A BIG-NAME supermarket and cinema could be on the cards for Spalding after a site was secured on the edge of town.
Richard Garvie, the man behind plans to regenerate Spalding, says he has national chains on board after reaching an agreement with the landowner of the site opposite the town’s McDonald’s on the A151 near its junction with the A16.
Mr Garvie, of Sustainable Spalding, hopes to reveal the names of the chains within a couple of weeks when he plans to launch a public consultation to ask residents what else they would like to see on the possible retail park.
He says the 12-acre site was highlighted as being the preferred choice by the people of Spalding during a consultation with 3,300 residents last year and talks have been ongoing since then.
He said: “It should only be a couple of weeks before we are ready to consult the public, but suggestions so far include a multi-screen cinema and a KFC drive-thru.
“But there is space on the site for other retails stores such as PC World or Matalan, for example, if that’s what people want.
“But the whole reason for doing this was to benefit Spalding town centre, so we are still open to ideas of putting the cinema elsewhere to improve footfall in the town.”
Mr Garvie hopes a planning application could be submitted in July or August and if things go smoothly work could begin by the new year.
The land which Mr Garvie is focusing on belongs to Paul Turnell, whose home is one of three on the site.
He has confirmed he has reached an agreement with Mr Garvie over the site acquisition, adding: “The developer still has a great deal of work to do and must liaise closely with the local authority going forward.
“However, if the proposed development/retail park can boost the local economy and create employment opportunities for the people of Spalding and surrounding areas then it has my support.”
Mr Garvie believes his proposal is streets ahead of others which are also in the early stages, including Corbo’s plans for Holland Market, which it is rumoured could also include a supermarket..
He said: “I have said from the start that any new supermarket development must be in the interest of the town.
“The site at the Sir Halley Stewart Field will not lead to any new investment in new facilities for Spalding, whilst my proposed development at Holbeach Road will generate millions of pounds worth of investment in new facilities in Spalding, will pay for the running costs of a regeneration company for five years and will also give significant additional funds to the district council by way of Section 106 money.”
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