Last hope for Wolverhampton's Summer Row

Exclusive - By Victoria Nash: The £300 million Summer Row shopping centre planned for Wolverhampton is being scaled down in a last-ditch bid to secure a backer, it emerged today.

Developers have admitted the plan will be dead if a deal is not signed by next month.

The showpiece complex due to be anchored by Debenhams and Marks & Spencer has been in crisis since a funding deal with an Irish consortium collapsed in December 2008.

Developer Multi has since been trying to secure a deal for half of the money, originally around £150m.

But time is short because compulsory purchase orders on 200 businesses that will be affected by the creation of the 600,000sq ft development, run out in February.

Multi today revealed revised plans were being drawn up to allow the centre to be built, which would see it reduced by 20 per cent.

It is expected this would reduce the cost to around £240m.

Paul Sargent, Managing Director of Multi, said: "By November we have to know where we stand. If there is nothing sorted by then we will have to throw up our hands and admit it can't happen.

"There is so much to do after getting the money and we have to leave ourselves enough time to do it.

"We want Summer Row to be the catalyst for other people to invest in Wolverhampton."

Wolverhampton City Council has given itself until next month to decide whether public money should be used to help make the shopping centre in Snow Hill a reality.

More than 70 High Street names are in negotiations to move into the centre including Next, Warehouse, Monsoon and Dorothy Perkins.