Louth Cattle Market '˜could become a retail complex'

A public report will be submitted to the East Lindsey District Council’s Executive Board tomorrow (Wednesday) setting out an indicative timeline of how the sale of controversial site could progress over the next two years.

The report recommends that the preferred bidder - ADV Partnership - should be formally appointed as the ‘selected developer’ for the site.

It also recommends that the Executive Board should agree that a future report is presented to Full Council for approval, setting out the details of the proposed sale and the details of the proposed replacement livestock facility.

Later in the report, it is suggested that a food operator could take up one of the potential retail units although no details of any interested parties are mentioned.

Tomorrow’s meeting follows ELDC’s decision to re-market the site after a proposed deal with ASDA failed to materialise.

The report states: “The main difference between the results of the two marketing exercises is that the 2015 exercise has resulted in the bids from developers being stronger than the direct bids from food retail operators, and this reflects the lack of capital being made available to operators for the development of new food retail stores.

“However, there is still interest in operators taking space as an anchor tenant in schemes and locations where they consider there to be a gap in the market.

“From the level of interest being shown, Louth and the Livestock Market site fit those criteria.”

The indicative timeline published within the report suggests that a report to the District Council and the acceptance of a conditional bid could take place in January 2017, with contracts being exchanged in February 2017.

Planning applications would be determined in May 2017, the relocation of the livestock market would take place in February 2018, and the sale of the site would be completed in March 2018.

The ADV Partnership was chosen as a the preferred bidder in April this year following the second marketing exercise for the site.

Asda had been previously been selected as the preferred bidder following the initial marketing exercise in 2014, but later revised their offer - and the sale was scrapped.

• Click here for background information on ADV Partnership’s bid for the Livestock Market site.