Fate of over-budget new Nuneaton cinema, car park and food hall decided with 'consequence'
The over-budget new cinema, car park and food hall in Nuneaton will go ahead. They form part of phase 2 of the Grayson Place regeneration in Abbey Street.
Phase 1 was the construction of the Hampton-by-Hilton hotel, which officially opened earlier this week. Both phases were initially supposed to cost £50.82m.
However, a council review revealed that the true cost of construction fees is higher, despite parts of Phase 2 being changed, including the ditching of a planned inflatable park and a new multi-storey car park which has been changed to a new surface-level car park.
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However, there remained a £3.53m shortfall. To fill this gap, the council's cabinet has agreed to remove funding from another regeneration project at the other side of town.
Just over £3.5m is to be taken from the The 'Bridge to Living' project, which takes in part of Bridge Street, Church Street and George Eliot Memorial Gardens. This leaves this project, which was due to bring new apartments and open up the River Anker area, at risk of not taking place.
It also means that the empty shops in Bridge Street, where businesses were told by the council to move and find new homes are likely to continue to remain shells of their former selves.
Cabinet members met to discuss the plans to reallocate the money at a meeting on Wednesday night (September 11). Councillor Nicola King, cabinet member for businesses and regeneration, said that removing the funding from Bridge to Living to Grayson Place Phase 2 would lead to the 'full delivery' of the plan in Abbey Street.
In regards to the future of the Bridge to Living project both resident Keith Kondakor and Cllr Michelle Kondakor proposed that any funding that remains should be spent on 'opening up' part of Bridge Street.
Cllr Kondakor said that this would provide a 'lovely open' link between the town, the George Eliot Memorial Gardens and Riversley Park. Mr Kondakor also asked if new plans and diagrams for Grayson Place Phase 2 could be shared with the public.