A CONTROVERSIAL retail development in Evesham could be back in public ownership by next spring if an anticipated deal reaches fruition.
Wychavon District Council has announced it has an ‘agreement in principle’ from a funder to enable it to buy the Riverside Centre before the end of the year with completion in March 2026.
Crucially, the deal would also see the authority take on the ownership of other key town centre properties within the portfolio of Riverside’s owner, namely the Public and Town Halls, plus additional retail properties around Market Square.
The dilapidated state of the three buildings has caused ongoing public outrage with the Riverside Centre – a near derelict site of some 40 empty retail units – described as ‘Britain’s saddest shopping centre’ by a national newspaper last December.
The historic Public Hall which fronts the Riverside Centre has been shut to the public for more than a decade, while the 16th Century Town Hall has been left with rotting timbers, rusting pipes and peeling paintwork.
Last month, the town council served a legal notice on the Town Hall owner, PJK Investments, to repair the building or face court action.
As reported previously by the Observer, Wychavon made a commitment to redevelop the Riverside Shopping Centre by March 2028 and had been in negotiation with its current owner, PJK Investments (Riverside Evesham) Ltd to find a suitable way forward.
The new backer, however, is yet to be named due to commercial confidentiality but a formal decision is expected this summer. If the deal is given the green light, then councillors could be asked to rubberstamp the decision.
Details discussions about how to regenerate the Riverside site wouldn’t begin until a sale is completed but it will likely be demolished and replaced with a mixed-use development, including housing and leisure businesses.
Councillor Chris Day, outgoing leader of Wychavon District Council, said: “We promised in our We Are Wychavon Plan we would bring the Riverside back into public ownership, and we’re excited to be one step closer to achieving that ambition.
“As always, nothing is agreed until it’s agreed, and plenty of things could still go wrong before we get this deal over the line.
“But we want to be as open as we can with residents to show, as promised, real progress is being made behind the scenes.
“Regenerating this site will be key to our strategic aim of building on Evesham’s strengths so the town centre can thrive in the future.”
When approached for a comment from a town council perspective, Coun Mark Goodge, who sits on the town plan committee, said he was ‘very pleased’ to see progress being made to bring assets back into council control and redevelop Riverside.
He added: “We’re obviously still in an early stage of the project and there’s still a lot of work to be done before we have a shovel-ready project.
“But the prospect of being able to renovate the Public Hall and bring it back into use, as well as replace the near-derelict shopping centre, is very welcome news indeed.”
The council also clarified that should the plan go ahead, existing businesses around the Market Square won’t be directly affected by the change in landlord.
See www.wychavon.gov.uk/town-centres for more information.
