Member Article

Hotel, cinema and gym planned for Doncaster’s Frenchgate as part of £10 million revamp

A Doncaster shopping centre owned by the Frenchgate Limited Partnership is to receive a new hotel, gym and cinema with a restaurant after submitting planning for the leisure developments as part of a £10 million investment.

The Frenchgate shopping centre, Doncaster has made three significant planning applications to bring a new hotel, gym and multiplex cinema to the 800,000 sqft shopping destination.

If approved, the total area of retail, leisure and food would rise to circa 850,000 sqft.

Frenchgate shopping centre is currently the subject of a significant £10 million investment programme to transform its future and meet the needs of the growing population.

The major investment has already seen progress, with several new retail, food and beverage lettings and reconfigurations across the centre, which sits above Doncaster’s national and local rail and bus interchange.

Frenchgate’s hotel application centres on the change of office use (B1) to hotel (C1) of a 5-storey block above the shopping centre.

Frenchgate’s second planning application is to introduce a new 8-screen multiplex cinema with 1,100 seats to the scheme, boosting its leisure credentials.

As part of the cinema application four new restaurant units are also being proposed, providing units between 3,500sqft (330m2) to 4,300 sqft (400 m2) to complement the centre’s growing food and beverage offer.

The Frenchgate Partnership has been working closely with gym operator Lifestyle Fitness, agreeing terms to open at the centre.

Founded in 1985, Lifestyle Fitness now has 65 gyms across the UK with over 300 exercise coaches to help members meet their fitness goals.

Fitness equipment is supplied by market leaders Technogym, Gym80 and Escape Fitness with the widest range of equipment, free weights and functional training in any UK gym.

Paul Devlin, asset manager at the Partnership commented “Frenchgate has made significant progress with its plans during 2014, notably attracting a raft of new and exciting tenants such as Schuh, Pandora, Hungry Horse and Lifestyle Fitness gym.

“We’ve also worked closely with key retailers to move them to improved locations around the scheme, such as New Look and Timberland.

“We intend to build strongly on this success - and these three new leisure applications will allow us to respond to strong demand from the growing regional, local and student population.

“Our ambition is to provide a complete shopping and leisure destination for the area, coupled with unrivaled accessibility and customer experience – and this week’s news is a major step towards delivering this.”

Frenchgate Doncaster is managed by Lambert Smith Hampton (Northern Ireland office) with retail leasing by joint agents Lunson Mitchenall and Rawstron Johnson.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .