U+I Group, previously Development Securities, has submitted a revised planning application for the long-awaited Friarsgate development in Lichfield, Staffordshire.
The mixed-use scheme will comprise a multi-screen cinema, gym, up to 10 new restaurants and around 25 shops, as well as 82 flats, 11 townhouses and a new landscaped public area.
The development will also deliver a new bus station for the city near the railway station, as well as 500 car parking spaces.
The Group Ginger Architects-designed scheme is predicted to inject £283m into the local economy over the next ten years.
The planning application submission follows a public consultation exercise in the summer. Key issues raised by local residents have been incorporated into the revised design for Friarsgate, such as a sympathetic design for the residential apartments on St John Street that are in keeping with the historical surroundings, improved access into the new development from the train station and better views of the cathedral from the scheme’s main shopping street.
Richard Upton, deputy chief executive of U+I, said: “It has taken a number of years for the proposal to come together, but we were determined to get the project right and are confident that our plans will deliver a development that enhances Lichfield and becomes a cherished part of the city centre.”
Development Securities bought into the stalled retail development in February 2011, when it said it aimed to open the scheme within three years.
A decision on the planning application is expected to be made by spring 2016.
