from 16 October. Book a free slot first; it shuts 1pm Christmas Eve and is closed on 25, 26 Dec and 1 Jan.
Travel
Colchester Christmas Trains and Buses: Last Year's Plan
Last Christmas, Greater Anglia trains stopped by 10pm on Christmas Eve, ran none on the 25th and 26th, and ended at Stratford. What to expect for 2026.
Half term
Colchester October Half Term 2026: 12 Things On Locally
Colchester's October half term is 26 to 30 October. Zoo Shriek Week, a Castle sleepover, the last week of the Moon, free museum stories: dates and prices.
Remembrance
Colchester Remembrance Sunday: 8 November, War Memorial
Colchester's Remembrance Sunday falls on 8 November 2026. Last year the service began at 10.45am at the High Street War Memorial, with the road shut 8am to 1pm.
Christmas
Colchester Zoo in Winter: 4pm Close, Trail of Light £15.50
Colchester Zoo is open daily from 9.30am except Christmas Day, closing at 4pm on winter weekdays. Christmas-day tickets from £21.15, Trail of Light from £15.50.
Colchester was a Roman town before it was anything else, it has been a garrison town for most of the time since, and it became a city in 2022. It sits on the Colne with the university on one side and a great deal of new housing on the others.
The Colchester Post covers the city and the country around it: Braintree and Halstead to the west, Manningtree and the Stour valley to the north east, and the villages between. Those places do not all share a council, so we name the right authority in every story rather than assuming. What they do share is a pile of published paperwork that decides what happens to them, and reading it is what this site is for.
Nothing goes up without a link to its source.