New Office shoe store in Lincoln 'begins of rejuvenation of city centre'
Business leaders say new life is being breathed into Lincoln city centre by high-profile retail investment.
The Echo can reveal how more jobs will be created when a national shoe chain opens in the city.
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Bosses say 20 jobs will need to be filled when fashion shoe shop Office opens in August.
The brand's 88th standalone store will be at the entrance to the Waterside Centre. The unit was previously home to Barratts Shoes.
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Meanwhile, Next and an adjoining shop unit are being demolished to accommodate a new River Island store.
Demolition contractors are also on site at the former Grand Hotel, which stands in the way of a new transport interchange for the £100 million Lindongate project.
Final agreement on the terms of outline planning permission for the retail and leisure scheme is said to be two to three weeks away.
And this will pave the way to securing a development partner to make it all possible.
Matt Corrigan, chief executive of Lincoln BIG, welcomed the ongoing commitment by investors in the city centre.
"I think we are still seeing a good level of investment by many retailers in the city centre and we are really pleased about that," he said.
"The shop that Office is moving into is a very prominent unit so it is good to see it occupied and we are really pleased about that."
Shopper Tina James, 49, from Waddington, said she would like to see more up-market shops in Lincoln like Jaeger.
"I'm sick to death of those cheap and cheerful shops like Primark and what I call skinny bird shops," said Mrs James, trustee of Lincoln Community Larder and a Citizens' Advice Bureau adviser.
"There's too many mobile phone shops and charity shops."
Lyndsay Knighting, head of operations at Office, said: "We are really excited about our first Lincoln standalone store opening soon.
"We think it will make a much-loved addition to the thriving High Street."
Comments
by hurculese
Thursday, June 28 2012, 7:21PM
“another shoe shop haven.t we got enough give us something we don.t have and not another phone shop barretts old shop why not make it into a INTERNET CAFE”
by SS29252
Thursday, June 28 2012, 6:34PM
“'begins of rejuvenation of city centre' :-(”
by GodHateEye
Thursday, June 28 2012, 9:05AM
“Just to warn you, everybody's favourite pedant Gorm_Chomsky will be along soon to tell you that the phrase you are looking for is "second hand experience".”
by dickley
Thursday, June 28 2012, 8:46AM
“Tina James will have first hand experience of the problems faced by people on low incomes during her involvement with CAB and the Lincoln Community Larder so her sniffy attitude to discount stores sits uneasily with her desire to see a retail chain like Jaeger where you would struggle to buy a pair of knickers for under £50.”