Wakefield Council backs out of plan to buy The Ridings Shopping Centre due to financial challenges and public pressure

Senior councillors said today that it was “not the time or the place” to buy the struggling centre due to chronic financial pressures.

Wakefield Council’s cabinet members agreed to instead try to find a third-party buyer and work in partnership to redevelop The Ridings.

The Labour-run council had been considering taking control of the centre as part of its ‘masterplan’ regeneration project.

Councillor Darren Byford, cabinet member for regeneration, said the council has had to deal with “financial realities” since February, when it was first decided to explore the possibility of buying The Ridings.

He said: “The climate has become more challenging since February.

“The integrity of the council’s financial position must be maintained.

“The report sets out an option to work with a third party buyer and look at alternative ways to deliver the masterplan.

“I propose to cabinet that we should not make an offer for the Ridings Centre.”

The cost of the acquisition of the struggling centre is estimated to be around £7.5m.

The Ridings, which was built in 1983, was bought by NewRiver Retail Ltd in 2015.

Several shops within the centre have closed in recent years as high street retailers have struggled.

Wakefield Council deputy leader Jack Hemingway said: “The other thing you have got the bear in mind is the reaction of the public.

“We have followed very closely what the public have had to say about the potential acquisition of The Ridings and plans for housing and development.

“I agree that we should work with a company that has a vision for The Ridings.”

A number of options for the future use of the site were considered, including increasing leisure facilities, building new homes, pedestrian links and creating city centre green spaces.

The cabinet report said redevelopment has the potential to deliver around 340 new homes on the site.

One of the options open to the council included the removal of the majority of The Ridings to make way for new projects, at an estimated cost of £71.6m over a five-year period.

Matthew Morley, cabinet member for planning and highways, told the meeting: “It is not the time or the place to be buying a shopping centre.

“We have seen a lot of debate on social media. People don’t think we should be buying The Ridings.”

Michael Graham, cabinet member for culture, leisure and sport, said: “It is clearly not the right time to buy this.

“But what I will say is that we know for a fact that retail is not going to build back up to the level it was years ago.

“We need to shrink the retail offer and look at leisure.”

After the meeting, the council issued a statement on behalf of leader Denise Jeffery, which 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.

“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.”

Earlier, Tom Gordon, Lib Dem Group Leader at Wakefield Council, criticised the possible purchase and accused cabinet of having a “real life Monopoly fantasy” by “gobbling up property”.

He said: “Labour should categorically rule out purchasing The Ridings.

“The report to cabinet is an utter dog’s dinner, clocking in hundreds upon hundreds of pages, and making little to no coherent sense.

“People will be outraged that in a cost of living crisis, Labour councillors are even contemplating playing property roulette, leaving local taxpayers on the line to pick up the pieces and stump up the cost if Labour’s gamble doesn’t pay off.”