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# Lichfield District Council leader says he shares the disappointment of residents after long-awaited Friarsgate redevelopment bites the dust
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/lichfield-district-council-leader-says-he-shares-the-disappointment-of-residents-after-long-awaited-friarsgate-redevelopment-bites-the-dust/
- Published: 2018-06-27T11:09:40.000Z
- Updated: 2018-06-27T11:12:16.000Z
- Description: The leader of Lichfield District Council says he shares the disappointment of residents after the Friarsgate project was finally killed off.
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: Politics, News

The leader of Lichfield District Council says he shares the disappointment of residents after the Friarsgate project was finally killed off.

[![An artist's impression of the Friarsgate development](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e3/90/e390c3da-0866-4d2a-8ffe-ca4999d7ce1c/content/images/lichfieldlive-co-uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/img_20151203_123715.jpg)](//lichfieldlive.co.uk/2015/12/03/in-pictures-plans-for-new-friarsgate-development-in-lichfield/img%5F20151203%5F123715/)

An artist’s impression of the Friarsgate development

Despite being in the making for more than a decade, the long-awaited city centre redevelopment project finally bit the dust at a private meeting of councillors last night.

The final nail in the Friarsgate coffin was delivered when councillors refused to stump up [the £49million required](//lichfieldlive.co.uk/2018/05/31/report-reveals-friarsgate-funding-black-hole-lichfield-district-council-plans-to-cover-could-be-as-much-as-49million/) to bring the scheme to fruition after private funding did not materialise – although Lichfield District Council has admitted [the final bill for the aborted development will be almost £7million](//lichfieldlive.co.uk/2018/06/26/bill-for-doomed-friarsgate-project-will-be-almost-7million-leader-of-lichfield-district-council-admits/).

[![Mike Wilcox](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e3/90/e390c3da-0866-4d2a-8ffe-ca4999d7ce1c/content/images/lichfieldlive-co-uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/img_0688.jpg)](//lichfieldlive.co.uk/2015/05/22/business-growth-key-to-future-of-lichfield-and-burntwood-says-council-leader/img%5F0688/)

Cllr Mike Wilcox

Cllr Mike Wilcox, leader of the council, said he shared the frustration of residents, but insisted the local authority could not risk footing the bill.

“Although this is disappointing news, we are confident the Birmingham Road site still offers great potential for a refreshed mixed-use development that better meets the needs of our growing community and the changing face of today’s high streets,” he said.

“We know this decision will disappoint many people who were looking forward to the benefits Friarsgate would have brought in terms of leisure and retail opportunities.

“While we would also welcome these benefits, as a council we need to ensure we are not creating a debt we cannot repay and which could negatively impact vital council services in the future. As such, if a funder is not secured by June 30, the development will not continue in its current form.”

Councillors heard that the taking out a loan of almost £50million would have been likely to contravene the local authority’s procurement rules given the returns would be “very low”.

Cllr Wilcox added: “We now have an exciting opportunity to consider how this prime city centre site can be regenerated to create an invigorated and sustainable city centre.

“We look forward to involving local people and local businesses in these discussions.”