These two images show the vision and the reality of the 16.5-acre tract of land in Taunton, Somerset, known as Firepool.
The first image is St Modwen's idea of how the £270m scheme, which includes 500,000 sq ft of offices and 400 homes, will look. The second is how the site looked yesterday when I visited with St Modwen's regional director, Rupert Joseland.
The site straddles the River Tone and backs onto Somerset County Cricket Club. One side of the river is a large surface car park, with a canoe club's hut the only building on it. The other side of the river, which you can see in the picture, is the shell of Taunton's former livestock market.
Maybe it was yesterday's weather, but it is a bit of a grim and empty place, with barely a soul wandering along the river's towpath. However, it is not hard to see why St Modwen has designs on it. The site is less than ten minute's walk from Taunton's high street (which was surprisingly busy for a Monday afternoon) and with a bit of hard work, the unkempt banks of the river could be one of those waterside settings that developers so love.
But to make it a reality, St Modwen needs to win itself a sizeable pre-let to get the ball rolling. The UK Hydrographic Office had been due to kick-start lettings, but dropped its 160,000 sq ft requirement early this year, and at the moment there is no obvious replacement for it.
For more on how St Modwen plans to realise Firepool and its other plans for the region, be sure to read the South West Focus on 5th December.
What this site needs is a town centre Ikea like the one in coventry, Taunton already has lots of empty office space.
Also needs a second cinema as the current one is too small.