May 28, 2019 10.38 am This story is over 58 months old

St Mary’s Street shops to be demolished

New shops and flats will rise out of the ashes of the old
The shops on St Mary's Street will be demolished to make way for a new access road and building housing shops, cafes and accommodation.

Three shops on St Mary’s Street, opposite Lincoln Central railway station, will be demolished to make way for a new parking access road, as well as brand new shops and flats.

Lincolnshire Co-operative Limited has been given permission by City of Lincoln Council officers to carry out the works as part of the Cornhill redevelopment masterplan.

In documents submitted to the council, the Co-op describe the shops as: “a terrace of much altered, 19th Century domestic-scale buildings, in a poor state of repair and, arguably, out of scale with their much taller neighbour.”

Plans for the redevelopment of shops along St Mary’s Street

They state: “Whilst the existing buildings have some merit, a greater overall contribution to the streetscape and the prosperity of the area can be made by demolition and redevelopment.”

The new entrance will allow the Queen’s Hotel Yard site to be further developed.

The planning permission also covers a vacant unit the Co-operative do not own to the west of the site.

This is owned by Nationwide and LCL say their hope is to “illustrate how the creation of a new vehicular entrance could allow the Nationwide to develop their site, which would benefit the streetscape and prove to be a valuable property in its own right.”

The former Barbican Hotel in Lincoln looks set for a refurb

The application also shows the Co-op’s intentions to refurbish the Barbican Hotel next door to create group floor and commercial units with flats above.

The Barbican closed down in the 2000s, but has stood empty ever since.

Lincolnshire Co-operatives Masterplan of the Cornhill encompasses other recent regenerative projects in the areas such as:

The recently refurbished Corn Exchange and new multi-storey car park

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