Update on stalled £300m revamp of city centre

WORK on a £300m redevelopment to transform the city centre could be about to resume, following a number of delays.

City Centre South was supposed to bring the city the second largest retail centre in the Midlands with shops, restaurants, a new cinema, bowling alley, hotel and more.

But a report prepared for a council meeting at the beginning of the year (January 21) admitted there were huge delays to the scheme which will transform Hertford Street, Bull Yard, Shelton Square and City Arcade.

Despite being granted outline planning permission in 2012, no anchor tenant of “sufficient standing” has been found.

And although the scheme is now moving forward, we could still be just under a year from seeing the final plans.

Cllr Jim O’Boyle, cabinet member for jobs and regeneration said: “We are working on very detailed plans with Shearer group in terms of how the final masterplan will look less than 12 months from now.

“This time next year we will know what will be in the plan.

“We have very complex work to do which is all ongoing.

“The original timescale has slipped which is inevitable with issues in city centres.

“But we are on schedule to get city centre south up and running within the next few years.

“A lot of preparation work is going on, with Coventry Point being stripped out at the moment which is on the footprint of it.

“The Upper Precinct is on schedule, the opening of Broadgate are both progress on transforming the city centre.

“It is very exciting for the city.”

The council had wanted a department store to be the flagship store at the scheme, attracting other big name retailers.

But the fortunes of department stores across the high street - with huge losses at Debenhams and store closures announced at M&S - are leaving that in doubt.

Councillor Jim O’Boyle, cabinet member for jobs and regeneration at the council, previously said the development was “future-proofed”.

It is not the only problem to hit the project.

There have also been so many delays that planning permission has run out.

And the council doesn’t even own all the land it needs to proceed.

Back in January, the authority still needed to purchase land and property that stands in the way of the scheme - a potentially tricky negotiation that could require compulsory purchase orders where the council forces the owner to sell up.

The report stated: “It is important that there is timely acquisition of land and property to enable the scheme to proceed as planned so the expected outputs are delivered.

“The majority of the site is owned by the council but a smaller number of acquisitions are required either voluntarily or by compulsory purchase order.”