WYCHAVON District Council has moved to reassure residents that work is going on behind the scenes in a bid to redevelop Evesham’s Riverside Shopping Centre.

The Observer contacted the authority after the matter was raised by the Vale of Evesham Civic Society in its latest newsletter.

Concerns were expressed the centre had been getting negative reviews on social media and the council were called upon to clarify the current position.

Plans have stalled

In the newsletter, it was stated a couple of years ago the agent for the site’s owner said work was under way in preparing a planning application which would be needed to develop the site but ‘nothing had been heard since’.

The vision for the redevelopment of the Riverside Shopping Centre laid out in the Evesham Investment Prospectus would see the core of the town’s retail area revitalised to help reconnect the town centre with Abbey Park.

The centre, which is owned by PJK Investments (Riverside Evesham) Ltd, currently contains 40 retail units.

It has been in talks with the council to develop a masterplan for a mixed-use redevelopment scheme.

This would potentially include 70 residential apartments, a hotel, restaurants, cafes, bars, independent shops and a theatre.

The statement in the society’s newsletter called for any updates to be made public and it asked for a meeting or consultation to discuss any draft proposals and to help residents understand what was going on.

Ian Edwards, director of economy and environment for Wychavon District Council, said: “We understand and share the public’s frustration with the lack of progress and information about the future of the Riverside Shopping Centre.

“We continue to work with the owner of the centre to find a way forward that will allow the site to be redeveloped in line with the vision set out in the Evesham Investment Prospectus.

“Unfortunately, commercial confidentiality means we cannot reveal any of the details of those discussions, but we assure the public a lot of work is going on behind the scenes to make something happen as fast as possible.”

Updates promised

Mr Edwards promised the council would update the public as soon as they could and, on complaints relating to the centre’s general upkeep, he added the authority had been assured by the management group that improvements would be made.

“A clean-up of the centre and surrounding area has taken place but there are clearly still issues.

“We will continue to push the centre’s management to ensure routine maintenance takes place on a regular basis.”