Opening of Grand Central Birmingham delayed due to construction issues

THE opening of a multi-million pound shopping development above Birmingham’s revamped New Street Station has been delayed due to complications over the construction of the ambitious scheme.

A host of retailers and restaurants are set to take their place alongside department store anchor John Lewis in the new development, dubbed Grand Central Birmingham, which was set to open next year.

However, reports in Retail Week said the opening had had to be pushed back until 2015 due to construction problems and issues relating to the location of car parks and taxi ranks.

The reports said that a tranche of big name retailers had been signed up for Grand Central including The White Company, L’Occitane and Kiehls.

The reports quoted Grand Central leasing director Keith Stone as saying the opening date for the scheme had been pushed back from pre-Christmas 2014 to ensure “a better customer experience”.

The new centre comprises 40 retail units and Stone is again quoted as saying a further 20 retail deals are  in the hands of solicitors.

Overall, 80% of the retail and leisure units are either signed or under offer, placing the scheme ahead of where owners expected to be at this stage.

Restaurants to have signed up to the scheme include Yo! Sushi, Giraffe, Carluccios, Vietnamese restaurant Pho, Tortilla and Tapas Revolution.

Stone said the decision by John Lewis to commit to the centre had been crucial in persuading other retailers to sign up.

The new development is set to create hundreds of new jobs.