Rushmoor Council buys former Marks and Spencer building

Rushmoor Borough Council has completed a deal to buy the freehold of the former Marks and Spencer building in Aldershot town centre.

The confirmation of the purchase of the prominent Union Street site means that the council and its development partner are a major step closer to delivering its ‘Union Street East’ regeneration scheme.

The council has spent the last 18 months buying properties from the middle of Union Street down to Wellington Street and had identified the former Marks and Spencer site as a significant one to secure, as it makes up more than half of the land required for the regeneration proposals.

Over the coming months, the council and its development partner, Hill Investment Partnerships Limited, operating as the Rushmoor Development Partnership, will be working with architects to develop ideas and produce a scheme for the site, with the aim of improving the vitality of the town. The council will also be exploring options to secure the remaining land in this area.

The partnership aims to have plans to share with residents and local businesses in early 2019 before then applying for planning permission in the spring.

‘This is a fantastic and exciting milestone in the regeneration of our town centre,’ said council leader, Cllr David Clifford.

‘We have been working extremely hard to negotiate the purchase of the former M&S building and I am absolutely delighted to announce we’ve done it! It really was a significant piece of the jigsaw puzzle needed to bring about the redevelopment of Union Street and I look forward to being in a position to share our plans next year.’

The Union Street site is one of a number of town centre regeneration sites in Aldershot and Farnborough that the Rushmoor Development Partnership is focusing on.

More information on these sites and the council’s plans is available on the local authority’s Town centre regeneration pages.