Explore the deserted Festival Park in Ebbw Vale, a UK shopping center struggling after major retailers departed.
Explore the deserted Festival Park in Ebbw Vale, a UK shopping center struggling after major retailers departed.
Ebbw Vale’s Ghost Shopping Centre Empty After Big Brand Exits
Big names like M&S left, along with Nike and Costa. Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Gap also departed. Prince Charles opened it in 1992 with others at a cost of £18 million. Now it’s a shadow of its former self.
The government used taxpayer money to build it as part of a plan for struggling areas. Mercia Real Estate Ltd bought it in 2021. Their plan is to transform it into an industrial park.
Knight Frank will find businesses for the new center. There will be a gym and a nursery serving workers and residents. Redevelopment and quick leases attract business.
Mercia Real Estate thinks the park will attract businesses with unit sizes suitable for small businesses. These businesses can grow without needing to leave the site.
A shopper recalled it being amazing at first, with long lines and a great feeling. It had a fairground and a talking clock. Now it’s like a ghost town, and she feels taxpayer money was wasted.
Locals blamed poor planning and a lack of investment. Kim Maguire, who owned a gift shop there, moved it to the high street. Customers miss the old shopping center, and she finds it surreal even now.
The closure was sad for her business and for the whole community. Former shop owner Kelvin Morgan is also sad, remembering it when it was beautiful.
Big names like M&S left, along with Nike and Costa. Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Gap also departed. Prince Charles opened it in 1992 with others at a cost of £18 million. Now it’s a shadow of its former self.
The government used taxpayer money to build it as part of a plan for struggling areas. Mercia Real Estate Ltd bought it in 2021. Their plan is to transform it into an industrial park.
Knight Frank will find businesses for the new center. There will be a gym and a nursery serving workers and residents. Redevelopment and quick leases attract business.
Mercia Real Estate thinks the park will attract businesses with unit sizes suitable for small businesses. These businesses can grow without needing to leave the site.
A shopper recalled it being amazing at first, with long lines and a great feeling. It had a fairground and a talking clock. Now it’s like a ghost town, and she feels taxpayer money was wasted.
Locals blamed poor planning and a lack of investment. Kim Maguire, who owned a gift shop there, moved it to the high street. Customers miss the old shopping center, and she finds it surreal even now.
The closure was sad for her business and for the whole community. Former shop owner Kelvin Morgan is also sad, remembering it when it was beautiful.