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Thetford Riverside Development

The Riverside development was built on the site of the old Bus Station and Anchor Hotel, and was completed in September 2016. It is joint venture between Breckland Council and The Land Group, through the Breckland Bridge partnership.

The original tenants at the site were:

In 2019, three units were taken by:

In January 2020, Grand Central was rebranded as:

In April 2021, it was announced that Burger Brats (which had closed during the Covid-19 pandemic) would not be re-opening. Instead, two new restaurants would be taking its place:

In May 2021, the Kinetic Science Foundation submitted a change of use planning application 3PL/2021/0524/F, to allow them to use the final unit as a a mini science centre to inspire young people.

The grassed area by the river also hosts On The Green a series of free events and activities over the summer.

The Thetford Riverside development, photographed in October 2019.

Development History

The development came about following the move of Thetford Bus Station and the demolition of the Anchor Hotel, which formerly occupied the site. Breckland Council invested £8M in the development. The Travelodge hotel and The Light cinema are anchor tenants who agreed contracts before the development progressed. Five additional units were created on the ground floor, with planning permission granted for food and drink outlets to occupy them.

Construction work started in Spring 2015. The hotel opened in October 2016 and the cinema in December 2016, but Breckland struggled to find tenants for the other units. Grand Central took on the lease for the largest unit in April 2017. With no firm interest from other restaurants, Breckland decided to consider other uses for the remaining unlet units. In June 2018 planning application 3PL/2018/0227/F was granted for a gym to occupy three of the units at the south end of the building. Snap Fitness opened in October 2018.

In April 2019, it was noted that the lease and business for Grand Central was up for sale. A property listing on DaltonsBusiness.com gave a price of £350k for the business and the remainder of the 20-year lease, with rent agreed at £40k per year until 2020, then rising gradually to £66k.

Documents and Media Coverage

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