// Intu Lakeside set for £168m facelift, pending planning approval from Thurrock Council
// Plans include 40,000sq ft of new retail space, or 30 to 40 new stores
// It also aims to turn Intu Lakeside into a “regional town centre”
Intu has submitted a planning application for a £168 million refurbishment of its Lakeside shopping centre in south Essex.
The plans include adding around 40,000sq ft of retail space, which would provide space for 30 to 40 new stores at Intu Lakeside, according to documents submitted to Thurrock Council.
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The facelift aims to transform Intu Lakeside, which currently has 250 tenants, into a “regional town centre”.
To accommodate the extension, Intu said it would partly demolish the existing Debenhams store and the centre’s bus station.
The Intu Lakeside planning application comes a month after the shopping centre giant unveiled plans to demolish a car park and part of House of Fraser to make way for 1000 homes.
Should the planning application be approved, Intu Lakeside’s facelift would create 1553 temporary construction jobs over a three year period, and 2930 jobs once completed.
The planned facelift forms part of Intu’s wider five-year turnaround strategy launched after CVAs from various retailer tenants left a dent in its rental income.
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