Plans have been approved to demolish an empty shopping centre in Lincoln to potentially make way for a six-storey hotel. Lincolnshire Co-op is behind the plans to transform the City Square Centre, located near the Cornhill Quarter, which has stood vacant since 2019.
Located across the river from Waterside Shopping Centre, the building was most recently home to shops like Boyes, Post Office, Co-op and a pharmacy. Outline planning permission for a hotel on the site has already been granted and there are now talks with a potential operator to bring a more detailed scheme forward. Demolition work is hoped to be carried out by Autumn this year.
Developer McCarthy Stone had previously submitted an outline planning application for a retirement living scheme on the site, but it was withdrawn in May 2023. Lincolnshire Co-op’s head of property, Kevin Kendall, previously said: “A hotel will provide another valued service in the Cornhill Quarter area of Lincoln, complementing the retail and leisure offering we already have.
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“We are in positive discussions with a hotel operator and hope we will be able to develop a more detailed scheme and submit a further application for planning permission in 2025.”
Mr Kendall said as well as a hotel, Lincolnshire Co-op will be exploring uses for the rest of the site with development partners. He added: “We anticipate that the rest of the site will likely be redeveloped with residential accommodation.
“We are in the early stages of gauging interest with potential partners and are open to a range of uses which will help bring that site back into use. The site could be used for a variety of housing for different needs – accommodation for sale, rental accommodation, student accommodation – there are lots of options.”