£30m shops site bought by top firm
The site of a proposed £30 million shopping and leisure development has been bought by leading retail centre group Hammerson in a move which looks set to secure the future of the scheme.
The group has acquired the Oldbury site along with the rest of The Junction Unit Trust's portfolio for £255 million and says it will now review the site to see whether the development will go-ahead.
Earlier this month the Express & Star reported that the plans were in doubt after reports the site off Oldbury Ringway was being put up for sale.
Sandwell's jobs and economy boss Councillor Derek Rowley said: "This development has been a long time coming. It seems these new buyers have plans. So we will just have to keep our fingers crossed that they want to undertake the development, and that something will happen soon."
Proposals for 16-acre The Junction have been in the pipeline for more than 10 years. Permission was initially granted for the retail centre in 2004.
A Hammerson spokeswoman said: "The Oldbury Shopping Park is one of a portfolio of sites we have acquired. It is the only one which is a site rather that a shopping park with development potential. We will be reviewing all the sites, and looking at what we will do with them," she explained.
