Council is considering buying city shopping centre

A council is exploring whether to invest millions of pounds of public money to buy a shopping centre as part of a city regeneration programme

Wakefield Council is looking into acquiring The Ridings retail centre.

Last week, business leaders in the city contacted the council’s leader and called on the authority to buy the site.

Senior councillors are due to consider a report on the future of the centre at a meeting in November.

The local authority’s Cabinet will examine the “Wakefield City Centre Regeneration: The Future Development of The Ridings Shopping Centre” later this year.

The report says it is to “seek Cabinet approval to acquire The Ridings Shopping Centre” and future development of the shopping mall and city.

The centre, which was constructed in 1983, was bought by investment company NewRiver Retail in 2015 and later given a £5m revamp.

Mark Lynam, council corporate director for regeneration, told the BBC: “In February, Cabinet gave the instruction for officers to explore options on the regeneration of the Ridings Shopping Centre.

“This work is ongoing and will be reported back to Cabinet later this year.”