£300m shopping centre axed

Plans to build a £300m shopping centre in Wolverhampton, which was to have been anchored by Marks & Spencer and Debenhams, are set to be scrapped in a blow to the local community. The 600,000 sq ft development in the centre of Wolverhampton was put on hold in December 2008 when a group of northern Irish investors withdrew their funds from the project. Wolverhampton city council agreed to step in principle. But a detailed assessment of the risks involved by council officers has concluded that there were "too many financial uncertainties and risks" in investing public money in the scheme. M&S said: "It's deeply disappointing that the Summer Row scheme won't be going ahead." The project included the compulsory purchase of 200 businesses that would have made way for the mall. The development is expected to be scrapped tonight when the city cabinet meets. The council report argues that taking out a £20m loan to buy the businesses is not feasible given the bleak economic outlook. The deadline for purchasing the firms is 12 February. "We all wanted Summer Row to happen after years of work and planning and the council has gone right up to the wire to try and salvage the scheme before getting to this point," said councillor Peter Bilson. He described the project as a victim of the credit crunch. The Belfast-based developers Multi Development had been looking for new financial backers since a consortium made up of construction firm Lagan Group, MAR Properties and housebuilding firm Windsor pulled out when the financial crisis struck. Multi has taken legal action against the consortium. Paul Sargent, at Multi Development UK, said: "Naturally, we are deeply disappointed at the council's decision after six years working on Summer Row, but we are sympathetic with the council's viewpoint in the current economic climate of uncertainty." There were hopes that the mall would rival Westfield Merry Hill near Dudley and Birmingham's Bullring. A number of smaller shopping centres have fallen victim to the credit crunch . Australian property group Westfield put all its UK projects on hold last spring such as Bradford, with the notable exception of Stratford.