• Swindon & Wiltshire Property
• Wednesday September 18 2024
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Latest plans unveiled for Emery Gate shopping centre

The owner of Chippenham’s Emery Gate shopping centre has published its latest plans for the site.

Acorn Property Group, which acquired the shopping centre in 2022, says it wants to rejuvenate the site with new shops and 225 new homes.

The retail offering, says the firm, would be ‘reimagined’ to make Emery Gate a “destination of choice once again.”

In its latest proposals, published this week, Acorn says: “town centres and shopping centres need to diversify their offering to survive. As shown through the loss of Tesco, Chippenham is no different.

“We need to re-imagine Emery Gate’s retail offer to make it a destination of choice once again. Our aim is to rejuvenate the town centre through a new and diverse commercial offering, making it welcoming throughout the day and into the evening.”

The proposals include:

‘Re-providing’ approximately 3,500 sq m of retail, food, and leisure uses with a range of unit sizes, to accommodate a broad mix of businesses and attract people from morning through to the evening.

Creating a new street leading from High Street, through to Island Park.

Revitalising High Street buildings with a “new, attractive frontage in keeping with the existing High Street and the town’s heritage and character.”

Building 225 new homes, with a range of one- to three-bedroom apartments, which Acorn says meets “an identified need in the town.”

“Chippenham’s population is rising and is predicted to increase further over the coming decades,” said the firm.

“There is an urgent need for new, high-quality and sustainable homes on underutilised brownfield sites that are future-proofed against the effects of climate change.”

The plans will also include a new approach to car parking. Acorn says more than half of the spaces in the existing car park are not used.

The company says it will work with Wiltshire Council to create a safer and more secure underground car park with space for around 300 cars and 350 cycles residents and visitors, and EV charging.

Acorn Property Group says a planning application will be submitted before the end of 2024. There is still time to comment on the proposals, with an online public consultation closing on September 28.

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