Anglia Square traders to be moved out in mid-May for revamp
They'll be relocated
Traders at Anglia Square will be moved out within the next two months to allow demolition works to begin.
Norwich City Council recently bought the site in partnership with Homes England after years of uncertainty and unsuccessful development attempts.
But for work to begin in earnest, traders must be relocated to a new box park underneath the Magdalen Street flyover, to the left of the entrance to Anglia Square.
City Hall expects business owners to have vacated the site by mid-May in order for full demolition works to begin in late spring or early summer.
Norwich City Council was awarded a total of £34m by the government to cover the costs of its purchase as well as razing the site.
The council plans to open the new box park – a food and retail centre made out of refitted shipping containers – to relocate the existing businesses while demolition is under way.
This has led to concerns among independent retailers that with possible increased rents they will have nowhere else to go once the work is complete.
Traders who decline to relocate to the box park will be offered alternative placements in the city and the council is currently working on options for them.
A council spokesman said: “We are cracking on at pace with the redevelopment of Anglia Square and we remain on schedule.
“The soft strip part of demolition works is starting this spring with full demolition works starting from late spring or early summer. The reason why full demolition cannot start earlier is because traders will be on site until mid-May.”
The £300m revamp of Anglia Square, which would have seen up to 1,100 new homes built, along with office, retail and leisure space, was suddenly scrapped earlier this year after its developers said the scheme was no longer financially viable. This led to the council getting involved.
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