Bosses confident over empty Doncaster shopping block

It was heralded as the most significant regeneration work  at Doncaster's Watersdale centre - but it still stands empty six months after its completion.
The new retail building at Waterdale, Doncaster.  Picture: Marie Caley NDFP Waterdale MC 1The new retail building at Waterdale, Doncaster.  Picture: Marie Caley NDFP Waterdale MC 1
The new retail building at Waterdale, Doncaster. Picture: Marie Caley NDFP Waterdale MC 1

The £3 million block of shops which was built on the former Waterdale car park, near Cleveland Street, was announced as complete by its owners back in June.

But this week the firm confirmed they had yet to find someone to move in and occupy the site.

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The building was the latest in a long running scheme of regeneration work on Waterdale by its owners, St. Modwen.

A spokesman for St Modwen confirmed it was still empty.

They said in a statement: "The Kingsgate development at The Village at Waterdale represents an exciting opportunity to make the centre a more vibrant retail and leisure environment for shoppers in Doncaster and beyond.

"Since its completion in Summer 2017, we have been actively marketing the development in order to secure the right tenants for the centre. The Village at Waterdale is home to some fantastic successful independent retailers and we are confident that the new development will further strengthen our offer."

At its launch on June 22, the new £3 million Kingsgate development was described by St Modwen as the most significant regeneration work completed at the shopping centre to date. They said it offered 12,300 sq ft of ground floor retail and leisure space and a further 12,000 of first floor space, suitable for a variety of purposes including office, leisure and restaurant.

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The completion of the new development followed a busy 12 months of work that included a complete re-branding of the shopping centre.

The rest of the revamped centre has seen a number of new independent firms move into the centre, including the Lego specialist Brickin It, gaming store Vault 14, and more recently, Pud, run by Frances Bishop, who became a household name on the television show The Apprentice.