Dalston’s Kingsland Shopping Centre is set to be demolished to make way for a new mixed use development that could also threaten the future of a popular community garden.
The owner of the centre, commercial property company Criterion Capital, is understood to be consulting over a proposal to bulldoze the building and replace it with a new retail destination and 500 flats in blocks of up to 14 storeys high.
The regeneration will also include a network of pedestrianized streets and squares surrounding the buildings. The first images of the plan show the nearby Dalston Eastern Curve Garden transformed into a thoroughfare while the current car park remains beneath the development.
A spokesperson for the owners says that they are in discussions with the people who run the garden and aim to work alongside them to create a new green space.
Criterion hopes that the development will attract both local businesses and high street names to the new retail centre.
“We believe that mix is crucial to the success of the development. It’s not about creating another Westfield for example, because that wouldn’t be Dalston. It needs to serve the people in the area and needs to be distinct.
“In terms of profit for Criterion at the moment, the conversation we have had with people is they don’t feel the shopping centre is the best thing about Dalston by any means,” the spokesperson told the Hackney Gazette.
If the proposal is approved, the first stage will involve the redevelopment of the Eastern Curve into a green space lined with cafés and restaurants.
The shopping centre itself would continue trading for as long as possible throughout the construction period in order to cause as little disruption as possible to tenants.
The proposals will be on public display at the entrance of Kingsland Shopping Centre on Friday July 19 (2pm – 7pm).
Previous Post
Online Retailers move in on the High Street
