New Retail Park development gets planning

The proposed £50m Cromwell Retail Park development in Cambridgeshire has received the go ahead from the local council for planning permission. It’s a huge development with more than one site and nods to the surge in figures out of town

retail centres are currently seeing. And the new 25,000sq ft scheme will boost employment with 500 new jobs available.

On a neighbouring site, a further 10,400 sq m retail park has also been given the go ahead, with a number of retailers being lined up including, Next, Brantano, Matalan, New Look, and Sports World. Planning permission had previously been granted on the former Wisbech greyhound stadium for a retail and leisure park in 2006-7. However, the development was stalled by poor market conditions.

Bethany Brown, associate planner at WYG whose planning specialists helped secure the planning permission, said: “It is great to see the new Cromwell Retail Park receive planning permission. The development will provide significant investment to the area whilst creating much needed employment."
She continued: “The new proposals, which are the culmination of several years’ worth of positive, sustained engagement with Fenland District Council, will enable a series of benefits to be finally realised for Wisbech. In particular, the developments will provide a substantially enhanced retail and leisure offer which will improve the shopping attraction of the Wisbech area, as well as delivering a series of improvements to the surrounding highway and transport network.”

Jonathan Clogg, development director, Cromwell Retail Park Ltd said: “It is great that we have a number of household retail names reserved for the retail park development.’ He added, ‘We are now looking forward to seeing the plans become a reality
and to create a gateway that Wisbech can be proud of.”

The scheme is anticipated to start in late 2011 and to be completed in two phases with overall completion in late autumn 2013.