THE future of the planned £46m Innox Riverside development is in doubt, after the Wiltshire Times discovered that the former Bowyers factory in Trowbridge has been listed for sale today.
Concerns about Morrisons pulling out of the development had been growing over the past few weeks, but the grocer only recently told developer Prorsus that it still expected to build.
Work had started on clearing the site of disused factory buildings at the end of last year in preparation for the development of an eight-screen, 1,400 seat Cineworld cinema, Morrisons store, six restaurants and pub.
However, the site has now been listed on the website of commercial property and planning consultants Rapleys, which states that the closing date for offers is 12noon on July 6.
The listing says that the 4.30ha site is available for sale and has the “potential for a range of uses”, with “planning permission for mixed use scheme including foodstore”.
Wiltshire Council initially rejected Prorsus’ plans to build on the derelict Bowyers site in 2012, which has housed a wide variety of businesses over the years.
Both the council and Legal and General argued that a new cinema in Trowbridge would be hugely detrimental to the existing Odeon cinema at the St Stephen’s Place Leisure complex.
However, the developer appealed against the decision and in January last year, following a three-day hearing, the Planning Inspectorate approved the scheme.
Contractors worked quickly to demolish the site from the end of October, but local residents have repeatedly voiced their concerns about the lack of activity since the turn of the year, especially after the grocer reported an annual loss of £792million in March.
Although there had been no updates on the Innox Riverside website in almost eight months, developer Prorsus told the Times last week that Morrisons still expected to build.
The Wiltshire Times has contacted both Morrisons and Prorsus for comment.