Plan to demolish city shopping centre reconsidered

Plans to buy and demolish the Ridings Shopping Centre in Wakefield are set to be reconsidered by council leaders.

Senior councillors last month agreed to acquire the 1980s-built centre to make way for a multimillion-pound regeneration project.

However, a scrutiny committee referred the proposals back to the Labour-run authority's cabinet at a meeting on Wednesday, describing them as a "massive gamble".

Plans include building new homes and leisure facilities as part of a scheme expected to take more than a decade to complete.

The work would also involve bulldozing 1960s residential tower blocks as part of the creation of a new "Cathedral Quarter".

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, opposition councillors submitted a formal request for plans to be re-examined over claims there had been a lack of public consultation.

They also claimed the project would pose a "financial risk" for the authority.

Wakefield Council's regeneration overview and scrutiny committee narrowly voted in favour of sending the plans back to cabinet.

Liberal Democrat committee member Rachel Speak said the plans were a "massive gamble" as she spoke at the meeting at Wakefield Town Hall.

She said: "The wider regeneration relies heavily on future funding streams that have not yet been secured.

"If those funding streams are delayed, reduced or do not materialise at all, the council could be left owning a cleared city centre site with significant ongoing costs and no clear route to delivery."

The councillor said the call-in was not about stopping regeneration but doing it in the "right way".

"At the end of the day, this city does not belong to cabinet members, officers or developers," she added.

"It belongs to the people of Wakefield."

The first phase of the project is being funded through £17.9m from the Ministry of Housing, Community and Local Government (MHCLG).

The council previously planned to buy the centre but backed out of making a deal in December 2022 and it was then bought by Yorkshire-based businessman Zahid Iqbal.

Jack Hemingway, deputy leader of the council, said he welcomed the comments and questions to address people's concerns.

Hemingway said: "This project is vitally important to the future of Wakefield.

"We know that high streets across the country are facing significant challenges.

"We don't have to look far to see that Wakefield is no exception.

"Without significant change, without significantly diversifying what's on offer, the decline will continue. It will get worse.

"I honestly believe that this project is the right way forward and was subject to a robust and proper decision by cabinet."

The committee voted in favour of referring the decision by a majority of 4-3.

Cabinet members will reconsider the proposals at a meeting on 17 March and are expected to address the concerns raised by the committee.

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