News

The property developer attempting to redevelop Wolverhampton truckstop has hinted that it might sell it to a local businessman who wants it to remain a lorry park - if the price is right. Kilmartin Properties has already applied to South  Staffordshire Council for permission to erect industrial units plus 1.5 acres of open storage at the Cannock Road site.

However, Alan Evans, who runs nearby ATE Truck & Trailer Sales, says he is keen to buy the land and combine his business with the truck park to keep it financially viable. Evans says: "We've got eight acres right on their doorstep. My idea is that if I was to buy it I could also have a sales operation on the existing site. I wouldn't run the truckstop, but I would buy it and rent it to Nightowl."

Kilmartin director Simon Bowder says the developer hopes to have a decision before the end of the year, and is confident it will be granted planning permission. However when CM informed him of Evan's offer, he said that a deal could  be struck, adding: "It depends on the price. We are there to develop it. Conversely, being a property company, everything is for sale." Bowder says any offer would be considered "if someone wants to make an offer attractive enough for us not to develop it". Nightowl MD Murdo MacDonald did not respond as CM went to press.