IN the space of 12 months are lives have changed beyond recognition.

We spent large swathes of last year in lockdown, unable to see loved ones or go about our normal lives.

And while the coronavirus pandemic dominated headlines in 2020, there were lots of other events and milestones reached across the county.

Here we are shining a light on some of these stories and sharing the headlines you may have missed.

Haunted house finally sold after 12 years

Chelmsford Weekly News:

A former medieval prison dubbed as Britain’s most haunted house has finally been sold after 12 years.

Vanessa Mitchell had owned The Cage, in Colchester Road, St Osyth, since 2004 and had frequently reported seeing ghostly goings on at the home, part of which was used to hold prisoners accused of witchcraft in the 16th century.

Following a number of spooky incidents, Vanessa decided to move out of the house four years later to live elsewhere in the village and put the property up for sale.

The property finally sold in January 2020 after going on the market for £240,000.

Vanessa claimed she fled the house after she was physically attacked by spirits and said she was plagued by ghostly figures, pushed over while pregnant and witnessed mysterious blood splatters appearing.

The claims led to paranormal investigators making regular visits to The Cage and it was also the subject of a Channel 4 docudrama.

Retail park construction begins and leisure centre project get the green light

Chelmsford Weekly News:

Construction finally started on a new £60 million retail park which will create new stores for B&Q, Marks and Spencer and Aldi in September.

Churchmanor Estates kicked off building work on the new Stane Retail Park, at Tollgate in Stanway.

The new 173,000 sq ft retail park, about the size of three football pitches, will house a new store for B&Q, an M&S Food Hall and a new Aldi.

If works progress as planned, the new retail park will be ready to open in September next year.

Churchmanor is also spending £2.6 million on improvements to the Eight Ash Green A12 roundabout, where a four way traffic signal junction is set to be created.

Later in the year the long-awaited £50 million cinema and leisure complex know as the Northern Gateway Leisure Park development was approved.

Turnstones Estate’s development is set to bring a Cineworld cinema and a host of leisure facilities to land off Cuckoo Farm West, just off the A12 near Colchester United’s Jobserve Community Stadium.

Plans feature a 12-screen cinema with Superscreen and 4DX capabilities, seven restaurants, three leisure units - mini-golf, bowling and a climbing centre - and two drive-thru eateries.

A 90-bed hotel, set to be run by Travelodge, is also set to be built as well as a 750-space car park with dedicated electric vehicle charging points.

The scheme has been in development since 2015 and a previous iteration of the scheme was approved four-years-ago, but changes in the leisure market and Brexit led to unexpected delays.

Work is expected to begin at the start of 2021, for completion in 2022/23.

Historic factory confirms it will be closing

Chelmsford Weekly News:

A manufacturing firm confirmed it will be closing its 150-year-old factory in Colchester, leading to the loss of as many as 80 jobs.

Engine producer MAN Energy Solutions will close its facility off Hythe Hill in the coming months following a consultation with staff.

Formerly Paxman Diesels, work has been undertaken at the site for more than 150 years and inspired the name of new school Paxman Academy.

Its famous ship engines had been exported all over the world, but bosses say the “deteriorating economic outlook” caused by coronavirus has forced their hands.

The German firm said no alternative solutions were found during these discussions to operate a viable business at the site.

As many as 80 jobs are set to be lost, however the firm says it will focus on bringing this number as low as possible. No date for the factory to close has been announced.

Parents forgive daughter who stole life savings

Chelmsford Weekly News:

Parents whose daughter stole and spent their life savings have spoken out to say they forgive her.

Melissa Fordham spent at least £130,000 of her parents’ money after she was left in charge of their finances.

She was sentenced to three years in prison after admitting 14 charges of fraud, theft and obtaining property by deception.

But now her parents Terence, 83, and Elizabeth Fordham, 73, have said they have forgiven her.

Mr Fordham said: “There is no doubt about it, the anxiety she caused us in the early stages for a period of probably 12 to18 months was extremely hard especially when you’ve got debt collectors ringing you up and demanding thousands of pounds which you don’t happen to have.

“She’s our flesh and blood. She didn’t kill anybody, she didn’t hurt anybody, she just got us wound up.

“This is something I’ve wanted to speak about for a long time and I still wanted to be on this earth while it was being done.”

First electric forecourt opens in Essex

Chelmsford Weekly News:

The UK’s first Electric Forecourt officially opened in Braintree.

Gridserve is welcomed customers to its state-of-the-art, electric vehicle charging station for the first time on December 7.

The station, which is based off the A131 at Great Notley, offers charging for up to 36 vehicles.

It has capacity to provide 200-miles of range in just 20 minutes.

The facility also includes a waiting lounge, free superfast WiFi, toilets, a dedicated children’s area, wellbeing area with exercise bikes that generate electricity, and business meeting room pods.