Billingham Town Centre Redevelopment - Background

Billingham large pic

Joint Ownership

Billingham Town Centre was built in the 1960s with the aim of combining commercial, leisure, health, education and civic functions together in one integrated development. It was a vibrant hub for shopping and leisure opportunities captured by cutting edge design and architecture of the day.

Unfortunately in the 1990s the buildings and public spaces in the town centre began to look tired and in need of regeneration and studies and surveys highlighted leakage in trade to other retail destinations.

In order to reverse this decline it was vital that the Council as the freehold interest owner acted to bring about the regeneration of Billingham Town Centre. However despite owning the freehold interest in Billingham Town Centre, the Council only managed approximately 55% of the retail units. The remaining 45% of the retail floor space was let to MARS Pension Fund Plc (MARS) on long term leases.

For many years MARS were reluctant to negotiate on the future of their retail units in Billingham, which meant that it was difficult for the Council in partnership with The Billingham Partnership (TBP), the Northern Area Partnership Board for the LSP, to bring forward a scheme that would regenerate the town centre and meet the aspirations of the local community. Ultimately without MARS' co-operation the Council was only able to redevelop part of the town centre.

MARS and the Council work in partnership

However, in 2004 MARS proposed that the Council agree to use their preferred development partner Halladale (now known as Stockland), to try to agree a regeneration scheme for the town centre and enter into a Lock-Out Agreement for a period of 12 months. Please refer to the FAQ section at the right hand side of this page for more information on the Lock-Out Agreement.

During the Lock-Out Agreement, Halladale carried out an initial period of consultation in Feb / March 2005 to identify the community's priorities for the future of Billingham Town Centre. This provided Halladale with a wealth of information which they used to form outline proposals. These proposals were the subject of a second round of consultation with residents, businesses, members and stakeholders in July 2005, which Halladale used to ensure they had properly identified and understood the public's priorities from the initial consultation. For further details regarding the outcome of the consultation please view the consultation page from the side menu.

Halladale worked closely with Council Officers throughout the lock-out period and in October 2005, they submitted a regeneration option for the Council's consideration. The Council undertook extensive financial calculations and examined the legal implications, however it was concluded that this option would not be financially viable. On this basis Halladale was advised to review their proposals and a revised development proposal was presented to the Council on the 1st March 2006.

MARS sale

Following an exhaustive analysis process of the revised Halladale option, a Cabinet report was prepared to be considered at July's 2006 Cabinet, outlining the different redevelopment options and their implications. However, although good progress had been made with Halladale, on the 19th June 2006, Stockton Borough Council was advised of MARS' intention to sell their 45% leasehold interest of the retail units they managed in Billingham Town Centre.

This changed the options available to the Council and following detailed financial analysis key Council Officers and Members recommended and agreed that the Council should submit a bid for the MARS leasehold interest in the town centre in order to secure a regeneration scheme for the benefit of the local community. A bid was submitted on Friday 14th July 2006. Unfortunately, the Council was informed on the 28th July 2006 that its bid had been unsuccessful.

On the 28th September 2006, Halladale, a developer with a proven track record in regenerating town centres, were officially announced as the new owners of the MARS leasehold interest in Billingham Town Centre and became responsible for managing 45% of the retail units in Billingham.

Working with Halladale (now known as Stockland)

The Council viewed Halladale's purchase as very positive news as during the lock-out agreement Halladale had spent a considerable amount of money on market research, consultation and initial architectural plans and drawings to develop preliminary options for Billingham Town Centre. This formed a great platform on which to build and the Council continued their discussions with Halladale, investigating the viability of a regeneration scheme(s).

In autumn 2006, Halladale advised the Council that they were committed to improving their new leasehold asset and in order to facilitate the most comprehensive redevelopment / refurbishment they would prefer to own the whole town centre. On that basis Halladale asked whether the Council would be prepared to consider selling the 55% of the retail units it managed and ultimately disposing of its freehold interest.

The Sale of Billingham Town Centre

On the 4th January 2007 Stockton Council's Cabinet resolved to recommend to Council that the freehold sale to Halladale proceed in accordance with the Heads of Terms outlined in the Cabinet report, available below. This decision was endorsed by Stockton Council on the 17th January 2007.

The sale agreement ensures that the top priorities (excluding 'increasing the number of shops') highlighted by Billingham residents and businesses in recent consultation exercises (refer to consultation tab on the left) will be addressed in future plans for the Town Centre.

On the 27th July 2007 the Council's freehold interest in Billingham Town Centre was sold to Halladale (now known as Stockland) for £16.7m

The sale resolved the issues that multiple ownership of the Town Centre has posed over the past years in bringing about a comprehensive regeneration scheme across the whole town centre and could signify around £45 million of investment for regeneration and redevelopment.