Britain's 'worst' shopping centre that declined into deserted ghost town with rows of boarded-up shops finally closes down for good
A shopping centre dubbed Britain's worst has finally closed after losing more than 40 stores.
The Festival Park shopping centre in Ebbw Vale, South Wales, was opened to much excitement in 1992, with Prince Charles, Dannie Minogue and Catherine Zeta-Jones all in attendance.
It was at the heart of the Government's National Garden Festivals and would welcome thousands of shoppers eager to see its 'beautiful' flower gardens and stores.
But over the years The Festival Park, which was built with taxpayers' money, suffered such a stark decline that it became known as a 'ghost town' considered to be the country's worst.
In recent times, it had been lined with rows of empty stores after a host of outlets including M&S, Nike, Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Costa and Gap shut up shop.
In fact, the centre's struggles became so severe that, in the end, it was left with just one solitary Sports Direct chain after independent shop owners too moved out in a retail slump.
The centre is now set to be transformed into an industrial park by Birmingham-based owners Mercia Real Estate ltd, who have remodeled the site they purchased in 2021.
But despite the decline of The Festival Park, shoppers and former store owners have said they are 'bitterly disappointed' to see it go.
The Festival Park in Ebbw Vale, Wales, saw such a decline that more than 40 stores both independent and national left its premises
The shopping centre had been described as a 'ghost town' which could be helped by a 'zombie apocalypse'
As it neared its close, the shopping centre was home to just one solitary store - a Sports Direct chain (pictured)
When the centre officially closed a little over a year ago, shopper Megan Woods, 59, said: 'It was amazing then (when it opened) - long queues to get in and a real buzz. It had its own fairground and even a talking moving clock. But now it is more like a zombie-land with no one here.
'Something has gone very wrong somewhere that all that investment of taxpayers money was wasted. It was getting bad before the pandemic but now it is just ridiculous.'
Shop owner Kim Maguire, who moved out of the centre to the local High Street, described it's closure as a 'sad day'.
'I still regularly hear from customers about how much they miss Festival Park though, and how shocked they all are at what has happened to it over the last few years,' she said.
'It still feels quite surreal to be honest, even now a year down the line.
'It was a sad day when it closed for me as a business and for the community as a whole. Everyone who worked there misses it as well, though we are now in a larger shop further towards the centre of town.'
The centre was opened to much excitement in 1992 with Prince Charles, Dannii Minogue and Catherine Zeta-Jones in attendance
Shop owner Kim Maguire, who moved out of the centre to the local High Street, described it's closure as a 'sad day'
Birmingham-based owners of the site, Mercia Real Estate, are turning it into a new business centre
The new centre is planned to be home to 39 industrial sites for trade counter and storage purposes
Other locals described the shopping centre as 'like a ghost town' in recent years.
Developers hope the future of the The Festival Park will be bright, however, with a new business centre at the site set to be home to 39 industrial units for trade counter and storage purposes.
There are too plans for a gym operator and a nursery for the occupiers of the units and residents in the area.
After being granted planning permission to begin change last year, Mercia Real Estate appointed global property consultancy company Frank Knight to attract tenants to the new industrial park.
Neil Francis, head of Knight Frank’s industrial and logistics division in Wales, said: 'The imaginative redevelopment of the Festival Park site, coupled with a willingness by the owners to be able to agree leases within a matter of weeks, will be an attractive proposition to local and national businesses.'
Samuel Clark, chief executive officer of Mercia Real Estate, said: 'We are confident that the much-needed redevelopment of Festival Park will be an attractive proposition to new and existing businesses, and will provide a range of unit sizes to enable successful small businesses to expand over time without ever needing to leave the site to find larger premises.'
The Festival Park isn't the only British shopping centre to have slipped into a dramatic decline, however.
Riverside Shopping Centre in Evesham is another stark reminder of the struggles of the British retail industry
Described as a 'disaster,' the disused shopping centre is lined with litter, discarded condoms and is almost completely empty
Picture the scene: it's four days until Christmas and the six-story car park at Evesham's Riverside Shopping Centre appears deserted
Evesham's Riverside Shopping Centre is a prime example - so much so, that just six days before Christmas last year its six-story car park was completely empty.
Described as a 'disaster,' the disused shopping centre is lined with litter, discarded condoms and is almost completely empty.
One local Sherrin Annis, 76, said: 'I've lived in Evesham for 72 years,' she said, 'and it's very, very sad. This place is an absolute disaster.
'You can't even use the toilets anymore. They've locked them up. It's an embarrassment for the town.'
Of over 40 units in the centre, just three are still open.
