Barnsley's mini-Meadowhall The Alhambra for sale for £10.5m eight months after going bust

Receivers are selling the building, which has shops including Wilko, Primark, The Entertainer, EE and Iceland, for £10.5m.

They say it is ‘almost all fully occupied’ and the 'principal retail centre for the borough of Barnsley’.

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The move comes amid concerns that Barnsley Council’s £210m new development, The Glassworks, is one reason for the Alhambra’s demise.

In November, Coun Hannah Kitching, the leader of Liberal Democrats in Barnsley, asked whether the town could support both.

At a full council meeting she said “High Street retail was already on the downturn before the pandemic.

“We understand the Glass Works is the priority for the council, it’s a big flagship town centre development, and… two of the large stores in the centre in terms of market presence, Next and TK Maxx, were encouraged to move from their base at the Alhambra to the more prominent position in the Glass Works.”

At the time Star readers were unsurprised.

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Andrew Reavill said: “What did Houghton and co really expect to happen by building a new centre and moving the existing retailers into it?”

Council leader Sir Steve Houghton acknowledged there had been an impact on the Alhambra but said both were a priority.

“The Alhambra is a priority, as is the Glass Works, and we want both.”

The centre opened in 1991 and has 40 units.

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Announcing the sales pricess, James Yates, director at Avison Young said: “This is an excellent opportunity to acquire a very well occupied scheme with opportunities to increase and diversify the tenant mix, and offering more leisure amenities such as a gym, medical operator and food and drink outlets, increasing dwell time in the centre and thus footfall."

Coun Sir Steve Houghton CBE, leader of Barnsley Council, said the authority was ‘very supportive of businesses and key private-sector asset owners in the town centre’.

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And he said the receivers were confident of finding a new owner.

He added: “The retail offer in the Alhambra remains strong and the broadening of options of use for some of the unused space would complement the wider mix of uses we are already seeing in the town.”

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