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Twelve months since Debenhams closed
12/05/2022
The changing face of the Castle Quay shopping centre
Its twelve months today since Debenhams at the Castle Quay Shopping Centre closed its doors for the final time. The Banbury store was one of 49 around the country that ceased trading after the company went into administration.
Debenham’s was the third big name retailer to be lost from the centre in recent years, following in the footsteps of BHS and Marks and Spencer, although M&S have retained a presence in the town at Banbury Gateway.
In difficult trading conditions, not helped by the pandemic, Castle Quay also lost H&M and Gap.
Work continues developing the new Castle Quay Waterside area. The complex’s new cinema The Light was originally due to open this Easter. Confirmed food outlets include Nandos, and Pizza Express, who will relocate from their current home at the top of Banbury High Street.
Back in the main shopping centre planning permission was recently granted to allow the upstairs area of the old M&S unit to be converted into a new library for the town.
Space in the old Debenhams store is currently being used by the volunteers who are collecting and distributing humanitarian aid for the people of Ukraine.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam
Lee On 12/05/2022 at 7:20 pm
I think what the council did in buying the shopping center and building the expansion is the best thing for the town in the long term..if the shopping center had closed we wouldn’t have had any shops! The extension will bring people into the town and what needs to happen is for them to be in entivised to cross the canal into the shopping center and the high street. I would make the town free parking…other close by towns have free parking and we don’t want people going there because of that. I also think that community resources like the library are a fantastic idea…why pay to maintain two buildings when you only have to pay for one. Don’t get me wrong there is a lot the council do that I don’t agree with but thus far they have been bang on with the shopping center. Let’s see an out of hours GP in there and maybe a (free) gaming arcade to keep kids occupied and not roaming the streets