New shopping centre would create 1,500 jobs
Artist's impression More than 20 leading UK retail chains, including a large Marks & Spencer, will fill a new �50m shopping park planned to open near Rushden. The Rushden Lakes centre will provide 1,500 jobs, bring several household name stores to the area and potentially attract 3 million visitors a year .
MORE than 20 leading UK retail chains, including a large Marks & Spencer, will fill a new £50m shopping park planned to open near Rushden.
The Rushden Lakes centre would create 1,500 jobs, bring household name stores to the area and potentially attract three million visitors a year.
A large garden centre, hotel, leisure centre and a new lake marina are also part of the plans for the proposed scheme, which will be situated at Skew Bridge, opposite Waitrose on the A45.
The 400,000 sq ft shopping site will also feature a visitor centre, “high end” restaurants and 1,300 parking spaces.
LXB Retail Properties plc, the developer behind the scheme hopes to have the park open within the next 20 months.
Tim Walton, chief executive of LXB, described the plans as a “once in a lifetime opportunity” for the area.
He said: “This is a large-scale retail and leisure development. It’s the biggest step forward for the area since the closure of the shoe factories because it is an investment in job creation. And there will be an emphasis on getting local people these jobs.
“We have agreed terms with Marks & Spencer to take a large unit, with food, fashion and home offers. We are also talking to other leading UK retailers as we will have about 20 retail units. There will be a decent quality hotel, which we see as being a seven-day per week attraction.
“East Northamptonshire Council and all the stakeholders have been very supportive about working with us to come up with what we think is a great scheme.
“The site offers a unique tourism and leisure destination and it opens up the lake and natural environment to the general public. It’s a beautiful location.
“It’s on land which once occupied an old dry ski slope which has been closed for years. Behind the 30-acres of brownfield, and developable land, at the front is a site designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest which is very important for nesting birds. We have been working with Natural England, which controls the land, because we want to protect the nesting birds at the same time as developing the site.”
LXB, a Jersey-based real estate investment company, whose strategy is to invest in out-of-town and edge-of-town retail assets, bought the 224-acre site for £4.525m six months ago.
John McCarthy, LXB development director, said: “There’s nothing like this centre, it is going to be next to an SSSI and leisure amenities – it’s definitely not just a retail park.
“And it’s good for the whole area, not just Rushden, because there will be 1,500 jobs.”
Mr McCarthy said his team would be working closely with town centre traders in Rushden, who will be offered free daily advertising space at the park’s visitor centre.
The scheme’s architects are keen to fulfil the potential of the lakes which back on to the land earmarked for development.
A lock and weir connecting them to the River Nene will be installed at a cost of £1m in a bid to encourage boaters to make use of the park’s facilities. An RSPB visitor centre will also be built within the park and LXB will hold talks with Natural England about taking over the running of the site.
Routes to walk and cycle between shops and green spaces would also be installed.
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Comments
There are 22 comments to this article
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redmanthinks
Saturday, November 5, 2011 at 09:26 AMWhilst the creation of 1500 jobs is good news, the Council needs to look at this carefully. Do we need more shops in the area? This would certainly kill off the already vulnerable High Street, unless it diversifies and re-invents itself for a niche market, but once at Rushden Lakes, who will bother to drive into town to spend money? Unless it can compete with Milton Keynes, why will people drive there?. The area is crying out for leisure facilities, and the old Skew Bridge site is ideal. A leisure centre will be great,but not if it`s merely another Pemberton Centre. The town`s sporting clubs have to travel out of town to train and play. AFC Rushden & Diamonds and South Rushden JFC have to play their homes games at Raunds!. Cinema go-ers from a town that once had 3 cinemas,have to go to Kettering to see a film. None of this can be acceptable can it? It reflects badly on the town as a whole. I would urge the council to consider the plans with the proviso that the Leisure facility aspect is given more importance than the retail, and that the devlopment company`s plans should reflect this. This is a golden opportunity for Rushden, let`s not waste it please.
