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# Councillor says coronavirus impact on retail means rethink is needed on Lichfield city centre masterplan
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/councillor-says-coronavirus-impact-on-retail-means-rethink-is-needed-on-lichfield-city-centre-masterplan/
- Published: 2020-06-11T07:09:16.000Z
- Updated: 2020-06-11T07:09:43.000Z
- Description: A councillor has called for a rethink on the Lichfield city centre masterplan in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: Business, Politics, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 18:14, News

A councillor has called for a rethink on the Lichfield city centre masterplan in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

Lichfield District Council’s overview and scrutiny committee debated the proposals at a meeting earlier this week.

A vote on the masterplan [was eventually passed after initially being incorrectly counted](https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/council-chiefs-left-red-faced-after-vote-on-lichfield-city-centre-masterplan-was-counted-incorrectly/).

But Labour’s Cllr Darren Ennis said times had changed since the masterplan was originally drawn up. He told the meeting:

![Darren Ennis](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e3/90/e390c3da-0866-4d2a-8ffe-ca4999d7ce1c/content/images/lichfieldlive-co-uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/darrenennis.jpg)

Cllr Darren Ennis

> “I’m not against a masterplan, far from it. I do think Lichfield needs to move forward.  
>  
> “But what recent events have shown us – even for my own business and local ones around here – is that we are hitting a stage where 10 to 20% of local businesses are struggling, failing and letting people go.  
>  
> “The type of city centre is going to change and it’s going to change very soon.  
>  
> “This plan was brilliant a year ago and I agreed with it then. But the economy has changed and things in this plan as it is now need to change.  
>  
> “It needs to take into account how shopping habits will differ and how the type of shops will too. Even the way people visit cities will change.  
>  
> “We need to rethink this. We’ve got the basis here, but we do need to look again rather than rushing into a plan that was set up before COVID-19.”  
>  
> Cllr Darren Ennis, Lichfield District Council

There was also opposition to the plan from Conservative committee member Cllr Alastair Little, who [warned “another Friarsgate” could be on the horizon](https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/committee-rejects-lichfield-city-centre-masterplan-as-councillor-warns-of-potential-for-another-friarsgate/).

The long-awaited city centre redevelopment left the council footing a multi-million pound bill when it failed to materialise after more than a decade in the making.

#### “We have to be making the correct decision”

Cllr Ennis told *Lichfield Live* a pause was needed to avoid making the same mistakes again.

> “This plan should be reviewed and given at least six months to see how the city centre scene has changed after coronavirus.   
>  
> “As I mentioned in the meeting, I am not against a city centre plan, but I am against a plan that was made before the pandemic and we haven’t seen the effects of this on our businesses and our tourism industry.  
>  
> “We have to be making the correct decision before spending potentially millions on a scheme that could fail yet again.”  
>  
> Cllr Darren Ennis, Lichfield District Council