North East Lincolnshire Council looks set to swoop for Grimsby’s Freshney Place shopping centre.
The town’s undercover precinct was placed into receivership earlier this year, and the local authority is now looking to use its Towns Fund Allocation - initially awarded to remodel the centre’s western end for leisure use - to mount a bid.
It would then seek further grant support to push on with the ambitious plans.
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Town Hall bosses state it would secure the future of the retailing focal point of the borough, protecting some 1,700 jobs.
It has been revealed in a report set to be put before a special Cabinet meeting, ahead of consideration by the full council.
Officers describe the proposals as being "vital that this course of action is taken by the council as it looks at further transforming the urban heart of Grimsby".
They have documented how if a “passive owner who is unwilling to invest to deliver a leisure scheme and future proof the centre” was to step in, “its anticipated decline would accelerate”.
NELC has revealed 30 similar purchases have been made in the past five years by local authorities as the high street has felt the crunch and online retailing acceleration.
“Some are starting to see significant progress in implementing their masterplans”, the reports added.
Freshney Place makes up 60 per cent of the town centre’s retail offer, supporting one in five jobs within that area.
The proposal would see it run by an external asset manager with the council taking an ‘arms-length’ approach.
Officers added: “The continued decline of Freshney Place would have a catastrophic impact on Grimsby town centre. Grimsby town centre serves a wide retail catchment population of more than 300,000 and retains an above average level of shoppers compared to other smaller town centres, according to national retail data, reflecting the lack of a competing centre locally. Therefore, Grimsby town centre plays a vital role, providing a focal point for the North East Lincolnshire area.
“Grant funding from central government, including the Towns Fund, has already seen significant transformation in the town centre with projects still underway. These include Garth Lane, St James Square, the new Onside Horizon Youth Zone and the conversion of St James House into an E-Factor Group business centre and hub. “To enable this regeneration to continue, Freshney Place must have a stable future.
“Freshney Place is a significant asset within the Grimsby town centre, but the council has not been able to utilise it fully to enact the transformational change it seeks within the town centre. “Therefore, besides safeguarding against the impacts of potential closure, the Council’s acquisition of Freshney Place would enable it to use it as part of the wider town centre transformation more easily,” adds the report.”
Diverting the initial tranche of cash would see a replacement bid to continue the work made through the Levelling up Funds Round Two’ process.
Receivers Cushman and Wakefield were appointed in January, days after New Look’s closure was announced - a major tenant occupying one of the largest units in the complex.
Former owner Capreon continues to provide centre management, with Marks & Spencer, Boots, TK Maxx and the recently expanded Primark remaining as anchor tenants.
Developed from the open-air Riverhead Centre in a £55 million build by Hammerson Group in the late Eighties, it was bought by the Duke of Westminster’s Grosvenor property company for almost £100 million in 2002. It changed hands again in 2013, with F&C Reit taking it on as part of a portfolio swoop valued at £246 million, alongside properties in Scotland and Derbyshire.
F&C Reit merged with BMO Real Estate in 2014, with Capreon then spinning off in 2017.
It was openly marketed a year later by the current manager with a £70 million figure outlined. It would be worth a substantially lower figure now with the past five years accelerating the decline of bricks and mortar retail.
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