The Town Crier asked Primark, Next, Wilkinson and Monsoon whether they would be interested in opening stores in the town after they were specifically named by the residents during the Priory Waterfront project survey.

A Wilkinson's spokesman said: "We are currently pursuing an expansion plan and aim to open an extra 500 stores by 2012. We have already opened 300 and are looking for 200 more.

"We would love to come to St Neots. It all depends on whether the right site comes along."

The spokesman declined to say if the company was already engaged in talks about opening a specific store in the area.

Monsoon also said it would love to open a store in St Neots and was happy to hear that members of the community would like to see one in the town.

The spokesman added it had not yet found a suitable location, but confirmed it would do its best to open should something come up.


Primark however, is unlikely to move to St Neots as it is about to open one in Cambridge.

Despite being the subject to many rumours in the town, a spokesman for the clothing giant Next also claimed it had no plans for a St Neots store.