Nuneaton town centre revamp deal

A run down part of Nuneaton town centre is all set to be revitalised.



An agreement has been reached between the borough council and St James’s Investments (SJI) that could lead to a multi-million pound regeneration of the top end of Abbey Street.

Focused mainly on the Abbey Street Car Park, the project sets out to produce what has been described as a `vibrant development.’

Plans include 110,000 sq ft of retail space, including a food store and petrol station, and other retail and leisure uses.

Councillor Dennis Harvey, leader of the borough council, said: “This is excellent news and demonstrates real confidence in Nuneaton town centre, but we have worked very hard to ensure that the proposed scheme is appropriate, realistic and deliverable.

“SJI will now develop its plans for the site and bring them forward for consultatiion with the public.”

He added: “We are confident that by improving the retail offer in our town centres it will in turn support their long term viability and sustainability.”

There have been growing complaints about the derelict Kingsholme pub and Gala Bingo Hall, the former Ritz Cinema, but the project should address those problems.

No names have been disclosed, but the News exclusively revealed last December that major shopping giants were being linked with the redevelopment of the top end of Abbey Street.

Documents `leaked’ to the newspaper showed that some of the biggest names on the High Street could be interested in the town centre area.

The documents showed that Morrisons were looking to locate in or around Nuneaton and that Tesco could also be interested with Sainsbury’s looking for a larger site because their present store is too small and they cannot expand.