The Wherry's Lane development

A refurbishment of Wherry's Lane at a total cost of £5 million was announced by South Kesteven District Council in June 2010.

The project replaced a major scheme for the regeneration of the town centre at a cost of £27 million but this was shelved after ten years of planning and the expenditure of a great deal of public money after the council failed to find a suitable developer and a financial climate created by the economic crisis.

The council still had buildings on its hands acquired for the town centre scheme, notably the Burghley Street corn warehouse which was purchased for £350,000 in 2008, the nearby motor salvage workshops and two semi-detached houses for £285,000 the following year and the Masonic hall bought for £375,000 in 2010, all of which were incorporated in the Wherry's Lane scheme.

In August 2011, the council announced that the contract for the first stage had gone to the Lincoln-based Trent Valley Construction whose task would be to convert the old warehouse into flats and adding an adjoining block of ground floor commercial and retail units, a total of seven shops and fourteen apartments. This would cost £2.2 million although a further phase involving other land and properties, including the two houses, workshop and the old Masonic hall, would eventually complete the development.

There was a great deal of criticism about the wisdom of building new shops in Bourne at a time when several established outlets were empty and others struggling to survive and in December 2011, there was a major set back for the scheme when objections were lodged by Bourne Town Council.

The criticism came from the council's highways and planning committee which met on Tuesday 13th December to consider the plans. The chairman, Councillor Trevor Holmes (Bourne West), told The Local newspaper that the scheme would simply provide more residential properties without adding to the local infrastructure which is what Bourne needed at the present time (December 16th). "This plan does not serve the town", he said, and he called on the district council and the nominated developers to meet them for further discussion. "We want some genuine local input", he went on. "We want them to go back to the drawing board and prepare something that better serves the needs of Bourne."

But the prospect did not look good because Councillor Linda Neal, leader of SKDC, told the newspaper that the developers were ready to begin as soon as the plans were approved and that she was “surprised” at hearing the views of the town council. Advice had been taken from English Heritage and the housing element incorporated into the scheme to avoid Bourne from becoming “a ghost town” in the evenings when the shops were shut. She added: “It is exciting that at long last, after all the hard work over the years, we are getting to the final hurdle.”

Despite the drastic reduction in the extent of the refurbishment scheme, the local newspapers continued to refer to the Wherry's Lane project as the town centre regeneration, an apparent propaganda description fostered by SKDC, perhaps to save face over the failure of the original project. That would have cost ten times more and involved the entire rebuilding of a much larger area, that triangle of land between North Street, West Street and Burghley Street, but that scheme died a death in June 2010.

This was a grand idea as outlined in December 2004 by the original chosen developer who planned to complete work within 12-18 months: "It will extend and diversify the town centre with retail-led development, emphasising existing routes across the site; promoting links to existing retail areas and linking to public transport; providing public spaces; enhancing pedestrian and cyclist access; retaining existing buildings of architectural quality; enhancing community safety; new buildings will reflect qualities and features of existing buildings; materials used will complement those found in the Bourne town centre locality and the scale of buildings to be in keeping with Bourne town centre and progressive town centre development."

Such a major change would have transformed the town centre but the Wherry's Lane scheme is little more than the refurbishment of that narrow thoroughfare between North Street and the Burghley Street car park which has been in need of a clean-up for many years but the council just happens to have a few old buildings standing empty which were originally purchased at exorbitant prices for inclusion in the original scheme and this seemed to be a convenient way of disposing of them.

Work gets underway

Work finally began in May 2012 when contractors moved in to start clearing the site ready for building work to start, beginning with the demolition of the old garage premises and neighbouring bungalows to the north of Wherry's Lane. The project will include the complete refurbishment of the warehouse and the building of a new adjoining structure together with the provision of seven ground floor shop spaces and 14 first and second floor apartments.

The scheme is the first of a wider regeneration of the town which includes the creation of a landscaped area serviced with pipes and suitable for future development. Councillor Linda Neal (Bourne West), leader of South Kesteven District Council, told The Local newspaper (July 27th): “The work to clear the site including the demolition of the existing buildings, removal of waste and the installation of a temporary road to redirect traffic along Wherry’s Lane is going well. We expect the development to be completed on schedule by the spring.”

Hodgson Elkington, based in Lincoln, have been appointed commercial property managers and consultants to South Kesteven District Council and will act as the agents for the entire Bourne development. Senior partner Sam Elkington told the newspaper that there was considerable interest in the Bourne project. "We have received inquiries already about both the shops and residential units and are confident that this scheme will assist greatly in the bringing forward of the redevelopment of the town centre", he said. “It will provide a very positive link to both sides of the town and will show that there are considerable prospects for the town centre.”

Site clearance was completed in the autumn and a ceremony to mark the cutting of the first sod ready for construction work to begin was held on Friday 26th October 2012. Councillor Linda Neal, leader of South Kesteven District Council, told The Local newspaper: "It is surprising how big the site looks now that it has been cleared and it is exciting to think that after years of planning and preparation the project will be finished within a few months. I am certain that it will look fantastic when completed and will be a great asset to this part of Bourne."

PHOTO ALBUM

Cutting the first sod for building work to begin on Friday 26th October 2012. In the picture: Councillor Linda Neal, leader of South Kesteven District Council (in the cab) with Councillor Frances Cartwright, portfolio holder for grow the economy and economic development, and at the front (left to right) Karl Rodgers and Ian Yates (contractors), Beverly Agass (SKDC chief executive), Councillor John Smith, Les Goodale and Mike Glynn (contractors).

The new lane opened to the public at the end of June 2014 although work was still progressing on landscaping and installing street furniture.

A large tract of land was left vacant on the north side of the site for use when needed at a further stage of the development but this caused some anger in Bourne where there is a serious car parking problem and it was suggested that more spaces could be provided here but the idea did not meet with the approval of South Kesteven District Council. As a result, the land remained idle and was soon colonised by weeds.

Hopes that the land left over from the Wherry’s Lane development might be used for much needed car parking in town were dashed during the summer of 2014 when a notice from South Kesteven District Council was erected announcing that the site would be used “for future development” and was up for sale.

REVISED AUGUST 2015

See also Work falls behind on the development

Return to Wherry's Lane