Can new Wickford shopping centre revive town plans? (From Echo)

Can new Wickford shopping centre revive town plans?

8:00am Tuesday 15th November 2011 in News By Paul Offord

A NEW shopping centre could be built on a car park in Wickford.

Basildon Council hopes this will revive the ill-fated Wickford masterplan.

The original £125million masterplan, which included a new swimming pool, fitness centre, community centre, healthcare complex, library and 650 new homes, was scrapped in February last year because of the recession.

Now Malcolm Buckley, councillor responsible for the environment, has revealed the council is in talks with several large developers interested in buying the car park outside the Co-op supermarket, off Nevendon Road, which is owned by the local authority.

He hopes the new centre would have larger shop units than currently in the High Street, and could attract more prestigious fashion and other retail chains.

The council would consider allowing flats to be built above the shops, if it helped finance the scheme.

Mr Buckley added the council was also looking to sell off the Wickford Market site, off Market Road, and nearby Wickford Swimming Pool.

The council would like to move the market into a more central town location. He said: “The council will consider any offers put to it to trigger wider regeneration.

“If we do nothing we will end up with a dead shopping centre, and as someone who has lived in this town for 60 years, that is not something I am prepared to accept.

“Any money made from the sale of these sites would be re-invested into regenerating the rest of the town centre.

“We want to see more community facilities, as well as homes and better shops.”

The possibility of reviving re-development plans for the town centre were discussed at a meeting of ruling Tory cabinet members on Thursday last week.

A report for the meeting stated discussions are currently taking place with “key landowners and potential investors” to deliver regeneration.

The Echo revealed in September last year Sainsbury’s had bought the Co-op supermarket site for £10million, and would like to build a larger supermarket in its place, which would possibly extend into the council-owned car park.

This has not yet happened, and the Co-op is still open.

The original Wickford Masterplan was dreamed up by consultants DTZ Pieda, which was paid £60,000 in 2005 to come up with the proposals.