Iconic shopping centre loved in the 90s shuts its doors for the final time as workers sob ‘it feels like a death’
DEVASTATED workers cry “it feels like a death” after an iconic shopping centre finally closes its doors.
The 52-unit centre has gradually declined since it opened in the 90s but shoppers are still gutted to see it go.
Connswater Shopping Centre in east Belfast shuttered yesterday leaving 20 tenants forced to relocate.
Boots worker Sheelagh Gray, who has worked in the venue for 26 years said staff were grieving the loss of their beloved center.
She told BBC: “It feels like a death.”
The 1993 shopping centre has served east Belfast for more than 40 years and was once revered shopping hotspot.
Footballer George Best made a guest visit in 1984 and even then Prime Minister Tony Blair strolled round the centre in 1997.
Unfortunately, footfall began to drop in the once bustling retail hub leading to its disappointing demise this week.
The remaining 20 tenants that stuck it out until the end, which include Boots, New Look, Poundland, and Claire’s Accessories, were eventually given notice to vacate.
Store manager of the Semichem store Leighann Holden and her team were unexpectedly delighted when a customer gave them a little leaving gift.
A loyal shopper bought them all a takeaway lunch on their final day which added to the already emotional goodbyes.
Leighann said: “We’ve had a few tears. This is the end of an era.”
Another store, Relish cafe, received so many goodbye cards and gifts the staff said they lost count.
Signs placed in shop windows marked the closure offering shoppers huge discounts and closing down sales.
Poundland even knocked off 50 per cent off of the price of their remaining stock during the final days.
Connswater, owned by Killultagh Estates, shut at 6pm yesterday and all the business owners are feeling the impact of the closure.
The chairman of the East Belfast Men’s Shed John Lemon said the group couldn’t believe the news when it broke.
With 27 members who are all pensioners, he raised concerns that they would have nowhere else to go.
Thankfully the collective managed to find another place to host their meet-ups at Beersbridge Road Elim Church, however this is only until June.
The head of operations and artistic direction at charity Arts Care Stephanie McKervill was frustrated that the organisation had invested money into site.
They had only just set up shop, being at Connswater for just over a year, and spent £400,000 on the move.
Stephanie said they had hoped to be there for at least three to five years but this dream was dashed.
Arts Care, which has a creative space, has since had to postpone the next exhibition.
Similarly, the chief executive of the Strand Arts Centre Mimi Turtle splashed out £15,000 to fit out their space with a mini-box office, screening room and workshop space.
Now they’re facing a similar payment in the next place.
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun’s business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs from April 2025, will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Carpetright, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Paperchase, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, Topshop and Wilko to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.