Former Co-op supermarket in Colchester could become new drag bar

Plans have been drawn up to convert a former Co-Op store in an Essex city centre, which makes “no positive contribution” into a new LGBT drag and show bar. The Dragonfly Lounge would replace the former Co-Operative shop off Long Wyre Street, Colchester if plans are agreed. The proposals include new internal walls to create space for an office, cloakroom, dressing room, quiet space, store room, toilets and a bar area. The central area of the ground floor is proposed to be used for cabaret-style seating and a stage.

The application concerns the former Unit B, the former Co-Operative Department Store loading bay in Long Wye Street which is a ground floor former retail building, which has been vacant for several years. Foundation House is owned by the East of England Co-op and in 2020, the site was transformed into a restaurant and retail units site in a £5.5 million redevelopment plan. It also has 24 one and two-bed apartments.

A planning statement says: “The property has been vacant for several years, so has made no positive contribution to the vitality or viability of the city centre in this time. The change of use to a show bar will of course change that, providing an active frontage and a refresh of the shopfront. More importantly, the concept of the bar is something unique in the city centre, as it is more than a regular drinking establishment, of which there are many.

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“The new enterprise will offer a safe space for the LGBT+ community and a performance venue for local drag artists as well as a home for the British School of Drag. The introduction of a new form of bar and entertainment to the city centre will attract people to the centre, from Colchester and beyond that will in turn enhance its vitality and in doing so improve viability whilst contributing to the diversity of Colchester’s cultural capital.

“Overall, the new use is considered to be compatible with the location, it will introduce a new use to the city and help to resuscitate a city centre unit that has an almost entirely vacant, secondary retail frontage. This change can only be a regarded positive outcome for a unit that has stood empty for so many years.”