ARCHAEOLOGISTS would be called in to search for Saxon treasure before a large pub is built on the site of a former car showroom.
Southend Council will decide tomorrow whether to allow pub chain Marston’s to build a new pub and restaurant on the site of the former Toomey car showroom in Priory Crescent, Southend.
The site is just yards from a site where the treasures of a Saxon king - including a gold cross and buckle - was unearthed in 2003.
Planning officers have recommended no development starts until an archaeological dig is carried out on the site of the proposed restaurant.
Derek Jarvis, Tory councillor responsible for culture, said: “If the Marston’s site gets planning permission the first thing that has to happen is an archaeological survey.
“Were things to be found there, it could change the nature of the planning decision.
“It may well uncover further things there.”
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