£20m plan for Centre (From Stourbridge News)

£20m plan for Centre

9:19am Thursday 8th February 2007 in Local

THIS is the first glimpse of how Stourbridge's ailing Crown Centre could soon look if multi-million redevelopment plans get the go-ahead.

Property developer Modus this week revealed these exclusive images of its £20m plans to give the outdated and unpopular centre a spectacular, town-changing facelift.

THE Manchester-based property developer hopes to transform the centre into a flagship shopping area comprising a new anchor food store, eight new shops units, a new market hall, new 430-space multi-storey shoppers' car park and more than 45 plush one, two and three-bedroom apartments.

Town traders and shoppers have been calling for the ghost-ship shopping centre to be redeveloped for years and now Modus have come up with what they believe is a "fantastic" scheme for Stourbridge.

More is set to be revealed at a public consultation in unit 7 of the Crown Centre, tomorrow (Friday February 9) from 9.30am to 5.30pm - when Modus directors, planners and architects will be showcasing their ambitious plan to knock down the crumbling Bell Street car park and extend and regenerate the current red brick shopping centre into a state-of-the-art undercover mall.

Modus investment director Peter Macfarlane told the News: "This centre has been neglected and has lost its impact and importance in retail in the town.

"We're putting together what we think are fantastic proposals for the town.

"We'd be delighted for people to come and view these plans and let us know their views, which we're sure will be positive."

An application for planning permission looks set to be submitted to Dudley Council following the public consultation and if things go smoothly the redevelopment could start taking shape within 12 months.

In the meantime, supermarkets Sainsbury's and Tesco have been vying for a piece of the action.

Sainsbury's has been in detailed talks with Dudley Council for more than six months and Tesco bosses have made no secret of their interest in the prime project.

But Modus was this week still keeping tight-lipped over which supermarket will get to cash in on the impressive looking scheme.

Mr Macfarlane added: "We're still working with both - these things take time."