Lindongate
Developer Modus has submitted the long awaited planning application for the Lindongate shopping centre which promises to bring 350,000 square feet of new retail space to Lincoln.
It includes a department store and an additional 39 shop units. A new bus station in St Mary’s Street linked to Lincoln Central railway station will create a modern public transport interchange. The development is also planned to include residential apartments, a 1,000 space car park, restaurants and a hotel.
Director of Manchester-based Modus, James Ridings, said “Having worked hard with the public and stakeholders over the past two years, we are delighted to be submitting a planning application for this scheme. This puts the proposal on target for completion late 2011 or early 2012 and will significantly improve retailing in Lincoln, as well as building on its great success as a leisure destination”.
Lincoln chartered surveyors Banks Long & Co have been appointed as joint letting agent with West End specialists Lunson Mitchenall.
“There is a tremendous amount of retailer interest, despite current market concerns,” said Peter Banks. “Key lettings are moving to legals, conditional on planning, before final unit allocations can be agreed. This shows the depth of interest in Lincoln city centre if current parking and access difficulties can be resolved, which this scheme will do.”
The planning application is currently in the consultation period but while Modus has received overwhelming support from interested bodies and the general public during its two consultation days at the Central Library, some traders have been worried about the impact on their businesses. And others who have seen illustrations of the proposed new street within the scheme have assumed that Sincil Street is to be totally cleared and the local establishes character lost. Modus has now met the local traders to try to allay their fears.
“It has always been a key element of our scheme that Sincil Street would be largely untouched with the older smaller retail units retained for occupation by independent and specialist traders,” says Mr Ridings.
Their businesses will be supported by the new shopping within the existing bus station area and by a larger car park and better bus station. The only demolition proposed is at the northern and southern ends of Sincil Street and by an extension of Cornhill to form a cross roads with Sincil Street, providing maximum integration with the new shopping. “Modus is not interested in providing clone town shopping and we know from our experiences elsewhere that major national retailers like nothing more than to be close to vibrant small independent businesses.”
Asked for his view on the impact on local traders, Mr Banks said: “There will be some traders who are displaced but this scheme had been coming for 20 years and many of the affected traders are fully aware of the situation and are occupying on short leases with redevelopment clauses. Nevertheless we will be working hard with the developers to try and accommodate all of those who are affected either in the scheme or close by, but there does have to be some change if we want to offer a wider choice in the city centre and generate the value needed to get rid of the existing dreadful bus station.
