Chorley Council to buy Market Walk shopping centre

CHORLEY Council has agreed to pay around £20m to buy the town’s Market Walk shopping centre.

The authority has mulled the idea for some time and put together an all-party steering group to look at the feasibility of such a move.

Its recommendation was put to a full council this week and it divided councillors with 25 voting for and 18 against with one abstention.

The authority now expects to exchange contracts next week to acquire the site from Orchard Street Investments which bought it in 2011 for £22.5m from RREEF Real Estate, the property arm of Deutsche Bank’s asset and wealth management division.

The 100,000 sq ft centre has 35 units, four of which are empty. The sale price has not been confirmed but is understood to be around £20m.

Council leader Alistair Bradley said: “We believe we can’t miss this opportunity to bring such an important town centre asset under local control. It’s chance to invest in a profitable enterprise in which we already have a vested interest.

“It means that we can look at the redevelopment of the town centre as a whole, rather than the piecemeal way we’ve had to do in the past. It means that we have the flexibility to attract new retailers into the town, and it means that we will have an income from the shop rentals.

“I accept that with any opportunity comes risk and that this is a major investment which is why we’ve done such detailed investigations and sought expert advice. But it’s about managing and minimising the risk and putting controls and safeguards in place. Market Walk is a successful going concern and will bring in funds which can be used to invest in the town centre or in council services to benefit residents.”

He added: “We were concerned that Market Walk would continue to be bought and sold purely as an investment. If this were to continue it’s likely it would be allowed to deteriorate whilst the profits are syphoned out of the borough. By bringing it under the control of the local authority we can ensure it remains properly managed and maintained, and has a future as the major asset that it is for the benefit of local people.”