Salford Estates throws its lot in with Tesco
SALFORD Estates has buried the hatchet with the City Council following a protracted dispute over a neighbouring Tesco scheme.
The company, which bought Salford Shopping Centre in May 2009, had taken the City Council to court over its decision to sell a 9.5 acre plot of land to Tesco for £16m.
The council had granted planning approval to Tesco to build a 120,000 sq ft supermarket on the site, which would be raised on stilts with room for car parking below.
However, after losing its case in March this year the firm has begun to work with Salford City Council on linking the two schemes and on proposals to reinvigorate its own offer, according to council leader John Merry.
“They’ve now gracefully decided they want to work more closely with us than they did before,” said Cllr Merry.
“We’re now going through that at the moment to see how, for example, the road between Tesco and Salford Shopping City could be pedestrianised and we can develop it as a single complex.
“I’m beginning to believe they are willing to put their money where their mouth is and invest in Salford Shopping City, which is incredibly important,” said Merry.
“It’s gone downhill fairly rapidly. I don’t think it’s a centre that many people would choose to shop in and a lot needs to be done to it.”
A spokesman for Salford Estates said: “Salford Estates is working towards the improvement of Salford Shopping City and the surrounding area, progress is being made and we hope to update people soon on the next steps.”
Merry said there were also opportunities to reinveigorate several other town centres within the city, with another Tesco-led scheme on the site of the West One retail park in Secretary) being waved through by the Seceratary of State for Communities & Local Government, Eric Pickles, in May.
“Hopefully, that’s going to help to regenerate the whole of Eccles,” said Merry.
Moreover, following a recent report Midsummer Retail Report by Colliers, which suggested that value for investors in terms of capital growth now lay in properly managing shopping centres in secondary towns, Merry agreed that Swinton Shopping City was a good example.
“I would have thought that there is an opportunity for someone to invest in it,” he said. “It needs to be worked with the council because we own significant freehold bits around it like Lancaster Hall but we are perfectly happy to talk to someone about what can be created there.”
The centre has been owned by West Bromwich Building Society since its previous owner defaulted on its debts three years ago.
An in-depth interview with Cllr Merry on Salford’s current regeneration prospects – including plans for Greengate, Port Salford and Chapel Street – can be found here .
