A plan for Grimsby’s Freshney Place Shopping Centre to be bought by the local council has moved a step closer.
The enclosed mall in the town centre, the largest in the county and the retail heart of the borough, was plunged into receivership earlier this year.
North East Lincolnshire Council has submitted a bid ahead of a deadline this week, with the authority’s cabinet approving the proposal, made public earlier this month. It will now go before a full council meeting next month.
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Cllr Philip Jackson, leader of the council, said: “It is vital that we take this course of action to make sure we can continue to deliver our transformation of the urban heart of Grimsby. If we don’t buy the centre, it could be bought by someone who is unwilling to invest and the decline of the heart of our town centre would be devastating.”
The centre makes up 60 per cent of the town centre’s retail offer, supporting one in five jobs within that area.
“The move to secure the centre will safeguard a critical part of Grimsby town centre’s economic and community infrastructure,” Cllr Jackson said. “Ensuring it retains a competitive retail and service offer is key to safeguarding up to 1,700 jobs within Freshney Place and Top Town Market.
“If this is approved, subject to due diligence, we would be looking to appoint external asset managers with significant experience to run the centre on a day-to-day basis with the council taking an ‘arms-length’ approach.
“To enable this regeneration to continue, Freshney Place, a huge space in our town centre, must have a stable future. If this becomes council-owned, this would mean that we could take Freshney Place into account when we’re looking at the transformation of the whole of our town centre, potentially bringing in different offers, using the centre in different and more modern ways to reduce its current over-reliance on retail.”
The plan, if approved, would see the Future High Streets Fund money used to complete the purchase. The council would then bid for replacement money to continue the work at the western end of Freshney Place and Victoria Street, where a cinema and more leisure plans have been proposed - that bid was also approved, along with one for Cleethorpes and the transport kitty.
Around 30 similar purchases have been made nationwide over the past five years, a report prepared for the meeting set out.
Receivers Cushman and Wakefield were appointed in January , days after fashion retailer 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.
Cushman and Wakefield has been approached for further details around the bidding process.
On the Levelling Up Fund bids, with each up to £20 million, Cllr Jackson said: "Our ambition is real and these bids show how we are prepared to look at ways in which we can realise positive and true change that will benefit our town centre economy in Grimsby and our local and visitor economy in Cleethorpes. We now look forward to what we hope will be a successful bidding round and we can move forward.”
The resort plan incorporates schemes identified in the Cleethorpes Masterplan. It focuses on Market Place, Sea Road and Pier Gardens, and, if appropriate, strategic site acquisition.
The third bid is for the development of a transportation hub in Grimsby town centre with potential additional projects to be considered around the electrification of buses and repairs to strategic bridge infrastructure.
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