M&S Development at Riverside now under review & in doubt

[tek-monkey]

£89k?!?!?!? So then another what, £60k in rates? No wonder its empty.

 

[cj1]

just been told construction is due to start November 12 or very shortly after

 

[ChrisLewis]

Getting close to November 12th will we see some construction??

 

[Franklin_Delano_Roosevelt]

Getting close to November 12th will we see some construction??

Yep, Nov 12th has come and gone and still nothing. Bridge St car park is apparently set for demolition early in the New Year as recently confirmed by the Borough Council but still not much on the actual development itself and even less on their supposed face lift of the Civic Centre.
On top of that M&S (the flag ship retailer of the project) has again posted some pretty iffy profit figures and has even admitted that they may not now open a new store in the new City Sentral development in Hanley. If they won't commit to a scheme in the much larger Potteries then why would they in Stafford? I'm not convinced.

 

[Gareth]

Mark's and Sparks have signed a sort of contract of sorts, I am not a legal chap so I dont what level this is at or what it covers i.e pre contract. In relation to the Civic Offices refit, this has been nowhere near finalised or has been confirmed as going through yet as I don't think the council owns the building outright.
This is not currenlty part of the LXB development at all.

 

[Franklin_Delano_Roosevelt]

Mark's and Sparks have signed a sort of contract of sorts, I am not a legal chap so I dont what level this is at or what it covers i.e pre contract. In relation to the Civic Offices refit, this has been nowhere near finalised or has been confirmed as going through yet as I don't think the council owns the building outright.
This is not currenlty part of the LXB development at all.

"A contract of sorts" I think that says it all. At no point have I ever seen or heard anything from M&S that says "yes we are enthusiastic about the Riverside development & we can't wait to get moved into to our shiny new town centre location...etc" As they have previously been named as the flagship occupant of the new scheme as part of the outline planning process there is nothing to stop them doing so. The reality probably is that they have expressed an interest in taking up retail space and the Council Planning & Regen Dept have taken this as meaning "we can therefore put their name on all of the propaganda bumpf"

The idea that LXB development will spend millions on a scheme when they have no cast iron tenants is fantasy, especially in these austere times. The lack of committed unit take up is what seems to be doing for the much larger City Sentral development in the much larger Potteries. The facts speak for themselves, much time has gone by & nothing has happened at all - it is starting to look as hollow as CJ1's comment above that "work will start by Nov 12"

I hope it happens but it doesn't look good

 

[Gramaisc]

At no point have I ever seen or heard anything from M&S that says "yes we are enthusiastic about the Riverside development & we can't wait to get moved into to our shiny new town centre location...etc" As they have previously been named as the flagship occupant of the new scheme as part of the outline planning process there is nothing to stop them doing so. The reality probably is that they have expressed an interest in taking up retail space and the Council Planning & Regen Dept have taken this as meaning "we can therefore put their name on all of the propaganda bumpf"

M&S has signed a pre-let for a 25 year lease (with a tenant’s break option after 15 years) to anchor the scheme in a 65,000 sq ft two storey unit.

I have no idea how 'cast-iron' that might be...

Let's hope LXB isn't a UXB.

 

[cj1]

Must admit things are not looking good with construction now put back twice and with start dates now becoming less specific. There still confident of an end 2014 finish though so maybe there's hope

 

[United57]

£89k?!?!?!? So then another what, £60k in rates? No wonder its empty.

One of the arguments Starbucks put up for not paying as much tax as they should was rent prices. It appears they are saying to landlords if you don't reduce we are closing at the end of our lease.

 

[tek-monkey]

One of the arguments Starbucks put up for not paying as much tax as they should was rent prices. It appears they are saying to landlords if you don't reduce we are closing at the end of our lease.

Safe to say with their profit margins that is nonsense, they just want to avoid tax and rent as well. Of course if the figures submitted to the tax man are to be believed most starbucks run at a loss so its amazing they keep operating.

 

[proactive]

Safe to say with their profit margins that is nonsense, they just want to avoid tax and rent as well. Of course if the figures submitted to the tax man are to be believed most starbucks run at a loss so its amazing they keep operating.

Think of them as a charity and all will be well with the world.

 

[camsnan]

Will be distraught if we do not get the big new M&S, am so looking forward to all these new shops we are supposed to be getting!!

 

[Gareth]

If I am honest I have never seen an official start date except approxs in the press whihc were summer to autumn 2012. Start work could account for anything such as prep work, it has been reported again, not by an on official spokesman that the car park will be the first to go in the new year. But until that does nothing else can be done as the park is the agreed first item for completion

 

[1JKz]

Could 'we' not simply go ahead and flatten the old Tescos carpark/building, green/turf the whole area and plant trees and sod the new shops?
Other shops in the town would benefit from this, it may not seem obvious to begin with but the exsisting shopping areas would benefit, it'd happen, honest!
Keep the shoddy carpark that's there, no problem, but have a massive green space?

...i'd rather cook on a small clean oven than a whopping great dirty one.

 

[Gramaisc]

Could 'we' not simply go ahead and flatten the old Tescos carpark/building, green/turf the whole area and plant trees and sod the new shops?
Other shops in the town would benefit from this, it may not seem obvious to begin with but the exsisting shopping areas would benefit, it'd happen, honest!
Keep the shoddy carpark that's there, no problem, but have a massive green space?

...i'd rather cook on a small clean oven than a whopping great dirty one.

Or just knock it all down and leave it as a random free car -parking area right next to the town centre?

I wonder if that's ever been tried before....?

 

[My Name is URL]

Could 'we' not simply go ahead and flatten the old Tescos carpark/building, green/turf the whole area and plant trees and sod the new shops?

I have always thought that the place could be converted into really rustic and characterful creative units, cafe's, bars, art galleries etc... ok would need a bit of work doing to it, possibly available from government funding, but I think it would be great and really add something different to the town... a bit like Kunsthaus Tacheles in Berlin.... (clicky) which looks rubbish but if you've ever been there, its fab.

Even if they had just done it for the few years since it shut down until they need to demolish it.

 

[littleme]

Could 'we' not simply go ahead and flatten the old Tescos carpark/building, green/turf the whole area and plant trees and sod the new shops?

In my opinion its an eyesore, it was an eyesore when it was Tescos and the carpark, and its still an eyesore now. Thought it was dangerous too? Knock it down and plant some trees, we really dont need more shops when there are so many units already vacant in town...

 

[Gareth]

Not sure I see any logic in what has been said here. Who will be billed to knock down Tesco to build a green next to a dual carriageway and even more puzzling how on earth woudl this bring business to town when you have the delighful Victoria Park.

The town needs some investment or it will die like many others, those shops will stay empty with more and more on top, that is what people complain about anyway lack of choice. The likes of Marks and Spark, possibly Primark and Morrisons (ae these the ones who have signed 25 years lease not Marks and Sparks??) could bring more people into town and hopefully see Stafford thrive more as some people do go out of town.

 

[Gramaisc]

M&S have signed - according to LXB.

A demolition site car park is what was there for the fifteen years before Tesco appeared.

As for building a green next to a dual-carriageway, we did build a Falklands Remembrance Garden in the middle of Gaol Square.

 

[andy w]

Thinking back to when the leisure centre was knocked down didn't the plans include a number of apartments in the scheme of things.
I know it wouldn,t suit everyone but wouldn't it be a good idea to encourage more people to live in town centres as it would stop them becoming ghost towns.
Also how about a Premier Inn or simular for part of the site?