Crown Centre plan weeks away (From Stourbridge News)

Crown Centre plan weeks away

3:17pm Tuesday 29th May 2007 in Local By Bev Holder

PLANS to bring Tesco to the town centre are gathering pace with redevelopment bosses hoping to reveal detailed plans to revamp the Crown Centre in the next few weeks.

Crown Centre owners Modus have been working with supermarket bosses for the last few months and are getting set to submit an official planning application to Dudley Council to redevelop the ailing shopping centre.

Modus investment director Peter Macfarlane said this week that a large Tesco store in the town centre of Stourbridge was getting much closer to reality.

He told the News: "Tesco are very, very interested in getting into the Crown Centre - I would think they have accepted they should be moving into the Crown Centre above anywhere else and the benefits of being part of the community.

"Tesco recognise the importance of them as a retailer to the town centre even if it would be deviating from their usual very large store format outside the town centre."

He said he hopes an application for redevelopment of the Crown Centre, which would include a 60,000 square foot supermarket, would be submitted by mid July - and if all goes to plan, it could be open by Easter 2009.

He added: "We're just trying to agree the final throws of the Tesco application, which will hopefully be coming forward soon."