After months of debate, public protest, planning objections from all manner of organisations including existing retailers large and small, Lancaster City Council’s Planing Committee did what it was expected to do earlier today — and approved the outline planning permission for the controversial Centros shopping development that will hand a huge chunk of our city over to private hands for 250 years.
Just as Lancaster City Council backed plans in the 1980s for major retail development that fell apart, resulting in a travesty of a Market and a bungled city retail centre plan, so the vast majority its councillors voted 15-4 for yet another economics-driven rather than people-oriented ‘vision’ for Lancaster.
Undaunted, expecting the worst of its blinkered leaders, those opposing the plans will now press for further review.
“The next stage is to demand a Public Inquiry and look at options for Judicial review,” said Councillor Chris Coates, “and reporting councillors to the standards board.
“Thanks to everyone who objected and supported the campaign against this Monstrocity.”
The battle may have been won by those clinging to the debased values that have brought us to the current credit crunch and recession, but the war is far from over.
Whilst I have some sympathy for the arguments about the visual impact of Centros and share a distaste of international businesses, I think you are being slightly disingenuous by suggesting the decision was based on economics not people. As someone who has been looking for work in Lancaster for 5 months now, and who is not a professor or high-powered executive, I welcome development that will offer jobs to ordinary people like me. The way that opposition to Centros is presented as some sort of moral crusade is sickeningly elitist and makes a mockery of “progressive” politics.
But the opposition to Centros isn't based simply as a moral crusade – take a look at the It's Our City web site for more info, but the group has offered several ideas for the site, many of which would generate long term new employment WITHOUT resulting in the closure of city centre shops and the loss of jobs.
Those in favour of the development have deliberately portrayed IOC as being anti development (led by the Labour Party, whose response these days seems to be "This is the ONLY way to do things" and giving the impression that if things aren't done the way they like, nothing gets done). These nay-sayers and Centros stooges know full well that IOC and many others have suggested other ways to create jobs in the area.
Anyone who doesn't think this development will damage the existing retail offerings in Lancaster AND Morecambe need only see what has happened in towns where similar giant developments have been built.
Even the owners of Lancaster's existing retail hotspots, St, Micholas Arcades and Marketgate, have expressed reservations, referring Councillors to the Council's own studies which suggest the plans are not in the city's best interest (which Councillors seem to ignore every time you ask about them!).
There are a huge number of empty retail units in Lancaster already — I don't think St. Nicholas Arcade has ever been completely full. How is Centros going to ensure the same thing doesn't happen in its new development?
The other thing that concerns me is that we have seen this kind of thing tried before in Lancaster back in the 1980s. There were grand plans for a huge parade of shops from where Marks & Specners is today down to the bus station. What happened? A recession, leaving us with the 'grand design' half built effectively. The cinema that was part of it has only just opened.
What's looming now? A recession…
A huge shopping development that sabotages job prospects and existing jobs across the district is one thing but a half empty development would be even worse.
I'm sorry to hear you have been looking for work for five months, but Centros and the blinkered thinking that goes with it isn't the solution, it's part of the problem, in my opinion.
There’s no shortage of minimum wage jobs locally, so if you don’t think that they are suitable for you, then this retail development isn’t likely to offer you much.
At a time when most retailers are cutting back on staff it’s a crazy gamble ro be planning a new retail centre. Is anyone buying into retail right now? Would you invest your remaining savings into it? You might as well invest in Icelandic Banks. Oops, I forgot, Lancaster already did that….