Updated plans for major Nicholsons Centre re-development to go on display

Updated plans to re-develop the Nicholsons Shopping Centre will go on display for the public at an exhibition next month.

In March 2021, Areli secured planning permission to demolish the ageing shopping centre and replace it with a complex of offices, shops and flats called the Nicholsons Quarter.

The project has since stalled but Areli revealed in December that it hoped to update the public on proposed changes to the scheme in the new year.

An exhibition showcasing the updated plans will take place from 10.30am to 5.30pm on both Friday, February 7 and Saturday, February 8 in the unit opposite La Cantina in the shopping centre.

The exhibition will provide an opportunity for the public to see the updated proposals, talk with the design team and complete a voluntary questionnaire.

The deadline for comments will be Monday, February 24.

Following the exhibition, Areli will compile and finish the updated plans.

The developer said it hopes to begin construction at the start of 2026.

The major project has previously been held up by legal challenges in relation to compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) for land required for the regeneration.

The initial council-approved plans giving Areli permission for the buildings to be up to 25 storeys garnered much criticism from objectors, with the development being labelled ‘Maidhattan’.

But at a full council meeting in November last year, Royal Borough council leader Simon Werner revealed that possible improvements to the proposals, including reducing the heights of the 25-storey block, were being explored.