The general manager of a Vauxhall dealer in Wellingborough, Northants received an unpleasant shock when he opened a local newspaper to find that the council planned to redevelop the land the dealership is located on.

Nick Hughes of York, Ward and Rowlatt was incensed by three plans published in the Wellingborough Evening Telegraph for a town centre development, all of which affected the firm’s five-acre site.

Hughes immediately arranged a meeting with planning officers to inform them that the site was not for sale. The council offered a verbal apology for the way in which the plans had been publicized.

“The local authority is under pressure from the Government to build 11,900 new houses by 2021. In looking for a land mass to build them on they failed to consult us.

“We are not up for sale and see our long-term future at this site. Two years ago we invested £750,000 in the premises and have plans for further expansion,” says Hughes.