Wakefield Council scraps plan to demolish Ridings Shopping Centre

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 9 Nov, 14:31 · Archive

Wakefield Council has scrapped plans to demolish The Ridings shopping centre and will instead transform it into a leisure destination.

Wakefield Council has abandoned plans to demolish The Ridings shopping centre and will instead repurpose it as a 'vibrant leisure destination'. The centre had been earmarked for demolition under the previous Labour administration, but Reform UK committed to reviewing the plans when they took power in May.

Council leader Karl Johnson said the new approach would 'inject a new lease of life into the centre and deliver the cafés, restaurants, bars, leisure attractions and cultural activities that complement retail'. The proposals emerged following a public consultation that attracted more than 3,000 responses. Johnson emphasised that any plans must be financially viable, stating: 'Anything we do has to work in the long-term. The plan needs to financially stack up and not put council budgets at risk.'

The next step will be to appoint an independent specialist adviser to develop a commercial plan for the centre, focused on retaining its strengths and attracting new leisure and hospitality operators. The Ridings, which opened in 1983 as one of the first American-style shopping malls in the UK, had less than a third of its shops occupied as of summer. The proposals will be discussed at a Cabinet meeting on 17 November.

How it is being reported

• Plans to demolish The Ridings Shopping Centre set to be scrappedThe centre will be repurposed instead under the new plansYorkshire Evening Post · 9 Nov, 16:30
• U-turn on demolition of city shopping centreWakefield's Ridings shopping centre will become a 'vibrant leisure destination' under the plans.BBC Leeds And West Yorkshire · 9 Nov, 14:17
• The Ridings Shopping Centre, Wakefield: Plan to demolish Yorkshire shopping centre set to be scrappedWakefield Council looks set to scrap plans to demolish The Ridings Shopping Centre and re-purpose the venue as a “vibrant leisure destination.”Yorkshire Post · 9 Nov, 14:09

In this story: Wakefield Council · The Ridings Shopping Centre · Reform UK · Karl Johnson · Wakefield

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