Lancaster council’s cabinet will meet next Tuesday to consider a shortlist of five schemes for the city’s 5.7-acre (2.3ha) Kingsway site, as a second attempt to promote development of the former baths & bus garage gets underway.
Property company Chelverton – which was behind earlier plans for a £40m leisure-led development at Kingsway – has been shortlisted.
Chelverton is understood to have offered the highest bid – above the £1.6m that the council was expecting for the land.
An earlier attempt by Chelverton to develop a larger, £40m cinema-led leisure scheme collapsed after a cinema and health club were built elsewhere in the district, and the council objected to A1 retail.
Chelverton’s contract with the council then expired.
Some sources claim that the new Chelverton bid proposes a supermarket which has already been ruled out in the council’s development brief and would challenge planning policy.
Chelverton’s £28m, revised proposal envisages a mixed scheme featuring retail, leisure and business space, over 175,000 sq ft (16,260 sq m).
The retail element will be 77,000 sq ft (7,150 sq m).
A city council statement said: “Following the failure of earlier proposals by Chelverton Properties to redevelop the Kingsway site, the council had again placed the properties on the market, which had resulted in 13 bids and draft schemes being received.
“An evaluation exercise had identified the top five schemes and the report set out the financial background to this scheme and how previous difficulties could be overcome.
“An update will go to the council’s cabinet on 22 January.”
The Kingsway site is thought to be in mixed ownership, with the bulk controlled by the city council and the remainder in the hands of the Sowerby family and the Sunlight Service Group.
Chelverton has also acquired land at the site.
EGi News 15/01/02
