A NEW furniture showroom and six catering units form part of a proposed £15 million revamp that is set to bring 100 jobs and change the look of a York shopping park.
The facades of the existing buildings at Monks Cross would be updated under the plans to a style similar to that of the park’s new Primark store.
Meanwhile a new showroom for ‘a large furniture operator’ would be be built close to Monks Cross Drive, and six small catering units would be placed in front of the row of shops which includes Boots and WHSmith.
The scheme envisages removing part of the bus lane which presently runs around the whole the central parking area to help make space for the new catering units.
Eric Hall of TDH Estates, who is planning project manager for Monks Cross, said buses had not used the affected sections of the lane for several years.
The car park would be resurfaced and simplified, with the removal of two small roundabouts. Mr Hall said the changes would actually lead to an additional six parking spaces at the shopping park, which had more than 1,000 spaces in total.
There would be additional landscaping and some replacement of trees within the park, which are separate to the ones on its outskirts that are covered by a Tree Preservation Order.
He said the opening of the Primark store had significantly improved footfall, particularly in its immediate vicinity, and this was the next phase of the development of Monks Cross.
The look of the retail units was from the 1990s. “Generally it looks a bit dated. We want to refresh the elevations and the main entrances,” he said, adding the present steel drum features on the shop facades would be retained but would be covered by what the planning document describes as “an architectural mesh”.
It was envisaged that tenants would be able to carry on trading while their facades were altered. There would also be changes to the walkways.
“We do need to improve the overall look of the park,” he said. “People like something new.”
The catering units would not be for ‘sit-down meals’ but more for snacks, and followed a trend in retail parks to provide such facilities. It was also thought their presence would help to increase the impression of activity within the park.
The 100 new jobs set to be created by the changes would be provided by those units and the furniture showroom.
Mr Hall said a planning application was likely to be submitted to City of York Council next week.
Depending on its progress a start could be made on building in summer 2017, as part of a three-year programme.
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