A MAJOR new development forming an important element of the regeneration of east Colchester is due to be officially opened today.University Quays is part of the change-of-face for the town's run-down Hythe area, and will provide accommodation for more than 700 students attending full-time courses at Essex University.

A MAJOR new development forming an important element of the regeneration of east Colchester is due to be officially opened today.

University Quays is part of the change-of-face for the town's run-down Hythe area, and will provide accommodation for more than 700 students attending full-time courses at Essex University.

George Courtauld, Vice Lord Lieutenant and Chairman of the Haven Gateway Partnership will unveil a plaque to mark the opening the new buildings.

Among those attending will be representatives of the university's partners in the development, GHP Limited, Bowmer Kirkland and Barratts Homes, along with members of the local and regional community.

Invited guests will be given the opportunity for a guided tour of the extensive site, near the new B&Q store on the Hythe.

The Quays project provides up-to-date accommodation for more than 760 students.

The development - a mix of three, four, five and six storey buildings with a river frontage – provides each student with a large study bedroom incorporating en-suite facilities and a kitchen shared by up to eight students.

There is also a management suite and a laundrette, as well as an independently operated restaurant with terrace overlooking the River Colne.

The development also includes a new footbridge link over the rail line linking the Quays with the university's Wivenhoe park campus.

The whole project forms a significant part of the to regenerate east Colchester, and the University of Essex, as one of Colchester's major employers and a key contributor to the local economy, is proud the new buildings are helping to bring vitality back to the Hythe, the former port area of the town.

It is a development which it is hoped, when linked with other schemes such as the University Research Park, will re-establish the Hythe as a significant contributor to the social and economic prosperity of the region.