The Crown Estate has pledged to fund the development of the £140 million Rushden Lakes shopping and leisure scheme after purchasing the Northamptonshire site from existing owner LXB Retail Properties.
Work on the first phase of the development is set to begin towards the end of this year, creating around 400,000 sq ft of retail and leisure accommodation, together with a major new leisure offer.
The scheme includes a lake designed to host activities including canoeing and waterboarding, with a visitor centre and a series of restaurants overlooking the water.Occupiers already signed up for the ambitious scheme include H&M, M&S and Costa.
Regional Portfolio Manager at the Crown Estate, Hannah Milne, said: “Rushden Lakes will be the first in a new generation of shopping parks, setting an entirely new standard for the retail and leisure experience offered by assets of this type.
“We will see occupiers coming to Rushden Lakes that have never traded out of town before, demonstrating the quality of the scheme.
“Having rapidly become one of the UK’s largest owners of dominant shopping parks, our commitment to Rushden Lakes is an example of our ambition to lead the sector in terms of the quality of our portfolio and our progressive approach to asset management.”
LXB, who successfully guided the scheme through the planning process and gained consent from East Northamptonshire District Council in 2012, will now be responsible for the development of Rushden Lakes. Further opportunities exist for the development of two adjacent areas of land which LXB and The Crown Estate will consider at a later date.
Jon McCarthy, LXB Adviser LLP, said: “As a concept, Rushden Lakes challenges the industry norm and today’s announcement confirms the strength of our long held belief in the scheme.
“This project has had strong and unwavering local support for which we have always been grateful.
“We look forward to delivering this innovative retail and leisure scheme for The Crown Estate and continue to work with East Northamptonshire Council to deliver the development plans.”
This is the second collaboration between The Crown Estate and LXB, following the £80 million Banbury Gateway Fashion Park scheme which commenced in 2013.
The Rushden Lakes development is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2016.
