Shopping centre gets into its stride with £20m investment

THE OWNERS of a Hull shopping centre will be investing millions of pounds into a new pedestrian walkway to link up with a state-of-the-art, music and events complex with up to 3,500 seats.

It follows the £20m which has been spent on a new outlet level, which opened yesterday at Princes Quay shopping centre, in Hull city centre.

Queues formed outside the flagship Next Outlet store, which is offering a 75 per cent discount over the opening few days, as shoppers took their first look round the new-look third floor.

Eight other stores have already opened including Ben Sherman, Julian Charles and Sole Trader, with others including Trespass, Bench and Graham & Brown to follow.

Head of centre management Ray Cliff, pictured, said it was the first “hybrid” centre in the UK to have both high street and retail under one roof.

“Shoppers will have more choice on their doorstep rather than having to travel to York or Castleford. People love a bargain, particularly in Hull.” Princes Quay has been in the doldrums in recent years. Mr Cliff said: “There were a lot of empty units and we had to do something different. The centre is 26 years old and until recently there hadn’t been a lot of investment.”

Mr Cliff said Hull Council’s decision to build the £36m Venue – which will be on a par size-wise with other UK concert halls, such as Manchester’s O2 Apollo, next door – was “massive.”

The Venue, which will be operated by SMG Europe, is currently under construction and is due to open next year. “Food will become much stronger and a much more popular proposition when it opens, before and after shows,” said Mr Cliff. “The very bottom level where we are putting the new pedestrian link is where we will focus most of the new restaurants. When we pressed the button on this investment we knew what was coming; it all made sense.”

Since the start of City of Culture year, footfall is up 20 per cent. “Although we don’t get specific turnover information, retailers are all reporting good doubledigit growth in sales. There is a positive mood in the whole of the centre,” he added.