So now it’s official: plans for the expansion of Northampton’s Grosvenor Centre are going nowhere fast.
Twelve years after the scheme was first unveiled, the site’s owner Legal & General says no further work will be done on the plans which were unveiled amid much fanfare last year.
It’s a bitter blow and comes just a week after Legal & General unveiled a delayed timescale for submitting plans, demolition of unwanted areas and expanding the shopping centre, with an opening date of 2018, a year later than originally planned.
A meeting on Monday between Legal & General’s head of retail development, Simon Russian, and the leader of Northampton Borough Council, Councillor David Mackintosh, will “assess the way forward”.
But with Legal & General already deciding to stop the current project, the way forward seems completely blocked.
Providing Monday’s meeting does not result in a minor miracle, now would be a good time for the council to take stock and review the situation.
The Guildhall needs to realise other developers are out there who are keen to bring change and, perhaps, Legal & General is not the only show in town.