Retail site purchase next piece in jigsaw to transform public services

A former Bury St Edmunds retail site has been bought as an investment and to support regeneration project to transform public services in West Suffolk.

St Edmundsbury Borough Council bought the unused retail site as part of its investment strategy and to support long term plans, with partners, to develop the Western Way area.

The council purchased the former Warehouse Clearance Superstore site, in Anglian Lane, Bury St Edmunds, in order to gain control over its future use.

Its purchase secures the site for a range of short term and long term uses to help promote employment or support the work to make public services more accessible and work better together.

The council is working with public and commercial partners to look at a regeneration project for the Western Way area to bring health, education, leisure and services together.

There is an option that the site could retain a commercial use or take on a public sector use depending on how plans develop.  It could also form part of the wider transport plan for the Western Way Development by providing off-site car parking. Whatever the option going forward it will promote employment, skills and health improvements either directly or indirectly. 

In the short-term the council will keep its options open and be looking for a temporary use to cover its costs for the tax payer.

Under the council’s Investment Strategy for Growth the authority seeks to invest in assets that either help bring income to support services or bring an employment or social benefit for local communities.

This strategic acquisition has been made using £1.71 million of capital, including Stamp Duty Land Tax and Purchaser’s costs. This is money that cannot be used to simply plug the gap in budgets as eventually it would run out but can be used to achieve strategic aims that benefit local residents and businesses, and to create savings or income to pay toward services.

John Griffiths, leader of St Edmundsbury Borough Council, said: “By investing to secure ownership and control of this site, the council has given itself options that will benefit our communities and tax payers. It could remain a commercial site or help deliver the full potential of the Western Way Masterplan which will support jobs, health, education and better delivery of services.

“This purchase also gives us the potential to further explore a number of other possibilities including letting the unit which would create an additional source of income that will help towards paying for the day to day services that we deliver to our local residents and businesses.”

It is calculated that the 2.12 acre former retail site, which has planning permission for access onto Beetons Way, could accommodate around 250 surface parking spaces if needed. Although this would be subject to planning consent and require further investment, this could help reduce the need for more expensive and inflexible multi-storey car parking on the Western Way site itself.