Dave wants to buy Fenland village hall to expand his car sales business

CAR dealer Dave Parrin is hopeful of buying the former village hall at Wisbech St Mary if planners agree to a change of use. Mr Parrin has instructed Peter Humphrey Associates to apply for change of use to allow the site in High Road to become a car sales

CAR dealer Dave Parrin is hopeful of buying the former village hall at Wisbech St Mary if planners agree to a change of use.

Mr Parrin has instructed Peter Humphrey Associates to apply for change of use to allow the site in High Road to become a car sales forecourt and office.

The existing hall is soon to be made redundant by the completion of a new hall off Station Road.

"In order to part fund the new hall, the existing site is to be sold on the open market in September," says Mr Humphrey. "This application seeks to establish a change of use and associated residential use for a site manager."

Mr Humphrey says the current site is owned by the parish council and will be sold at auction but the prospective owners wants to know in advance if change of use is acceptable.

Fenland District Council is now considering the proposals which would see the demolition of the front section of the existing hall, with the retention and refurbishment of the brick built rear to form a sales office with a linked residential unit for the business manager.

Mr Humphrey says for security reasons the car forecourt area would be enclosed within a 2000mm high palisade fenced compound.

He believes the proposed use would "greatly reduce" the peak of visitor numbers which the hall currently attracted "and would in use terms be closely related to the surrounding area".