A derelict riverside plot in a Cambridgeshire town will be transformed into a “vibrant neighbourhood” with new homes, offices, cafes, restaurants and a care home. 

The major development, including up to 60 homes, will be built on the Nene Waterfront in Wisbech. 

Fenland District Council’s (FDC) planning committee unanimously approved an initial planning application for the project, which was proposed by its own subsidiary Fenland Futures Ltd. 

Access to the new development, on Chase Street, would be via the Freedom Roundabout/Lynn Road to Chase Street and Bedford Street, the application says. 

Wisbech Standard: An artist's illustration of what the Wisbech care home will look like. An artist's illustration of what the Wisbech care home will look like. (Image: Cambridgeshire Constabulary)

A future planning application will lay out the specifics of the new buildings’ designs, but current plans say that the care home could contain up to 70 one and two-bedroom apartments. 

They also includes illustrations which show a C-shaped block of flats surrounded by trees and green spaces next to the care home. 

FDC’s planning committee agreed that the plot, which is currently a disused gasworks site, is ripe for development, with chair Cllr David Connor (Conservatives, Doddington and Wimblington) saying “this needs to be done; it’s clear to see”. 

The council’s deputy leader, Cllr Jan French (Conservatives, March South), agreed that “the site needs to be developed – it’s a mess”. 

Wisbech Standard: This derelict riverside plot on the Nene Waterfront in Wisbech will be built on This derelict riverside plot on the Nene Waterfront in Wisbech will be built on (Image: Fenland District Council)

Project could destroy medieval port

But the plans aren’t entirely without opposition. 

Cambridgeshire County Council’s (CCC) senior archeologist, who was consulted before the planning application made it to committee stage, said that they object to the proposal because “it is considered likely that important archaeological remains survive on the site and that these would be severely damaged or destroyed by the proposed development”. 

The remains of Wisbech’s medieval port could be impacted, the archeologist said, if the building’s foundations are deep enough. 

Wisbech Standard: An artist's illustration of what the new development will look like.An artist's illustration of what the new development will look like. (Image: Fenland District Council)

As such, FDC planning officers recommended that the committee vote through the development with a caveat that it be refused if the archeologist’s concerns cannot be alleviated within four months and the objection revoked. 

But the committee refused to include this caveat, with Cllr French saying that “in all the years I’ve been here” she has never seen a request like that. 

READ MORE: Archaeologists' concerns over major riverside redevelopment plan

Cllr Charlie Marks (Conservatives, Chatteris North and Manea) added that he “can’t actually see that there would be much on site” as it would have been below sea level long ago. 

The committee instead included a condition to their approval delegating responsibility to council planning officers to work out any necessary archeological investigations. 

Wisbech Standard: An artist's illustration of what the new development will look like.An artist's illustration of what the new development will look like. (Image: Fenland District Council)

Cambridge-based NORR Architecture and Engineering Firm, which worked on the development proposals alongside Fenland Futures, say that development of the site “will provide a much needed new extra care facility, apartments, housing and complementary commercial space in the town centre and will create a vibrant neighbourhood that will enliven this stretch of Nene Parade.” 

There is also the potential for “retail units, a salon and a cafe bistro on Nene Parade” it says in a booklet outlining the project. 

But the specifics of the development are not yet final. 

“The illustrative proposal shows a relatively contemporary style development with a flat roof,” it says. “However the context would also suit a pitched roof and more traditional style, subject to detailed design development at reserved matters stage.”