Rushmere Shopping Centre (formerly known as the Craigavon Shopping Centre or the Craigavon Centre) is a shopping centre and retail park in Craigavon, County Armagh, Northern Ireland.
 | |
| Location | Craigavon, County Armagh, Northern Ireland |
|---|---|
| Opening date | 21 September 1976 |
| Owner | Killahoey Ltd |
| No. of stores and services | 65 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 1 |
| Total retail floor area | 480,000 sq ft |
| Website | https://www.rushmereshopping.com |
Opened in 1976, the centre is the one of the oldest and the third largest shopping centre in Northern Ireland, behind Belfast's Victoria Square and Derry's Foyleside, at over 350,000 sq ft, although combined with the retail park makes it over 480,000 sq ft.[1] The anchor tenant of the centre is Primark, while the retail park's anchors are Homebase and Matalan.[2][1]
History
editOn 21 September 1976, Rushmere opened to the public as the Craigavon Shopping Centre, and the anchor tenants were Dunnes Stores and Crazy Prices along with stores such as Marley Homecare and Eason.
In 1998, the Craigavon Shopping Centre reopened as Rushmere as part of a major expansion which saw a Sainsbury's store open.[3] The site was expanded again in 2004 with Debenhams opening as the main tenant in a 150,000 sq ft extension of the centre, and again in 2018 with Nando's and Five Guys opening.[4][5]
During the early 2020s, Rushmere had a major drop in footfall and tenants resulting in the closures of Topshop, Five Guys, Dorothy Perkins/Burton, Debenhams and Sainsbury's, this was mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, the company behind Rushmere, Central Craigavon Ltd was placed into administration, Killahoey Ltd bought the struggling shopping centre from the company later in 2023.[6] In the same year, Primark opened on the ground floor of the former Debenhams.[2]
In 2023, Rushmere began a redevelopment scheme to enhance the shopping experience, with a complete facelift to the centre, new stores and a subdivision of the former Sainsbury's supermarket into multiple stores being planned, set to be finished by December 2024.[7] A new Lidl supermarket is also planned.[8][9][10]
References
edit- ^ a b "About Us | Rushmere Shopping Centre". 2022-04-26. Retrieved 2024-08-10.
- ^ a b "Doors open at new Primark store in Rushmere Shopping Centre - Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council". 2022-12-16. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
- ^ Morton, Robin (10 March 1998). "Sainsbury pays over £1m for drink licence". Belfast Telegraph.
- ^ "Development round-up". Estates Gazette. 2 October 2004.
The 150,000 sq ft extension to the centre will open on 21 October, taking the centre's total size to 450,000 sq ft. The centre, which has a capital value of £95m, provides a mix of mall shopping and a retail park with free parking.... The extension, will house anchor tenant Debenhams in a 82,000 sq ft store and further 12 stores.
- ^ "Nando's and Five Guys opens in Northern Ireland shopping centre". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. 2018-09-28. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-08-10.
- ^ "Craigavon's Rushmere shopping centre sold to Killahoey Ltd". BBC News. 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
- ^ "Rushmere: £10m redevelopment of retail centre reaches milestone". The Irish News. 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
- ^ "Plans submitted for new Lidl store next to Rushmere Shopping Centre". Armagh I. 2024-02-12. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ "Thirty jobs in pipeline as JD Sports set to triple in size at Rushmere Shopping Centre". Armagh I. 2024-03-25. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ "Rushmere owners launch bid to revive former Sainsbury's unit with six shops and restaurants". The Irish News. 2024-06-18. Retrieved 2024-06-18.