After years of delays and the looming threat from an out-of-town retail rival Northampton Borough Council has “terminated” a £250m scheme to extend the town’s Grosvenor Shopping Centre.
Signed in 2009 under a Liberal Democrat administration, the authority agreed a deal with owner Legal & General to enlarge the shopping centre by building on the adjoining Greyfriars bus station site. The project faltered almost within months.
As well as enlarging the Grosvenor Centre the agreement also obliged Legal & General to refurbish the Grosvenor Centre. Work on the multi-million pound revamp has started, with completion early next year, but the Greyfriars development has failed to progress.
One stumbling block was a legal wrangle between the council and the multinational financial services company over the implementation of certain “occupier commitment and financial viability” conditions. Another was the announcement of plans to build a £50m out-of-town shopping complex at Rushden Lakes in east Northamptonshire. Both Northampton council and Legal & General lodged formal objections but the project was given the green light last June.
The end to the Greyfriars partnership was officially announced by council leader David Mackintosh.
Legal & General will continue its £10m investment within the Grosvenor Centre, said Mackintosh. “This is led by a new line-up of popular retailers, starting with Next and Primark, which are opening major stores in the centre in October and November respectively. In addition, Legal & General is expected to lodge a planning application shortly to remodel both the Market Square and Abington Street entrances,” he added.
On plans for the former bus station site, Mackintosh said: “The council will continue with the demolition of Greyfriars and will prepare the four-acre site for development, while seeking a developer to draw up plans for a major retail and leisure scheme. It is hoped that planning permission could be obtained and work ready to start on the site in autumn of 2015.”
Simon Russian is head of retail development at Legal & General. He said his company admired what the local authority had achieved in regenerating the town centre through new infrastructure and new investment and looked forward to working with the council in the future to deliver investment into the Grosvenor Centre and the wider town centre.
“At the Rushden Lakes planning inquiry we were very clear that we could not move forward with the Grosvenor Centre extension if permission was given, and, in a fast changing retail environment, we have refocused our efforts on repositioning the Grosvenor Centre’s retail offer,” added Russian.
Northampton South MP, Brian Binley — who has been a long-time critic of Legal & General’s failure to extend the Grosvenor Centre — said he was sure there would now be sustained interest in the Greyfriars site. “I’ve always said Legal & General need to get on with it or get out and they are doing a bit of both … That is a good decision as the town can move forward as they continue to be involved.”
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