Bonsaiman
Friday, November 4, 2011 at 08:59 PMHopefully Northamptonshire can attract Ikea, and perhaps an Asda Supercentre.
il Capitano
Friday, November 4, 2011 at 02:13 PM@nurse - kettering DO have plans to develop the town with different quarters. however without private external investment (who like cheaper land prices for maximum profitability), stuff takes a lot longer to materialise. see corby and now this area - both projects were taken on by corporate monsters who will then sell on for big money.
darushNN10
Friday, November 4, 2011 at 01:01 PMThis is a great idea, and lets hope it becomes more than just an idea. The only thing I will say is if they are expexting the number of visitors to fill 1300 spaces coming from both the A14 side and wellingborough side they will need to sort out the A45A6 roundabout, that is a nightmare already without extra traffic coming through for a "highend shopping experience".
Anotyad
Friday, November 4, 2011 at 11:38 AMInteresting to note that the LXB Properties web site states " Once fully developed, The Lakes could employ over 350 people in both full and part time positions covering both retail and leisure services". A fair way short of the headline "New Shopping Centre would create 1,500 jobs". However, it will be good to see this site actually developed for something useful and 350 jobs is better than none. It is out of town but there is no reason it will not bring much needed prosperity as a result. I've said before that Rushden has too many small area shops to attract the larger retailers. They need the floorspace to get them to occupy the shops. Short of bulldozing a few and redeveloping the High Street on a major scale (not the pussy-footing going on for the last few months) then this is the next best option for the area. Just a thought... Wouldn't it be a good idea to have reinstalled the train link from Rushden Museum Station down to Skew Bridge? That really would link the town centre with the proposed complex and provide novel transport as well.
SemiBlunt
Friday, November 4, 2011 at 09:43 AMI was pleased to read about Shopping Centre. But it did cross my mind the same as Centralian stated.Not anther wonder world!! Lets hope it gets completed with a good bus link and plenty of 'loos' too.
disappointed nurse
Friday, November 4, 2011 at 06:07 AMWell done, Rushden. Are you taking note Kettering? You are way behind towns like Corby and Rushden with your lack of foresight to make your town one that people want to visit to shop. It is going to be like a ghost town soon. Shame on you.
Giles
Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 11:53 PMWow, didn't see this coming... BUT, like so many things that get promised in this part of the world, where we get to see plans and drawings, very little seems to become reality! It would be good to see this kind of development in a town centre, but there is no way this kind of development would ever happen in either Wellingborough or Rushden's town centre! (See how hard it is to get the Grosvenor Centre in Northampton replaced!) So being on the edge of Rushden between both towns seems the ideal alternative, giving good access to all. If you take into account the populations of Wellingborough, Rushden, Higham Ferrers and Irthlingborough, the population must be in excess of 120,000! But we don't have the shops or facilities to represent a population of this size and goes a great way to add the the areas retail selection. Im probably being a little hopeful, but any chance of a cinema too on the same site?
il Capitano
Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 10:04 PMfosse park is on the edge of a city with 300,000 people. riverside is less than 10 miles from this location so why the need of another A45 retail park?
ruby123
Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 09:14 PMWhy wouldn't it work? I keas, Fosse park, Riverside etc all seem to be in similar areas and appear to be thriving. Waitrose which is seen to be the top of the grocery shopping market is just up the road and is always busy. What most people want these days is a job and livelihood. It is a shame we are eroding into some of our nicer countryside but sometimes the desire to live in a nicer area has to be weighed up against our needs in the current climate.
il Capitano
Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 06:48 PMwhy would these big name stores want to be in this location? if the larger towns of northants cant attract big names how can a piece of land on the edge of rushden possibly do it? not being funny here, most people from rushden aren't gonna go to 'high end' restaurants. I do realise high end in northants speech means 'ask' or 'pizza express'!
pepsi
Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 06:39 PMAnother blow for kettrin town centre. Tick tock, tick tock.
Mark Dragilocevic
Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 04:50 PMDevelopments should focus on rebuilding our decaying town centres rather than proposing more out of town shopping malls.
OzzyKT
Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 02:19 PMI'm sure Wonderworld is still happening. They just took the sign down didn't they?! With regards to this story, the location is just not right given the SSS. The trouble is with town councils like Wellingborough & Kettering is that the councils have had decades to improve their town centres whilst declining out of town options but all we have seen is them decay further.
Centralian
Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 02:02 PMMore pie in the sky dreaming. Very reminiscent of Corby's 'Wonderworld' plans.
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