The Save Jumbo for Colchester Campaign was formed in January 1999 to oppose the owner's planning proposal to convert the historic building into a luxury penthouse for his own use. The plan involved replacing the cast iron tank with 3-floor luxury accomodation enclosed by 'bronze glass', and adding a garage and flats for 'ancillary staff' at the base. This scheme was rejected in January 1999. English Heritage and the Victorian Society were also critical of the proposal. After this we started a campaign stall to distribute leaflets and get signatures for our petition, helped by venues in the vicinity of Jumbo. The petition stated: We the undersigned are opposed to any private speculative development of Jumbo. We believe that: Jumbo should be owned by Colchester Borough Council or other appropriate body There should be public access to the building Jumbo should have a use appropriate to its heritage By May 1999 we had over 1100 signatures and formally handed these to the Mayor at the Town Hall. By the end of the year we had collected over 1,800 signatures. We have shown that what we are campaigning for is overwhelmingly popular with the public in and around Colchester. We lobbied councillors, many of whom support us. The Campaign welcomes support from councillors of all parties. We also started this web site, which has attracted more local support and messages of goodwill from all over the World. In September 2000 the owner submitted a similar scheme dubbed 'Open Jumbo' with limited public access , claiming it was a 'Town Centre Visitor Attraction'. This was accompanied by a public relations blitz, disguising the fact that this was just another penthouse proposal. For the recent stage of the campaign opposing this mis-named scheme please click here

Campaigners at the Wivenhoe May Fair, 1999 Acknowledgements to the Evening Gazette, Essex County Standard, Colchester Express, East Anglian Daily Times