DOUBTS OVER £27-MILLION MAKEOVER FOR TOP TOWN AS SHOPPING CENTRE GOES BUST

                                                                           

Top Town - regeneration hopes have been severely dented by the latest revelations

A BLACK cloud has descended over a proposed £27-million makeover for Grimsby's Top Town.

The joint venture between North East Lincolnshire Council and Freshney Place Shopping Centre has been rocked by reports that the latter has gone into receivership.

This has put in jeopardy the £5-million pledged by the latter towards an ambitious  scheme involving  refurbishment of old properties, building a new market hall and attracting a cinema and other leisure amenities.

NELC is also committed to investing £5-million with the bulk of the funding - £17-million - due  to come from a bumper Whitehall grant.

With shopping centres ailing across the country, it is hard to envisage any company coming to the rescue of Freshney Place in the current economic climate.

NELC has yet to issue a formal statement, but it is understood to be exploring ways in which the scheme might be kept afloat.

Before Christmas, council chiefs said an operator had come forward to run the cinema, but, as of today, they had not identified which company this might be.

NELC has already engaged - at great cost - various consultants to work on the project.

It is not known if they will be retained during what looks likely to be a long period of uncertainty or if they will be paid off.