Council drops Wakefield shopping centre buyout over cash fears

The Ridings sits in the heart of Wakefield city centre

A council has dropped its plans to buy a struggling shopping centre, saying it cannot take the "significant financial risk".

Wakefield City Council had considered stepping in to purchase The Ridings Shopping Centre, potentially turning it into housing.

But council bosses say that with "huge financial challenges" on the horizon it is not the right time to take action.

Instead they want to work with other potential buyers on the site's future.

Council leader Denise Jeffrey said: "It has become clear that the impact of the huge financial challenges we are facing will be far greater than we have encountered before, with huge pressures on our budget and our ability to deliver services. Therefore, making this decision is a significant financial risk that we cannot take at this time.

"This site still remains a key area in our long-term regeneration plans for Wakefield and we want to support any potential buyer to help realise our ambitions for the city centre."

The council considered plans to make an offer on the shopping centre on Tuesday, as part of wider long-term regeneration plans for Wakefield city centre.

Instead, the authority wants to work with "any potential third-party buyer" and try to influence what happens to the site.

Wakefield council moved staff out of the historic HQ as heating costs soared

The decision comes after the council confirmed plans in October to close its historic headquarters and relocate staff because of huge rises in heating costs. At the time, the authority faced a £11m overspend in this year alone.

Budget papers show soaring inflation, Covid, rising demand for services and the war in Ukraine have all hit the council's finances, meaning the budget gap could rise as high as £84.9m over the coming five years.

Ms Jeffery added: "We will be exploring different options to help deliver our ambitious masterplan for Wakefield and we are continuing to work with external funding partners and agencies in an effort to support the future of the Ridings site."

The shopping centre opened in 1983 and later underwent a £5m transformation by current owners, NewRiver Retail Ltd.

However, despite the opening of a new food court and cinema, it has struggled recently with several shops closing down.

A council report stated that The Ridings "does not have a future as a retail destination". Redeveloping the site, which is thought to be worth about £7.5m, could have delivered 340 new homes, it added.