Foodstore-led scheme is most viable for Rochdale, says Genr8 boss
THE ROCK development which opened at Bury town centre in June is likely to be the last major shopping scheme to be built in a satellite town, says Genr8 Developments’ chief executive John Early.
The 1.6m sq ft, £300m scheme was started in a much more benign economic environment, and even so developer Thornfield Ventures never managed to complete it – the firm was placed into administration in January some six months before it opened, leaving Hammerson to complete the job.
Early, whose company Genr8 Developments has been tasked with delivering the regeneration of neighbouring Rochdale town centre, described The Rock as “probably the last big scheme you’re going to see of that nature” in the region, or even further afield.
Since winning a revised mandate to redevelop Rochdale town centre last year following the collapse of a previous bid by Wilson Bowden, Early has had the difficult job of trying to manage expectations of what might be achievable in the town while
He argues that the £150m scheme it is proposing, for which it gained funding from Japanese investment bank Kajima earlier this month, is a much more “viable” scheme.
“I really believe it is much more of a model of how town centres will operate in the future,” he said.
The proposals, which have already undergone a first round of public consultation, include a new supermarket of around 60,000 sq ft, a department store, additional retail and leisure facilities and improved car parking. Early said that it has been designed to link effectively to the new Metrolink extension into Rochdale town centre and the existing retail core on Yorkshire Street.
He added that the foodstore will be of sufficient size to act as a magnet drawing people into the town but not so large that it will damage existing traders.
“It respects the existing shopping centre, it builds on it and as long as we can secure the right retailers it will make Rochdale a much more attractive offer,” he said. “People will still go to the Trafford Centre or the regional centre in their cars to perhaps do their Christmas shopping but there’s a massive leakage at the moment out of Rochdale and we think we can capture back a very significant amount of that.”
A detailed planning application for the development will be submitted next year and work will only start in 2012 following completion of Rochdale Council’s new office buildings in 2012. Practical completion of the Genr8 scheme is expected by 2014.
Early believes that it has already overcome the most significant hurdle in bringing Kajima on board as its partner to fund the scheme.
“In this market, getting people to back your confidence that you can deliver something that’s viable isn’t easy, and people shouldn’t underestimate that in any way,” he said.
He added that the deal signed last month was the result of “a relationship we’ve been building for 15 months”.
Paul Turner-Mitchell, Paul Turner-Mitchell, chairman of the Voice of Rochdale Independents, a campaigning group set up to represent the town’s independent retailers, gave the scheme a cautious welcome but said he would be more convinced about its delivery once work commences.
“I want it to happen more than anyone and if it does I’ll welcome it with open arms but we’ve been talking about redevelopment for Rochdale in years and it seems like there’s always some new barrier or problem,” he said.
