The Crown Estate has committed to fund the development of the £140m Rushden Lakes shopping and leisure scheme at Rushden, Northamptonshire, after purchasing the site from existing owner, LXB Retail Properties PLC.

Works will commence for the first phase of the Rushden Lakes development towards the end of 2015, creating around 400,000 sq ft of new retail and restaurant accommodation.

The scheme also includes a lake, which will be made available for activities like canoeing and wakeboarding, with a series of restaurants and a visitor centre looking out over the water.

Hannah Milne, Regional Portfolio Manager, said: "Rushden Lakes will be the first in a new generation of shopping parks, setting an entirely new standard for the retail and leisure experience offered by assets of this type. We will see occupiers coming to Rushden Lakes that have never traded out of town before, demonstrating the quality of the scheme."

LXB, which took the scheme through planning, gaining consent from East Northamptonshire District Council in 2012, will develop Rushden Lakes. This includes two areas adjacent to the main scheme which could represent future phases of development. LXB and The Crown Estate are considering options for the development of these sites.

Jon McCarthy, LXB Adviser LLP, said: "As a concept, Rushden Lakes challenges the industry norm and today's announcement confirms
the strength of our long held belief in the scheme. This project has had strong and unwavering local support for which we have always been grateful. We look forward to delivering this innovative retail and leisure scheme for The Crown Estate and continue to work with East Northamptonshire Council to deliver the development plans"

Occupiers already signed up to take space at Rushden Lakes include H&M, Costa and M&S, with development on site expected to start in autumn 2015 and project completion set for the summer of 2016.