Council makes£2m loan tomall scheme

Andrew Robinson

A STALLED shopping development is back on track after an injection of taxpayers’ money.

Contractor Shepherd Construction is back on site at Wakefield’s Trinity Walk development, a city centre scheme of more than 40 retail units.

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Wakefield Council has agreed a 2m loan which replaces a grant agreed before the developer went into administration.

The council’s cabinet this week agreed a commercial loan of 2m to complete a 130m financial package that will see the development completed in the summer of next year.

The bulk of the money is coming from banks along with a proposed 5m loan from development agency Yorkshire Forward.

A condition of the loan is that the money is paid only at the end of the construction phase of the scheme, with strict security measures in place to minimise any risk to the authority.

The council’s deputy leader Councillor Denise Jeffery said: “Securing this development will create 1,500 jobs and develop a site which will otherwise quickly become a very prominent eyesore.”