DOZENS of brightly coloured brollies have finally been put on display in Colchester after original plans hit a stumbling block.

The display, which features 150 umbrellas, has been installed in Culver Square shopping centre over two days.

The umbrellas are coloured purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red and some of them will be lit after dark.

Colchester Council hopes the art installation will help to attract visitors.

The work comes three months after the plug was pulled on the project in Sir Isaac’s Walk.

Months of work had gone into the scheme but on the day it had been due to be installed contractors raised concerns regarding the suitability of the buildings.

The council went back to the drawing board and teamed up with Colchester’s Business Improvement District and Culver Square to bring it to fruition.

Colchester Council leader Mark Cory said: “This colourful and innovative installation is a new thing to see when visiting the town centre.

“I’ve seen similar installations in other countries – it really brightens up the street scene.

“As part of the work to make our town more inviting, this adds some colour to our streets, hopefully getting residents, visitors and businesses smiling.”

Maldon and Burnham Standard:

Julie Young, councillor responsible for culture, said: “There are many places, including famous London streets, that have installations of this type.

“We want to make Colchester even more attractive for residents and visitors and I hope we’ll see many people come and look.”

Colchester Council has not revealed the cost, other than to say it is part of its £2 million Better Colchester investment.

Similar projects featuring umbrellas have been put up in Exeter, Liverpool and Salisbury.

Dave Robertson, manager of Culver Square shopping centre, said: “We were only too happy to assist the council in providing space for this art installation and hope it will be enjoyed by the people of Colchester and encourage new visitors to our town.

“We look forward to partnering in the future on other similar projects.”