Contract for £30m shopping centre redevelopment in Durham awarded to Sir Robert McAlpine

A fund advised by Clearbell Capital, has announced that Sir Robert McAlpine has been appointed as the main contractor to redevelop The Riverwalk (formerly The Gates shopping centre) in Durham. The £30 million project is set to transform the city’s retail and leisure offering and upon completion in Autumn 2018, will include 253 student accommodation rooms which will be managed by Fresh Student Living.

The main construction programme includes remodelling the existing shopping centre’s layout to create 35,000 sq ft of terraced restaurants along the river, 23 refurbished shops and a six-screen Odeon cinema – the largest in the area. By removing parts of the centre’s roof and partition walks, more open space will be created – including a new public square at the heart of the development.

Nick Berry, Partner at Clearbell Capital, said: “We have worked successfully with Sir Robert McAlpine previously and their appointment as main contractor for The Riverwalk will allow us to kick-start main construction work on site. The project team has been working meticulously over the past few months completing enabling works, however now we will start to see the redevelopment work taking shape.”

“This is an exciting time for Durham as we continue our work on site creating a truly mixed-use waterfront destination that will cultivate the local economy and deliver improvements to city’s day and night-time offering.”

Mark Gibson, North East Regional Manager for Sir Robert McAlpine, added: “We are delighted that, in recognition of our engineering excellence, we have been appointed for this technically challenging project which will transform Durham’s retail and leisure facilities for residents and students alike. Working with local partners, we have completed the preparatory phase of the project and have now commenced the structural redevelopment.”

A projected 195 construction jobs will be created throughout the construction period, as well as a further 120 jobs on completion. These jobs will be created through new retailers, restaurants and leisure providers opening at The Riverwalk.