Inside shopping centre with just ONE store left: Frozen grocery chain Farmfoods is all that remains in a once thriving retail site in Bristol that has turned into boarded up wasteland after more than 20 years of decline
- St Catherine’s Place in Bedminster has been in constant decline for two decades
- All that remains is empty streets with by boarded-up windows and old posters
A shopping centre in Bristol has become a ghost town with just one store remaining open inside after an Iceland supermarket closed down last month.
St Catherine’s Place in Bedminster has been in a slow and constant decline for two decades and all that now remains inside is a solitary Farm Foods shop.
An Iceland store closed its door for a final time in March, immediately halving the number of active shops at the site.
Five years ago, there were only half a dozen stores left, while just three shops remained open in 2020.
The future of the shopping centre remains in doubt amid plans for an extensive renovation of the site that would include a large block of flats built alongside it as part of a new Bedminster Green regeneration area.
The St Catherine’s Place Shopping Centre on East Street in Bedminster has become a ghosttown with only one store remaining open
St Catherine’s Place in Bedminster has been in a slow and constant decline for two decades and all that now remains inside is a solitary Farm Foods shop
An Iceland store closed its door for a final time in March, immediately halving the number of active stores at the site
Planning permission was granted by the council two years ago, but it appears nothing has happened since, BristolLive reports.
All that remains now is empty streets surrounded by boarded-up shop windows and old posters.
Some street art even cropped up on the centre’s roof, surrounded by worn paint and dirty walls.
Despite the shopping centre having two floors, pedestrians now only appear to use the site as a shortcut through the area.
The main entrance to St Catherine’s Place is on East Street, which is Bristol’s largest retail area outside of the city centre.
But it has suffered years of decline, with some big names including Argos and Bonmarche having moved out.
However, there are signs that things are on the up in East Street, even while St Catherine’s continues to decline.
The shopping centre in South Bristol has seen a long, slow decline over the past ten or 20 years
Despite the shopping centre having two floors, pedestrians now only appear to use the site as a shortcut through the area
An increasing number of independent stores and businesses are opening up in East Street, lured by the empty units, cheaper rent, council incentives and the longer-term promise of the regeneration of Bedminster.
But there remain plans to refurbish, regenerate or even rebuild St Catherine’s Place.
Work is already underway on huge student accommodation blocks and a 17-storey block of flats next door.
