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# Cabinet member who resigned says Lichfield District Council should have backed Friarsgate development
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/cabinet-member-who-resigned-says-lichfield-district-council-should-have-backed-friarsgate-funding/
- Published: 2018-06-14T14:05:30.000Z
- Updated: 2018-06-14T14:10:28.000Z
- Description: A Cabinet member who stood down at Lichfield District Council said a difference of opinion with the local authority’s leader over Friarsgate had left him with no alternative but to resign.
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: Politics, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 18:23, News

One of three Cabinet members who stood down at Lichfield District Council said a difference of opinion with the local authority’s leader over Friarsgate had left him with no alternative but to resign.

[Cllr Iain Eadie, Cllr Doug Pullen and Cllr Andy Smith all stepped down](//lichfieldlive.co.uk/2018/06/13/half-of-lichfield-district-councils-cabinet-resign-after-friarsgate-meeting/) in the aftermath of a move to reject plans to foot the £49million bill for the long-awaited scheme.

The decision by Cabinet not to back the plan – which *LichfieldLive* understands was sparked by indications the wider Conservative group would not support it at full council – [means the project will now be axed completely](//lichfieldlive.co.uk/2018/06/14/developers-hugely-disappointed-as-confirmation-comes-that-friarsgate-development-will-not-go-ahead/).

[![Iain Eadie](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e3/90/e390c3da-0866-4d2a-8ffe-ca4999d7ce1c/content/images/lichfieldlive-co-uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/iain-eadie.jpg)](//lichfieldlive.co.uk/iain-eadie/)

Iain Eadie

But Cllr Eadie said he believed the council should have backed the plan – and said a difference of opinion with Cllr Mike Wilcox, leader of the council, meant he could not continue to serve in the Cabinet.

“It is my personal view that the council should do all it can to deliver regeneration for Lichfield and the wider district,” he told *LichfieldLive* “I understood this to be the strategic vision of the council leader and one I was happy to support.

“I believe all of us want to see regeneration and it has been the prospect of the council having to fund the Friarsgate scheme where we have seen different points of view emerge amongst elected members.

“Following this week’s Cabinet meeting and the recommendations that mean it is likely no regeneration will go ahead for the foreseeable future, I indicated to Cllr Wilcox that I still strongly believed the council should have brought Friarsgate to fruition.

“As this placed me at odds with the decision of Cabinet I understood it would be appropriate for me to step down, given the significance of this issue.”

[![An artist's impression of the new Friarsgate development](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e3/90/e390c3da-0866-4d2a-8ffe-ca4999d7ce1c/content/images/lichfieldlive-co-uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/gg_lichfield_restaurant_remodel.jpg)](//lichfieldlive.co.uk/2016/11/07/three-food-chains-agree-to-open-as-part-of-the-friarsgate-redevelopment-in-lichfield/gg%5Flichfield%5Frestaurant%5Fremodel/)

An artist’s impression of the Friarsgate development

The confirmation Friarsgate is now not going ahead will be a major blow to Lichfield District Council’s proposals for regeneration of the city centre, with the local authority now forced to go back to the drawing board after a decade of planning and preparation.

But Cllr Eadie has warned residents it could be “a significant period of time” before any new scheme even comes close to being put on the table.

He said: “Unless members vote against the recommendation from Cabinet at the meeting of full council on June 26, it will be necessary to think again.

“There will be many steps and processes involved in this and it may well take a significant period of time to deliver something in place of the much-wanted cinema, improved retail offering and additional choice of restaurants, as well as the additional housing, new car park, bus station and other aspects that were linked to the Friarsgate scheme.”

Cllr Wilcox has been [urged to resign by members of the Labour opposition group](//lichfieldlive.co.uk/2018/06/14/labour-call-for-conservative-leader-to-step-down-after-half-of-cabinet-resign/) in the wake of the decision by half of his Cabinet to resign.

Cllr Eadie said he felt the move not to back Friarsgate meant he had no option but to quit the Cabinet.

“I know that Cllr Wilcox cares passionately about our district and council and that he works tirelessly for it,” he said.

“Unfortunately my judgement as to how we should move our district forward differs to Cllr Wilcox and for that reason again it was appropriate for me to step down from Cabinet, when I felt I could no longer influence change.”