Proposed mixed-use development could add £12m to local economy

Plans to create a new mixed-use development at Mercia Marina have been submitted to South Derbyshire District Council.

Madecorn Leisure wants to build seven retail units and 14 environmentally-friendly flats at the tourist site near Willington. It says the development will create 43 new jobs and could add £11.9m to the local economy over the next decade.

In a statement accompanying the proposals, Madecorn said the existing buildings at the Marina are not “fit for purpose in terms of the accommodation they offer and the quality of that accommodation.”

“Standing still will never be an option for what has become one of South Derbyshire’s top tourist attractions”, the firm added.

The proposed development represents a sizeable expansion of the Marina’s existing facilities. It has been designed by Repton-based Bi Design Architecture.

Planning chiefs will run the rule over the proposals at a committee meeting on Tuesday 21 March.

Mercia Marina was established in September 2008 on the banks of Willington Lake. It underwent a £3m expansion in 2017 when a new piazza was built on the peninsula next to the marina’s Boardwalk shopping, leisure and office development.