Shops, gardens...ice rink? Ideas for Leamington’s £90m site

An ice rink, beautiful gardens, ice cream vendors and an underground car park were all among alternatives to the Clarendon Arcade shopping centre this week.



Conservation group the Leamington Society organised a meeting open to everyone who wanted to put forward suggestions for what to build on and around Chandos Street car park, which has been earmarked for retail use.

This area was intended as the site of the £90 million, 21,500sqm arcade before planning permission was refused in November on grounds of its size, effect on neighbours and other issues.

The society intends to compile the suggestions and hopes they can have some influence on any future plans made by Warwick District Council and its development partner Wilson Bowden.

Leamington resident Elizabeth Matthews said: “A shopping mall idea might well be a bit passe because people haven’t got the spending money.

“If you want to bring all generations into the town why can’t you have something like an ice skating rink with cafes and shops around it that could attract people?”

The society has drawn up its own plans for the site, which are based on scaled-down open-air pedestrianised developments similar to SouthGate in Bath or Whitefriars in Canterbury - both of which were designed by Clarendon Arcade architects Chapman Taylor.

This drawing includes space for an anchor store, underground parking and a cut-through connecting Warwick Street, the Parade and Clarendon Avenue via Guy Street which could include 24-hour retail or leisure units.

Dave Phillips, of Portland Mews, said: “I would like to see a beautiful garden there with a children’s playground and ice cream vendors.

“The second law of thermodynamics leads to inertia, so let’s go for it.”

Speaking in support of the Clarendon Arcade plan Charles Chandler, of Lillington, said the town centre needed a lively place for shopping and leisure in which units were open until late at night.

Parminder Birdi and Norman Stephens of the Leamington Chamber of Trade expressed the need for the town centre to be able to compete with out-of-town retail parks and nearby shopping destinations such as Touchwood in Solihull.

Archie Pitts, vice-chairman of the Leamington Society, agreed the town needs a vibrant area but said it should not be trying to compete with places such as the Bullring in Birmingham or Bicester Village, which are “in a different league”.

People can send their alternative ideas by email to archiepitts@gmail.com