ING Real Estate has said that it is “surprised and disappointed” by Cheshire West and Chester council’s decision to terminate its development agreement for the 440,000 sq ft Northgate retail scheme.
The developer said that the council’s decision would add years of further delay to the project as it selected a new partner and tackled issues such as site assembly.
ING, which owns land within the Northgate site, added that it would be “willing and able” to regenerate the area and would work up its own plans for its landholdings.
Earlier today, the council announced that it is terminating its agreement with ING due to there being “little likelihood of progress” under the arrangement.
The partnership between ING and the council dates back to 2000, although plans for Northgate were put on hold in 2008 due to the recession. The partners agreed on a revised scheme and financial terms in September 2010.
ING claimed that it would have submitted a planning application this year, with development beginning in 2014.
ING said: “Good progress was made on design development, discussions with the planners and the legal agreement until the council reneged on the agreed terms in June 2011 and sought to completely renegotiate the agreement.
“ING has at all times been prepared to fulfill the 2010 agreement and, despite a worsening economic climate, has further improved the financial terms on offer in favour of the council to try to progress the development.”
daniel.cunningham@estatesgazette.com
