JD Wetherspoon wants a pub in Wickford (From Echo)

JD Wetherspoon wants a pub in Wickford

2:20pm Wednesday 18th February 2009 in

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PUB chain JD Wetherspoon wants to open a hostelry in Wickford.

The firm has confirmed the town is on its target list and it is on the lookout for a suitable site.

The news comes after the Wickford Action Group wrote to Wetherspoon, inviting it to open a pub, as part of a campaign to get national chains to move to the town.

The pub chain says ideally, it is looking for an existing town centre pub, with around 5,000 to 6,000 sq ft of space.

Spokesman Eddie Gershon said: “We’re always looking for new sites and if someone has taken the trouble to write to us we’re happy to write back.

“We would need to find the right site and once we have found it, we will take action.

“We are already in Essex and enjoy success in those towns, so we are always looking for other sites.”

In recent years, the pub group has opened between 20 and 30 pubs a year, creating about 35 jobs each time.

Action group chairman Alan Ball, said: “It’s great news if we’re managing to encourage multinational firms to move to Wickford.

“Obviously, we need to find somewhere big enough in the town centre.

“We want more retail outlets in the town, rather than just lots of blocks of flats which are too tall.”

Mr Ball said the former Woolwich Building Society site, on the junction of Market Road and High Street, or the old Swan pub in The Broadway might be suitable.

Fellow action group member John Rushton, also welcomed the news.

He said: “There are so few pubs here now some people go to Billericay, so it’s nice to know Wetherspoon is interested.”

The action group was formed two years ago to fight Basildon Council plans to allow 700 new flats and houses in the town centre.

Basildon Council leader Malcolm Buckley said a number of other big firms were already interested in trading in Wickford, but he could not reveal their names as discussions were confidential.

Mr Buckley, a Wickford Tory councillor, criticised the action group’s approaches, saying they risked duplicating talks the council was already holding with businesses.