Delays to Grantham Designer Outlet Village will mean it will not open until later in 2025

Delays to the construction of the Grantham Designer Outlet Village will mean it is not due to open until later in 2025.

It had been hoped for a launch next year but the developer of the village, Rioja, says a hike in interest rates, Brexit and other factors have meant rising costs, putting the opening date of the site between the A1 and Spittlegate Level back to September 2025.

Rioja managing director Giles Membrey said: “We are moving the project forward. It’s slower than we probably would have liked but that’s the nature of the macro economic climate at the moment.”

The rise in interest rates has added £1 million to the build costs which are already over £96 million.

Mr Membrey said the build should take 20 months and construction should start in October/November.

He said he should be able to reveal the names of the brands which have signed for the village around September.

He said: “We have some good names, some big international brands. A lot of food and beverage as well. The usual international fashion brands.”

While Mr Membrey could not talk about specific brands, he said there would be similar brands to these found at the Designer Outlet West Midlands at Cannock which Rioja launched. These inlude Calvin Klein and Nike.

The Grantham shopping village will be built over two phases with the first phase opening with around 80 units and the second phase with 35 to 40 units. There are also plans for two hotels on the site which is expected to attract 3.5 million visitors per year.

Mr Membrey added: “We want to look at ways of pulling people into the site from the A1 because you have nearly 28 million car journeys every year passing the site so signage on the A1 will be very important.

“The idea in phase 2 is to create a very large EV charging centre. In phase 1 we have about 30 EV spaces, but in phase 2 we are looking to extend that to about 200. I think it will help create a centre for the Midlands and give people a reason to come off the A1. From talking to the Highways Agency there aren’t many charging centres around the Midlands at the moment. Something like this will be a big plus to the area. If they put their car on charge for 30 minutes they can pop in for a coffee or do some shopping while they wait.”

Mr Membrey also said that a regular dedicated bus service would be put on between the town centre and the outlet not only for shoppers but also employees. The shopping village is expected to create between 1,200 and 1,500 jobs, many of them local.

Mr Membrey said: “With those numbers of employees you do not want people coming by car. There would be no space for the customers. We have to try and find ways of encouraging people to come by public transport and therefore we really do need to provide that dedicated bus service from the railway station and the town centre. That also means that people can go from the shopping village into the town centre which is a good thing.

“The council will also need to work with us to make a reason for the customers to come into the town.

“We were looking to try and start last year but with the war, Putin, Covid and everything else it has delayed things a bit. But better to get it right and delay it than rush something through. You need to have a certain degree of patience as a developer.”

Mr Membrey said plans by Grantham Downtown for its own designer outlet village had been a ‘frustration’ but he said Rioja has ‘just got on with it’.

He said there was no room for two outlets so close together on the A1.