Sir Robert bags £200m Rock Triangle scheme

Sir Robert McAlpine has edged out its only remaining rival, Laing O'Rourke, to bag a £200m mixed-development deal aimed at breathing new life into the eastern quarter of Bury, Lancashire. Bovis Lend Lease pulled out of the deal at the eleventh hour, while HBG, another shortlisted contender, also turned its back on the scheme earlier this year. McAlpine is preferred bidder for the 75,000m2 project, known as the Rock Triangle.

The scheme is being promoted by town centre regeneration specialist Thornfield Properties, working in partnership with the borough council. The deal will be anchored by a three-storey Debenhams store, spanning about 10,000m2. The project will also feature around 60 shops, a 10-screen multiplex cinema and 10-pin bowling complex, plus cafes and family restaurants.

The scheme will additionally deliver more than 200 homes, a new relief road, public spaces, a multi-storey car park and a 4,500m2 medical centre. Work on site is due to start in earnest around the middle of next year, with the development expected to open in 2009.

[Contract Journal, 06  December 2006, p 8]