Town shops boss backs Elliott's Field revamp

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TOWN centre boss Robin Richter has given his backing to a major £20 million revamp of Elliott's Field retail park set to get underway this year.

The man at the head of Rugby First has seen plans drawn up by property group Hammerson to pump millions into the park over the next two years and is happy the project will boost Rugby's retail sector - despite Elliott's Field being outside the town centre.

Speaking to the Observer, Mr Richter said: "At the moment it's hard for me to say too much about what's going to happen as I've been told things in confidence. But I can say Hammerson is a serious and professional outfit.

"Of course I'm slightly worried about any threat it might pose to the town centre, but Hammerson is one of the most responsible property groups around. They are a big, well respected outfit and won't just go for pokey, overly commercial developments."

Hammerson took full ownership of the park from property investor St Martins last year and intends to spend £20 million on developing it by 2014.

The details of what is planned have yet to be made public, but Hammerson - one of Europe's largest property groups - owns an impressive portfolio including Birmingham's Bullring, London's Brent Cross and Leicester's Highcross together with other big centres in France.

Elliott's Field, off Leicester Road just north of the town centre, was first built in 1988 and is unfettered - meaning there are no restrictions on the type of retail outlet that can set up there.

The 12,650 sq m site houses Comet, Halfords, Homebase, TK Maxx, Wickes, Next, Pets at Home, Brantano, Sports Direct, Carpetright and Pizza Hut. It is not yet known which stores will join them as part of the revamp.

Mr Richter's backing for the project comes just a month after he expressed his wariness towards out-of-town parks and the damage they can do to town centre trade.

He said: "I have to be slightly careful as while it is out of town, it's still in Rugby and if it keeps people shopping the borough then that can only be a good thing.

"Out of town parks are a different blend of chalk to the town centre and we have to be a little bit more broad minded in how we look at retail in the borough.

"The types of shops there sell the type of big ticket items that need collecting. The town centre could not accommodate these.

"We'd of course like to see a flagship store like a John Lewis arrive in Rugby as part of this, but that's never going to happen."

A statement on Hammerson's website about the project reads: "The park provides significant redevelopment opportunities and pre-letting discussions with high street anchor stores are being progressed.

"There is significant scope for Hammerson to create additional space and capitalise on strong demand from fashion and catering tenants, thus increasing the overall rents from the property."