News

PLANS: The homes were to be built on the west side of the development
advertisement

Town centre project hangs in balance

By Rebecca Connop Price
June 26, 2008

The company in charge of building homes as part of Aldershot’s WestGate development has threatened to pull out of the scheme – leaving a giant hole in the plans.

Rushmoor Borough Council has had to hold urgent talks with the town centre’s redevelopment team to fight for the future of the complex.

The talks follow an indication from Linden Homes, which was to provide the residential element of the scheme, that it is likely to withdraw from this development – as well as others in the UK.

Concerns about a housing market downturn have prompted the move.

With more than 75 per cent of the leisure scheme let and businesses still signing, the council and developer Citygrove are still committed to doing all they can to deliver the Aldershot scheme.

As the whole scheme is currently underpinned by residential development, the council and Citygrove are now looking at all their options to see if the leisure element can still be delivered on time.

Although Rushmoor council leader Coun Peter Moyle remained bullish about sticking to the scheme, other councillors didn’t share his optimism.

Coun Mike Roberts said he wasn’t upbeat about the scheme’s prospects. He said the whole project could fall apart. “That could happen because the housing underpins the whole lot.”

But he said he hoped the scheme didn’t collapse because Aldershot people were too used to getting a raw deal.

The Labour member for Heron Wood added: “We feel let down because we’re going back over history again, we’re failing again, we’re not delivering again. There’s a sense of déjà vu.”

The council is currently exploring the option of taking a more direct financial role in the development. They are also looking at other potential uses for the residential part of the nine-acre site and the council will be exploring them in more detail in the next few weeks.

Peter Gardner, the council’s director of resources, said it was too early to say if it would be possible for the council to take a more direct financial role in the scheme.

He said: “My view is that there’s a number of options we can look at and develop and we have some real positives here.”

But he also admitted that, in the current housing climate, no residential developer would come along to save the day.

The scheme off Wellington Avenue, is still in line to provide a family-focused leisure complex, with a seven-screen Cineworld cinema at its heart, supported by restaurants and cafes, as well as an 87-bed Travelodge hotel and a new multi-storey car park.

Coun Moyle said: “We are absolutely convinced this is right for Aldershot and that Citygrove has the commitment, knowledge and expertise to deliver this scheme. However, given the current housing market and national predictions about house sales, we are looking urgently at what we can do to ensure this does not jeopardise it. We believe it is prudent to act now to ensure that WestGate can be open for business in 2010.”

Gordon Aitchison, chief executive of Citygrove, said in a statement: “We are fully committed to delivering this scheme for Aldershot. We have signed up more than three-quarters of the end-users and more are still coming on board, which shows the confidence that the market has in both Aldershot and the WestGate development. We will continue to work closely with the council to find new alternative ways to deliver the scheme on time and that meet the needs of both the market and local people.”

Pat Feighery, managing director of Linden Homes Southern, would not confirm a definite pull-out.
He said in a statement: “Linden Homes is currently reviewing all areas of its operations with the view to ensuring that the company is best placed to cope with the downturn in the new homes market.

“No decision has been made yet with regard to WestGate, and Linden Homes will review its position with the WestGate development partners and discuss the way forward.”