New shopping centre for coastal town

There will be 22 new shops in the centre

A new £11m shopping centre is planned for Whitley Bay in North Tyneside after a property firm bought a large chunk of land in the coastal town.

Manchester-based Modus Properties has exchanged contracts with Landmark Northeast to acquire a 1.4 acre site in the town.

It plans to re-develop the site to provide a new, purpose-built shopping centre, which will form a new retail core of Whitley Bay.

Modus says it is confident the new centre, called Park View Shopping Centre, will attract big name national retailers.

'Big names'

The shopping centre will have 22 new shops and 190 parking spaces.

Mike Riddell, Director of Modus, said: "We have been holding discussions with a number of big names for some time, who are attracted by the above-average catchment expenditure of Whitley Bay."

North Tyneside mayor, Chris Morgan, said: "The people of Whitley Bay have waited a long time for this shopping mall, and I hope that we will see construction work start very quickly."

Work will start in summer 2003 with a planned opening in spring 2004.