10:00 am, July 25, 2023
Plans for a luxury car showroom on the site of a former budget-price store in Cambridgeshire have run into strong opposition.
An application has been lodged with Huntingdonshire District Council to build the dealership, along with a hotel, in Huntingdon where a 99p Store formerly stood and is in a pedestrianised area.
The existing ground-floor shop unit would be divided into two smaller shops fronting the high street, with an executive car showroom at the back.
The plans by ATK Designs of Hitchin – submitted on behalf of Loretta Budai trading as Budia [sic] Services in High Street, Huntingdon – show the ground floor of the dealership as displaying 10 cars with a preparation and valet area.
The first floor of the Grade II listed site, meanwhile, would see 31 rooms comprising the hotel.
According to CambridgeshireLive, some people are in favour of the idea – with one commenting on a Facebook page: ‘Anything would be better than what it is right now – an eyesore. Smarten the town up, please.’
Others say transforming the derelict building into a dealership and hotel would be better than letting it become even more run-down, and could work better for the market town.
The plans for the car showroom and hotel in Huntingdon. Source: Huntingdonshire District Council
But an indoor market is favoured by many, while other suggestions include a soft play area, charity shop or bowling alley.
One commenter said: ‘I can’t see that a car showroom will benefit the town that much. An indoor market would be great.’
Meanwhile, another posted: ‘A car showroom in a (basically) pedestrianised part of town? Test drives might be tricky.’
A third person was quoted as writing: ‘It’s a strange place for a car showroom and why would there be any need for a hotel? Aren’t there enough of those around already?’
The site used to be home to a Woolworths store that closed in 2008 and was a 99p Store for a while before that shop shut as well, says CambridgeshireLive. Since then, the building has been empty.
Pictured at top via Google Street View in 2014 is the site where the car showroom and hotel could be built in Huntingdon
