Stafford town centre to get £70m retail developments
More than £70m worth of retail development is coming to Stafford according to two councils.
Property investor LXB Retail Properties Plc has bought the old Riverside Recreation Centre site.
The company has also obtained the leasehold of the closed Bridge Street multi-storey car park.
A spokesman for Stafford Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council claimed the scheme will create 650 jobs.
He said the announcement has attracted interest from national chains with LXB Retail saying outline terms have already been conditionally agreed to lease the main store on the Riverside site to a major retailer.
The company will provide more than 1,600 car parking spaces as part of the development.
The two councils are also in "advanced talks" with LXB Retail over the purchase of the town's Kingsmead car park which would be developed as a retail site.
A planning application is expected to be submitted within the next few months with construction work anticipated to start next year.
It is understood the total investment value of the two schemes will be around £70m on completion - although borough council leader, Mike Heenan, said: "The boost to our local economy will be far more than the £70m value put on the schemes and it demonstrates that Stafford is a place where companies want to invest."