The latest timetable for the redevelopment of the Grosvenor Centre has slipped a further year. This may be disappointing but followers of this saga – plans were first revealed way back in the year 2000 – will hardly be surprised.
Now the plan for site owners Legal & General is to submit an application to Northampton Borough Council in November this year, get the go-ahead in May 2013 and complete all the demoliton and construction work by autumn 2018.
What is a revelation in the document seen by the Chron is that Legal & General puts the blame for all the delays firmly on the shoulders of the borough council. It said: “The key reason the project has not come forward before now is because there was not a solution to the relocation of the bus station.”
This, of course, was down to the council.
With the bus station due to be relocated to the smaller Fishmarket site – a proposal still mired in controversy – this barrier is now lifted.
On the positive side, the Legal & General document does show that the investment giant is still committed to expanding the Grosvenor Centre. But, oh, for some visible progress!