Developers behind Rushden Lakes buy extra piece of land next to site

LXB, the developer behind the £140 million scheme, has secured a deal to buy a small piece of land next to the former Skew Bridge site just off the A45 at Rushden.

It has bought the land from East Northamptonshire Council, although it has not yet been disclosed what the additional space will be used for.

A spokesman for the council said: “East Northamptonshire Council owned this piece of land for many years and it was managed by the Wildlife Trust through a management agreement.

“LXB approached us to ask if they could buy a small portion of the land and following conversations with them and the Wildlife Trust, we agreed to the sale, subject to wildlife surveys and public consultation.

“It was confirmed that sale of this piece of land would have no detrimental effect on the wildlife and no comments were received via the consultation.

“The sale was agreed and LXB has not yet specified how they intend to use the land.

“There is a new lease agreement in place between ENC and the Wildlife Trust and they will continue to manage the wetlands known as Ditchford Lakes.”

The Northants Telegraph approached LXB to see if they would like to comment on the piece of land they have bought, but they declined.

Once the scheme is finished, the 244-acre site will boast names such as H&M, Primark, New Look, River Island, Joules, L’Occitane, Jigsaw, Phase Eight, Clarks, Tiger and Costa Coffee as well as numerous restaurants.

The first phase of the major development is due to open next Spring, with attention then turning to the second phase which includes the cinema.

The leisure and tourism destination is expected to create about 2,500 jobs.