Luxury Leisure has submitted plans to open a new Admiral AGC in the Fenland town of Wisbech, revitalising an area where one fifth of retail units are currently vacant.

The Grade II-listed former high street bank branch on Market Place has remained empty for eighteen months, with a new use expected to boost footfall to the town centre.

“The property has been ‘actively marketed by expert property consultants’ but there has been no viable interest in the premises as a retail shop or for any other use,” reported the Cambridgeshire Times.

“[Luxury Leisure] says 16 out of 72 units on the market square are empty and the occupation of one of them by a national operator should be supported.”

The 2,400 sq ft ground floor unit formerly operated as a Halifax, before it closed in January 2025, and is described by the Fenland Citizen as boasting “a wide frontage onto Market Place.”

If approved, the AGC will be open 24 hours a day, increasing the activity of the market square area beyond purely daytime footfall.

“Based on anecdotal evidence and experience, many visitors over night-time hours are those working shifts or anti-social hours and those working within the hospitality industry,” states the submission. “These often include chefs, waiters, bar workers, taxi and delivery drivers.”