downsmail.co.uk
Plan for homes over new Sainsbury’s store
SOME 350 flats could be built on top of a new-look Sainsbury’s as part of an ambitious £100m plan to breathe new life into The Mall shopping centre. However, co-owner Capital & Regional is unlikely to overhaul the town centre site if planning permission is granted for Newn- ham Court to expand off M20 Junction 7. Its proposal for The Mall in- cludes: flagship department store at Gabriel’s Hill, on the former Gala Bingo site, next to a fashion store; 350 flats in separate blocks of six storeys and higher above a re- built, reconfigured and larger Sainsbury’s, with more than 1,000 supermarket parking spaces be- neath the store; leisure area to the east of the shopping centre, containing restaurants and possibly a 12- screen cinema; improvements to existing ceil- ings, floorings, entrances, lobbies and toilets; creation of up to 300,000sq ft of
extra shopping space; newly-located bus station. Mark Bourgeois, executive di-
rector at Capital & Regional, said: “The confi- dence has re- turned to Maidstone town centre and people in Maidstone de- serve this sort of develop- ment. This is deliverable
Mark Bourgeois
and viable; there is a demand for it.
“But if Newnham Court went ahead, it would put a serious ob- stacle in the way of the delivery of this site. There is a certain amount of retail capacity that Maidstone needs; if Newnham Court goes ahead the capacity will go else- where.” A study by DTZ says there is a requirement for 300,000sq ft of ad- ditional retail space in Maidstone by 2023. This figure would be met by The Mall project, but be ex-
ceeded by Newnham Court’s pro- posal, which measures 450,000sq ft andwould include aWaitrose and Debenham’s. Bill Moss, town centre manager,
said: “If Maidstone Council says ‘yes’ to the Newnham Court scheme, then the one for The Mall dies. It is either or.” Capital & Regional hopes the Newnham Court applica- tion is turned down soon, so the first stage of the ear- marked Mall improv e- ments: new ceilings, floors and lighting, can begin by the end of the year. The company also wanted feed-
Bill Moss
back from the public before decid- ing the detail of the other proposals. Legal & Generalwould deliver the scheme with three other landowners, including Sainsbury’s and Gala.
News Friends pay
tribute to Zoe THE parents of Zoe Georgiou – the Maidstone schoolgirl killed by a car as shewalked along a road in Cox- heath – have attended an emotional tribute to their daughter by class- mates. As well as celebrating the life of
the 16-year-old student, the special RAG Talent Show at Invicta Gram- mar raised more than £1,700 for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, a charity close to Zoe’s heart. A spokesman for the school in Huntsman Lane said: “The focus was a celebration of Zoe’s life and the special performances made by her closest friends, whilst tinged with sadness,were beautifully per- formed. “Itwas lovely to see Zoe’s family
at the event, and we plan to con- tinue to celebrate Zoe’s life through future activities at the school.” Acts included piano pieces, singing, dancing and, even, some kung fu. Money raised by the event will
fund research into multiple sclero- sis, of which Zoe’s mum is a suf- ferer. Zoe died after being hit by a car
as she walked along Heath Road with her boyfriend at 6pm on Janu- ary 11.
Albany Funerals “
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Maidstone South March 2014 31
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