City Council buys more land in the Becketwell ahead of Regeneration

Another seven properties in the Becketwell area have been purchased, as the Council continues its strategy to consolidate land for a holistic regeneration scheme of the downtrodden area.

The buildings on Colyear Street were once home to the Pink Coconut nightclub later known as Destiny and Elite, the former Pennine Hotel/St Peters Quarter Hotel, the former Redemption Nightclub, the former Syn Nightclub and the former Mint Casino. Also included in the sale are the NCP St Peters Quarter multi-storey car park, surface level car park on Becket Street and Laurie House.

With a combined area of 65,337 square feet of land (6,070 square metres), this latest acquisition brings the total amount of land now owned by the Council in the Becketwell area to 204,730 square feet (19,020 square metres).

The D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) which has already invested £4 million in the regeneration scheme has provided another grant of £4.1 million as a further investment towards the regeneration scheme. Part of this was used for the purchase of the new properties.

In 2014, the Council began an interventionist strategy for regeneration with the acquisition of Duckworth Square. This was followed in 2016 with the purchase of the former Debenhams building and further Cabinet approval in September 2018 for the purchase of the properties on Colyear Street.

The aim is for the Council to remove the obstacles that have hindered regeneration in order to make it attractive to developers.