£16 million Diss regeneration project reaches milestone with demolition of former John Grose site in Park Road

A £16 million regeneration project in Diss reached a key milestone this week.

South Norfolk Council formally signed an agreement to demolish the old John Grose site in Park Road, which will pave the way for a new leisure hub for the town.

The wider project includes a multi-million pound investment in Diss Leisure Centre, which is currently under way, upgrades to the bus station and a new GP surgery.

Graham Minshull, a town and district councillor, said: “This week, we signed off the demolition order for the John Grose building.

“That will start early in the new year as we clear all of the sites on the south side.

“The north side will contain the leisure hub and then the south side of Park Road will be the bus station and the doctor’s surgery.

“I was hoping we would be further along, but when you are dealing with the county council and the health services, it takes time.

“The doctor’s surgery also has to be built to a very high standard, so takes a little longer.”

Improvements to the town’s bus station will help to modernise the area, with the existing site having been given little attention since it was built almost 80 years ago.

Diss Leisure Centre, which has been closed since February as part of a £4 million renovation project, is central to the council’s plan to regenerate this area of the town.

However, delays to the project means the facility, which was due to reopen before the end of the year, will remain shut until January, after workers discovered that the floor in the changing rooms will need to be replaced.

“It was a major problem that no one saw coming,” said Cllr Minshull. “We were facing a 13-week delay, but credit to the workers, they have pulled that back to January.

“All of the new pipework is in and the heating, too. When I was down there, they were working on levelling the pool.

“It is progressing really well. The pool will have the latest filtration system and air-source heat pumps as well, making it carbon neutral.”

The revamped leisure centre will include a shallower swimming pool, an improved spectator seating area and bigger and revamped changing rooms.

Cllr Minshull added: “At a time when most councils are closing pools, we are doing this to make sure that ours is there for future generations to help more people learn to swim.

“All of this development and large investment in Diss is great news and it will completely change this town for the better.”

This area will also be home to the town’s new Aldi store in the former Feather Company factory, under plans approved by South Norfolk Council.

This is expected to replace the existing supermarket in Mere Street as its lease is due to expire in the new year.

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