A DERELICT supermarket is set to be redeveloped into a new store and 72 flats as part of a £30 million project reports the Local Democracy Reporter.
Developer Heriot UK has submitted its proposals for the regeneration of the former Co-Op site in Wickford Town Centre and says the development will create around 300 jobs.
The former supermarket at the site closed in May 2022 after the lease expired. Plans were agreed for a Morrisons, but the deal fell through. Last year, the store chain confirmed it pulled out over viability fears for the new store. In 2023, Heriot UK unveiled new plans for a supermarket and 138 flats at the site with an underground car park.
The firm is keeping quiet about which store will open at the site. Bosses are “in the final stages of legal discussions with the retailer, after which a lease will be signed.”
However, Mark Francois, Tory, MP for Wickford and Rayleigh, said last year that Asda was expected to open at the site.
In a statement on Thursday, Mr Francois MP added: “My Wickford constituents have already waited long enough for a new supermarket on the old Co-Op site, so I’m very pleased that plans to achieve that have now, finally, been submitted. I suspect my constituents will be keener on the new store than the associated 70-odd flats, but after all this time, getting a new store to give Wickford residents more choices must be the priority. Given how long the site has laid semi-derelict, I very much hope Basildon Council will swiftly approve the proposals so that we can get a rebuild underway to help really regenerate Wickford as a town.”
A spokesman for Heriot UK said: “The site presents an excellent opportunity to promote and enhance the vitality of Wickford Town Centre and aid its regeneration. The development represents a significant investment, £30million, in Wickford and will generate a mixture of full and flexible part-time opportunities for people of all working ages. It is estimated that the proposals will generate up to 100 jobs, as well as a further 200 jobs at construction stage. It will also deliver new homes in a sustainable location of the borough.
“The revised plans follow a period of economic uncertainty, including rising build costs and increasing interest rates, which created significant viability challenges for the original scheme. However, Heriot has been working hard to find a solution which will ensure the delivery of the highly anticipated food store for the residents of Wickford.”
