Beverley's New £120m Flemingate Development Opens
It's set to create more than 700 local jobs.
It's taken 10 years to plan, over a year to build and has cost £120m - but Beverley's new major retail and leisure complex finally opens today.
The brand new Flemingate development, situated close to the Minster, features a range of shops and restaurants, along with a hotel, cinema and multi-storey car park.
It has created more than 700 local jobs and it's hoped it can attract more people into Beverley.
Dominic Gibbons is project manager of the scheme and told Viking:
"The local plan from ten years ago was very clear that Beverley was under-retailed. There was only about 39 pence in the Beverley spend pound that was actually being spent in the town and it should be about 56 pence. It also lacked a branded hotel and cinema.
"This is something that is going to extend the town centre, it brings the Minster right into the middle of the town instead of being at one end of the town. It's actually something which we want to bring more and more people into the town from a visitor destination from people staying in Beverley and shopping in Beverley to giev them a better offer.
"We are putting in place a lot of structures to make sure that businesses in the town centre don't lose out, down to destination marketing organisations being set up around the whole of the town centre, involving the race course and the Georgian Quarter. We are bringing all the right people together and it's all about growing Beverley."
But some businesses have told us they're concerned the new development will take trade away from the town centre.
Vanessa Barker owns a delicatessen in Saturday Market and told us:
"Beverley is quite unique and it does retain quite a busy town centre and the worry is that it's going to pull those customers that come to Beverley away to Flemingate and use the shops there where the parking is cheaper and more convenient so it is a real worry for us,
"It is worrying, being a small independent business in a competitive high street. I think speaking for several of the other independent businesses, we are concerned that it is going to take some trade away from what is normally a popular and busy town centre.
"There is the hope that it is going to pull more people to Beverley who may have possible gone to other retail parks further afield, so there is the hope it will bring a larger client base for us but it's unknown territory for us all at the moment and I think we are all quietly concerned."
Vanessa hopes East Riding of Yorkshire Council can offer some incentive to ensure shoppers still pay a visit to the town centre and said:
"By perhaps offering the first half hour or even an hour to park for free in the Saturday Market area as a bit of compensation for us high street traders who have been here for a while now."
The first phase of the development launches today with the opening of 9 of the 25 stores with more shops, restaurants, Premier Inn hotel, car park and cinema opening between now and next Spring.