Wickford, Europe

We are just starting the procurement process for a development partner for Wickford Town Centre. That's one of the four town centres in Basildon District that we are rebuilding, and the start of the formal tender process brought a number of press enquiries asking if we were particularly looking for a mainland European company for the Wickford project in order to give the town a 'continental feel'. Er, no. It's because the OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union) process that we must follow makes any tender Europe-wide. We may or may not end up with a non-UK, or even a non-EU, developer, but I can't guarantee patisseries and espresso bars. Sorry.