THE man in charge of delivering Orchard Park's £5.5m shopping centre says he is "not about to let it drop".
In March 2010, Chester-based developer Cityheart was appointed to build the centre on the site of the existing, ageing parade of shops off Orchard Park Road. Back in July, ward councillor Terry Geraghty said it was expected the scheme would be completed by March. Now, David Savage, Cityheart's development director, has revealed it is unlikely to be completed much before May.
He said: "We thought this would be an 'in-and-out' scheme. My son was born when we got involved in this – now he's just started school.
"It is a scheme that maybe should not have been brought to the table when it was.
"But I am not about to let it drop. We have invested a lot of money into the scheme and a lot of sweat and tears.
"We are going to deliver it and it's frustrating for us that it is taking this amount of time."
Mr Savage blamed delays on the "difficult economic climate".
But he stressed Cityheart – working with Hull City Council to deliver the scheme – had reached its target of pre-letting 75 per cent of the units, which unlocks funding enabling the next phase of the scheme to go ahead.
An undisclosed "anchor" unit has been secured, said Mr Savage.
Mr Savage said he could understand residents' frustrations, but said the scheme was taking place at a time when prime retail space was cheaply priced.
He said: "When retailers can find premises in the city centre at similar prices to those they are being offered in Orchard Park, or any other out-of-town shopping area for that matter, the preference will be the city centre, because that's where the bigger catchment area will be.
"That said, I am confident this centre will be a success.
"More and more people appear to be switching to local shopping."
Mr Savage said he expected demolition work would begin shortly, but was unable to name a date as it was "subject to lawyers getting back to us".
He added: "We have had delays getting on to site, but we are in the process of doing asbestos testing prior to demolition. This involves drilling into the fabric of the building and compiling a report for the contractor."
Mr Savage said Cityheart has had to honour current contracts between tenants and the local authority, which owns the current centre.
He said: "Cooplands bakery has a lease that runs until next year and they have to be kept trading in their current premises until they can be moved into their new unit.
"We also want to keep the post office open during the work as we recognise, for many people living in the area, that this is a lifeline."
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