Could a 40 bedroom Premier Inn, Greggs, Burger King and possibly even a Brewers Fayre be on the way to Wisbech?
That was the speculation today after it was announced that a nine acre site that has held planning consent for 20 years for such a scheme has been sold to a company with a reputation for getting things done.
Godwin Developments has clinched a deal to buy the Cromwell Road/A47 roadside land off an asking price of £2.75 million.
The company confirmed the purchase and released a photograph of their development manager signing the deal with the Wisbech agent who sold it.
The site has consent for a hotel, pub, service station, gym and offices but over the past 20 years, despite much optimism, not a single brick was ever laid.
That is all about to change with Godwin Developments, a fast growing national company, favouring roadside developments.
One of their most recent involved the Brampton Hut A1/A14 service area that includes a Greggs, Subway, Starbucks and Burger King with a BP Connect filling station and truck park, a Brewers Fayre restaurant and Premier Inn hotel close by.
Ketan Patel, development manager at Godwin Developments said: "We have identified this location as a key strategic point in the road network for the region."
John Maxey, senior partner of Maxey Grounds & Co, selling agents for the vendors said: "I am pleased to see further investment in Wisbech, which continues to grow as an important market town serving the Fenland area."
He expected the development to provide "significant additional employment, as well as a range of business premises for the area in a prominent and accessible location."
The site is the latest project to be added to the Godwin Developments portfolio which already contains a diverse range of commercial, residential, and mixed-use property assets in key regional locations.
In 2006 a previous application from Gracechurch Retail Developments Ltd - that is no longer trading - said the roadside scheme would be welcome by road users and boost local employment.
"The proposals represent an opportunity to promote Wisbech as a vital and viable destination to both invest in and visit, through facilitating a high quality development in this key gateway location," they told the council.
A fresh planning application is likely to clarify the final mixed use development that Godwin wants to deliver.
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