The once-prosperous capital of the fens, with a population of around 20,000, has in recent years lost out to its more affluent neighbours, Peterborough and Cambridge.
Water has always played an important role in the history of Wisbech, and now Fenland district council, English Partnerships and the East of England Development Agency are hoping the regeneration of the River Nene waterfront will turn round the town’s fortunes.
The partnership has earmarked an 11.7-acre site, north of Wisbech’s historic centre and along the eastern bank of the River Nene. It includes land crossed by Nene Parade, Bedford Street, Chase Street and Russell Street, which forms a gap in the town’s urban fabric.
The proposed scheme comprises 336 houses, 13% affordable, 17,000 sq ft of retail, 15,500 sq ft of small-scale workshops and offices, a yacht club and conference facilities as well as improvements to the harbour and waterfront. Site assembly is going ahead, with CPOs being negotiated on a number of land holdings.
The seeds for the latest regeneration proposals were sown with the establishment of a leisure port in Wisbech in May 2000. The council saw the economic activity it generated as a foretaste of what large-scale regeneration could achieve. Large chunks of land that had lain derelict for 20 years were an obvious choice, says a spokesperson for Fenland council: “We wanted to build on the creation of the harbour, and take it a considerable step further by creating infrastructure and making a lifestyle statement.”
Public sector funds
Since then, the scheme has received £10m from the public sector, which will be used to remediate the sites, starting this summer, as well as providing infrastructure and improving access.
It is hoped the private sector will invest a further £37m for housing, retail and leisure facilities. Agents from Bidwells and Savills have, since the end of February, sought official expressions of interest in the retail and residential elements and claim developers have come forward, although they will not name them. The deadline for submissions is the end of March and a final appointment will be made by October.
Meanwhile, architects have been shortlisted for the yacht club, conference centre andoffices. Once plans have been drawn up, outline planning permission will be sought.
The first phase is scheduled to begin in October, with full completion set for 2010.
The shops will be on the ground floor of the residential development, beside the waterfront, with planned quoting rents of £25 per sq ft. This compares with prime rents of £45 per sq ft at the Horsefair Centre in Wisbech, and £13-£15 per sq ft in fringe locations.
However, Bidwells believes this level reflects the retailers that it hopes to attract, such as small niche shops, cafés and restaurants, to make Nene waterfront a destination retail location.
Office rents will be pitched at a maximum of £10 per sq ft, with the aim of attracting small niche occupiers. This compares with top office rents of £10 per sq ft for secondhand space above town-centre shops, and smaller out-of-town units, which fetch £5 per sq ft.
Early omens are good. Since the leisure port opened, harbour master Peter Harvey has seen a rise in traffic and 60 of the 75 moorings are occupied. It is hoped this activity will attract a number of related businesses dealing with maintenance and repairs.
