POSITIVE RESPONSE TO £4 MILLION PLAN

Negotiations with a cinema operator and high street restaurant chains are at an advanced stage as plans for a £4 million leisure scheme in Skelmersdale take a step closer to becoming reality.

Work on the exciting £4 million scheme at Concourse Shopping Centre will begin within weeks of being given the go-ahead by planners.

Concourse Shopping Centre is owned by Skelmersdale Limited Partnership, a joint venture between LCP and Threadneedle Investments. There is board level approval of the scheme and the funding is in place ready for the green light from West Lancashire Borough Council.

The promise comes after a series of encouraging discussions with potential occupiers and a cinema operator about the plans to revitalise the town centre.

A planning application is already lodged with the council and it could be discussed by councillors as early as next month (November 2014).

If the scheme gets the go ahead, it means people in Skelmersdale could enjoy the town’s first multiplex digital cinema for many years and dine at new restaurants by September 2015.

Jo Salmon, retail portfolio manager who is delivering the project on behalf of the Skelmersdale Limited Partnership, said the excitement surrounding the scheme is already building momentum.

Many retailers believe the development will attract more customers, further investment, and create jobs.  Under the proposals, a 695-seat, seven-screen cinema and two food outlets would be situated on the second floor of the shopping centre, while a further four units on the first floor would be converted into restaurants. This would be part of an initial phase of redevelopment that will mean greater sustainability and improve the town’s shopping provision.

The funding is already in place, after the scheme won unanimous support from the Partnership’s board of directors, and it is ready to start work on transforming the centre as soon as Christmas is over.

“We have the funding, we are in advanced talks with a number of well-known food outlets and restaurants that are keen to open in Skelmersdale, and are finalising details with a cinema operator,” she said.

“We have demonstrated that ours is a deliverable leisure complex that is ready to get underway immediately after Christmas if the planning committee approves our application.

“We’ve also been overwhelmed by the positive reaction from visitors to the centre and from existing retailers who recognise that this is a scheme that promises to enhance the town. We can hardly wait to get started.”

Should the scheme be given the green light, the shopping centre, which houses more than 70 shops including well-known high street names, would also undergo improvements.

At least 40 new jobs would be created, while the 800 plus jobs that are already at the shopping centre would be safeguarded.