By Julian Whittle

Published at 05:42, Friday, 26 September 2008

CARLISLE Renaissance proposals to redevelop Rickergate may still go ahead one day, the city council has said.

The controversial scheme to demolish the Civic Centre, the police and fire stations, magistrates’ court, Adriano’s restaurant and homes in Warwick Street appeared to be dead and buried two weeks ago.

Bryan Gray, chairman of the new, private sector-led Carlisle Renaissance board said it was no longer “being pursued”.

And city council leader Mike Mitchelson said work on a development brief had stopped and the council had no plans to buy more property there.

But he told The Cumberland News this week that the scheme could be resurrected one day.

Mr Mitchelson said: “The Renaissance board has come to a view that Rickergate is not one of its four priorities.

“But that doesn’t mean to say the scheme is dead.

“Carlisle Renaissance is a 10 to 20-year agenda.

“We are committed to doing a development brief [for Rickergate]. All I’ve said to the council is that, at the current time, we’re not doing it but it will happen one day.”

The council was given £2m by the Northwest Regional Development Agency to buy up property in Rickergate with a view to redevelopment.

It acquired the freehold of Adriano’s Restaurant and one of the former fire station houses in Warwick Street.

Mr Mitchelson said the council would hang on to them as “strategic property purchases” in an area “identified for future development”.

His statement is a setback to the Save Our Streets group, which campaigned against the demolition of private homes.

The Rickergate scheme, as originally envisaged, would have bulldozed the area to make way for a plaza with shops, flats, offices and possibly a hotel.

But the council always maintained that homes in Peter Street and Corporation Road would not be knocked down.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Labour opposition on the city council said the authority should say how much it has spent on the Rickergate plan.

Councillor Michael Boaden said: “In addition to tens of thousands of pounds spent on consultants, the council has used £900,000 of public money on purchasing two properties just six months ago.”

Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk