by Duncan Lamb
Speyhawk have arranged funding for their two planned developments in Wimbledon town centre — one of which has planning consent and another which is awaiting the decision of a public inquiry — with the £116m backing for the schemes coming from the Standard Life Assurance Co.
The developers have announced that Standard Life will provide £36m of finance for the Wimbledon Bridge project which entails 130,000 sq ft of offices, 50,000 sq ft of retailing and parking for 300 cars. It has been designed by Arup Associates and two of the major shops are under offer to W H Smith and Underwoods. Bridging over the railway tracks, the development will extend to seven storeys with a diagonal atrium.
Speyhawk’s plans for the Wimbledon Town Hall site — for which Standard Life are prepared to supply £80m of finance — have been the subject of a lengthy public inquiry which finished in February.
Close to the bridge site, the project would comprise a two-level shopping centre of 370,000 sq ft, with parking for 1,000 cars. The Building Design Partnership-designed scheme is in competition with proposals from Greycoat which would provide 70,000 sq ft of speciality shopping, 30,000 sq ft of offices and a new civic hall — retaining the town hall and fire station.
Letting agents for the Speyhawk scheme are Strutt & Parker and Healey & Baker and the developers say that if they are successful at the inquiry stage the scheme could commence construction by 1988 and be completed in 1991.
In the meantime, construction has already begun on the Wimbledon Bridge site, with completion due spring 1989.
