THE jinx on the redevelopment of Devizes town centre continues as the contract between Kennet District Council and developer Phoenicia Barr remains unsigned five months after the company was selected.

Council officers were confident that the contract would be signed at the end of July but yesterday lawyers for both sides were still wrangling over the small print and the timetable to redevelop the North Gate site.

Kennet's director of community services, Ron Crook, said he was disappointed that agreement on the fine print had not yet been reached.

He said: "They have to make sure that everything has been discussed and every eventuality covered. This is the third time we have been here and we want to be sure that everything is right."

Kennet's first attempt to redevelop the centre of Devizes in 1990 in partnership with Kingfisher plc, the owners of Superdrug and Woolworths, foundered on the property slump of the time.

After years of consultants' reports into the viability of the retail centre of the town, agreement was reached with Heritage Property Services in April 2000 to develop the North Gate, an area bounded by New Park Street, Northgate Street and Snuff Street, and the Wharf.

Heritage pulled out after Wiltshire County Council insisted that the Wharf was the preferred site for the county's new record office. That has now been taken away from Devizes and given to Chippenham.

Further work was undertaken in the preparation of a development brief for the North Gate site and Phoenicia Barr was the only one of six bidders whose plans bore any resemblance to the brief.

That was in March and discussions have been continuing since then to draw up a contract by which the land would be sold to Phoenicia Barr, which would undertake to deliver the plans on which it won the selection.

The developer intends to fill the frontage of New Park Street, particularly the sites of the former cattle market and Devizes Motor Company, with a mix of flats and offices of neo-Georgian design.

The former Co-op building, currently occupied by the One Stop shop and Billy's Gym and Tonic, would be demolished and replaced with a more sympathetic design for retail use.

Reaction has been mixed to Phoenicia Barr's outline plan.

Traders in the town centre are relieved that there is to be no retail development apart from the Market Place frontage but complain about the lack of parking space.

Townspeople, meanwhile, are disappointed there is to be no retail development because names such as Argos and Burger King were mentioned when the development brief was launched earlier this year.

However, as delays continue, there is a growing feeling in the town that the latest plan could join the others in the rubbish bin of town history.

Mr Crook added: "I am loath to say everything is OK but the lawyers have given me no reason to believe there is any problem with contracts and they are just dotting the 'i's and crossing the 't's.

"But everyone is on tenterhooks waiting for them to finish. We would like to get on and prepare for the redevelopment but we can't do anything until those contracts are signed."

Town mayor Paula Winchcombe said: "It is concerning that this seems to be taking so long to finalise but I am reliably informed there is nothing to be unduly worried about.

"This development is very important to the town and the sooner it can get off the ground the better."

lcowen@newswilts.co.uk