Lincoln retail park revamp would bring in new businesses, hotel and flats

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The vision has been unveiled for major £150 million plans that would see the west section of St Marks retail park in Lincoln demolished and redeveloped.

Proposals including new shops, flats, a hotel and a multi-storey car park, as well as retail options like a second Lincoln cinema are now available to view in full on the website here.

A public consultation event was held on Friday, November 4 at the entrance to St Marks at 152 High Street.

Owners St Marks Standard Life Investments are collecting feedback on the scheme ahead of submission to planners at the City of Lincoln Council.

Buildings on the site the late west of Debenhams would be demolished.

Buildings on the site the late west of Debenhams would be demolished.

The £150 million proposals would see everything west of Debenhams (which won’t be affected by the development) demolished, including:

  • The current two-storey car park
  • Toys R Us
  • Toby Carvery
  • Burger King
  • Homebase
  • Pizza Hut
  • Jysk
  • Maplin
  • Bensons for Beds
  • Sofology
  • Mammas & Pappas

Planning teams say that options will be explored to see if brands could still have a place on the new-look site, or be relocated.

The St Marks retail park masterplan, including new shop, restaurants, a hotel and flats. (Click to enlarge)

The St Marks retail park masterplan, including new shop, restaurants, a hotel and flats. (Click to enlarge)

In their place, developers would build a new 130-room hotel, student blocks totalling 1,100 rooms, 150 private residential units and a 1,100 space car park.

The scheme would create between 1,400 and 2,000 new jobs and up to 485,000 s ft of retail and leisure space.

A view of the new student and private accommodation from Tritton Road.

A view of the new student and private accommodation from Tritton Road.

Outline plans will be put to the City of Lincoln Council by the end of the year following the consultation period. Given approval, work would begin in 2020 and take around four years to complete.

The first designs for the new Lincoln St Marks development, including shops, a hotel and accommodation.

The first designs for the new Lincoln St Marks development, including shops, a hotel and accommodation.

While developers said it’s too early to say which names may be lined up for the new development, it would be retail and restaurant-lead, with many facing the riverside, where there would be a new path and waterway cycle route.

If approved, new shops and restaurants would face the water's edge.

If approved, new shops and restaurants would face the water’s edge.

Julian Stephenson partner at planning consultants Montagu Evans said: “We’ve been looking at this for the last ten years and we’ve seen, particularly around the High Street, improvements over that time.

“There’s going to be about 18/19 new shopping units, but also we’re making sure the scheme fits in with Lincoln.

“We are talking to the businesses there currently. There’s a large asset managements team and they have relationships with the retailers across their portfolio. We’ll keep talking to them as we go and work out what their plans are, if they can fit in with us, and if not there are other places they could go.

“We are very aware that parking is a very important Lincoln issue. We are basically providing a net addition of 200 spaces over and above what we have at the moment.

“Feedback so far today has been about 90% positive, and we’ve been talking to people over the last few years too.”

What do you think?

Mary and John Garfoot from Lincoln were among residents attending the consultation event at St Marks. John said: “The plans are looking really good. We’re looking as visuals of a new waterfront with restaurants, shops and a big department store.

“They say it’s too early to say which retailers would go in there but we’d really love a John Lewis. It would be good for Lincoln.

“We do think that the retailers that are there should still have a place. We do often shop here and we like the look of the plans. They need to be wary of promising things like another cinema though if it’s not definitely going to happen.”

Andrew Townhill, who lives and works in Lincoln, said: “I’m particularly interested in cycling and I like the idea of them opening up the waterside cycle route.

“I remember the area when it used to be a bus station. This seems fairly good. Some of the businesses there now probably do need updating. I think we need to keep the Toys R Us, Burger King and Toby Carvery.”


What do you think of the plans? Leave your views in the comments section below.