ISG has been awarded a contract by Aviva Investors to develop a series of restaurants at the Guildhall shopping centre in Exeter.

The £12 million project involves redeveloping the 36,500 sq ft Queen Street site into a dining quarter.

ISG will install piled foundations to support a two-storey steel frame structure which will house the restaurant facilities.

The company will also strip out and reconfigure an existing concrete framed retail unit to extend the building by a further storey and form a roof top terraced area.

Aviva also plans to create three public square areas.

The spaces will be upgraded with ISG reconfiguring the existing landscaping design, installing a granite surface with amphitheatre-style seating steps.

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Two pedestrian link bridges will also be installed to enhance accessibility to the dining quarter.

The development will take place while the shopping centre and public realm space remains open.

The project was designed by architects BDP.

Simon Green, Associate Director of Aviva Investors, said: "We at Aviva Investors are really delighted to have formally signed contacts with our partners ISG so work can now fully commence on creating Exeter's new dining quarter at Queen St.

"With the early preparatory works complete, people will start to notice the transformation taking place with the arrival of the full ISG team along with cranes and other equipment, all whilst ensuring shoppers can still fully enjoy visiting the shopping centre."

ISG's Western Regional Managing Director, Rob Martin, said: "Our latest project for Aviva Investors will transform and reinvigorate this important cultural area in central Exeter.

"The scheme brings real cohesion to this busy location, creating a dining destination that unifies the historic and modern built environment at Queen Street.

"This is a keynote regeneration project and we’re delighted to be playing an important role delivering such an exciting vision for Exeter’s future."

(LM/MH)