Restaurant group leads the way as shopping centre rescue bid begins

RENT-FREE UNITS TO ENTICE NEW TRADERS

THE owners of a Newcastle shopping centre which faced closure say plans to breathe new life into the centre are now under way, following crunch talks with council bosses.

Earlier this year Peer Group said its major city centre asset Eldon Garden was running on borrowed time, with just a handful of commercial operators left in it and the centre more than 85% empty.

The group blamed the centre’s decline in part on decisions by Newcastle City Council which it said made it harder for shoppers to use the Eldon Garden car park, which have since been exacerbated by the recession and a crisis in the retail sector which has seen high streets around the country battle to survive.

Now, however, following a meeting with council leader Nick Forbes and chief executive Pat Ritchie to discuss a rescue plan, the group has embarked on a strategy to entice new retailers by offering units rentfree for around a year.

And the strategy is already bearing fruit with Peer Group managing director Howard Dawson announcing that popular North East restaurant operator Sambuca will open in the centre before Christmas.

Mr Dawson also plans to see the centre back to full occupancy next summer, with a number of potential tenants being targeted alongside a call out for interested businesses to make themselves known.

Mr Dawson said: “We definitely see this as a fresh start for Eldon Garden.

“We have got the conviction and enthusiasm to get it going again and want to get the message out that the centre is open for business.

“I met with the leader of the council Nick Forbes and the chief executive Pat Ritchie and went through the history with them, and to ask them to work with us to create something that’s of value to Newcastle,