THE former Huntingdon Marine boatyard, near the old bridge in Godmanchester, could soon be developed for housing.

The one-acre site at Bridge Place, which looks across the River Great Ouse to the Old Bridge Hotel, has not been used as a boatyard and chandlery for several years, but could fetch more than �1million.

Phil Halmshaw, director of St Neots-based chartered surveyors D H Barford and Co, who are handling the sale, said the eventual selling price would depend on the use to which the historic site could be put.

He believes it has potential for a mixed residential and commercial development.

“It is likely that the majority of the site can be developed for residential [use], perhaps with ancillary restaurant, caf�, offices or similar commercial uses to sit alongside the new housing,” he said.

“The site does presently not have planning permission, and interested parties will have the opportunity to produce a scheme to suit their own development aspirations.

“Initial indications suggest that a scheme of between 10 and 16 town houses or a larger member of apartments is likely to be supported by the planning authority,” he added.

But one recent study suggested that there might be scope for about 34 apartments in a four or five-storey block, he said.

“The riverside position offers the prospect of moorings being offered with some or all of the residential units. We are expecting considerable interest in the site.”

Huntingdonshire District Council’s head of planning services, Steve Ingram, confirmed that planners had been in discussion about the future of the site.

“Clearly, it’s a very sensitive site, and would need a very interesting design that turned its back on the A14 to maintain the relationship with the river,” he told The Hunts Post.