Work Gets Underway at Sanderson Arcade!

Work Gets Underway at Sanderson Arcade!

28 July 2008

Work is now underway on Morpeth’s new £32 million retail development which will transform the town’s rundown shopping arcade.

 Mayor of Castle Morpeth Cllr Irene Brumwell cut the first soil on the brand new development which has already seen major high street names signing up to take retail space in the market town.

 The project has been brought forward by Morpeth II, a joint venture between Yorkshire based market town specialists Dransfield Properties and Ethel Austin Properties Ltd.

 A balloon launch with the children of Morpeth’s Goosehill Nursery followed by a soil cutting marked the launch of the new development which will bring the £32 million facelift to the Back Riggs and Sanderson Arcade shopping area.

 Once completed next year the development will bring a new commercial heart to Morpeth. Already high street names such as Marks and Spencers, Starbucks, New Look, Laura Ashley and Waterstones are among those taking space in Sanderson Arcade.

 The new retailers will be housed in 85,000 sq ft of purpose built retail space in an elegantly designed Edwardian style arcade.

 A piazza area is also being created and the neighbouring Morrisons store being extended as part of the town centre improvements. The development will also create a new town centre bus interchange and 25,000 sq ft of office space.

 Local companies The Jewellers Guild and Healthi Choice will also be taking key units on the high street frontage of the new development.

Mark Dransfield, Managing Director of Dransfield Properties Ltd, said: "It has been a momentous day for Morpeth and we are delighted to be announcing further new retailers for the scheme.

"Because of the credit crunch, unless we had 70 percent let no bank would have financed the project and this is one of the few schemes on this scale that are going ahead on site at the moment which shows a great confidence in the area.

"Sanderson Arcade will be our flagship scheme when it is completed and the architecture involved is among the best I have seen in recent years.”

Coun Brumwell said: "It was a great pleasure to perform the ground breaking ceremony for this new development. Everyone can be very proud of what has been achieved with this project and we are very much looking forward to seeing the end result."

For further information, contact:

Public Relations Department, Dransfield Properties Ltd
Tel: 01226 360644
Email: pr@dransfield.co.uk