Cheltenham to sell shopping centre

Cheltenham BC is considering selling its stake in the town's Regent Arcade shopping centre.

Cheltenham has been negotiating for the last six months negotiation with Canada Life, which owns the rest of the centre. The 70 unit centre opened in 1985.

Cllr John Rawson (Lib Dem), cabinet member for finance, said: "At present, the Arcade brings in an annual income of around £700,000 from car parking charges and around £500,000 rental income from retail units. It is clear, however, that we can make our investment work much harder.

"With negotiations ongoing and commercially sensitive, we cannot release the full detail of the proposals being discussed. The figures are unambiguous, however, and the council will achieve a better return by releasing the capital invested in the Arcade."

Councillor John Rawson said that now was the right time for the council to sell its stake.

"This is a win-win situation for Cheltenham. Canada Life will inject a large amount of capital into the local economy by buying the council's share of the Arcade.

"At the same time, the sale will release a large amount of capital which the council can use to support the revenue budget and help pay for long-overdue improvements to the town.

 "It's important to emphasise that this will not just be a quick fix for the council's budget, though it should help to substantially reduce our budget gap.  Because we will be retaining a large part of the capital and investing it, the benefits will be felt for many years to come."

The proposal will be put before the council's cabinet next Tuesday.