The closure of an East Belfast shopping centre has been a massive loss to the wider community in the area, with calls for the site to be redeveloped.
After over 40 years of operation and with just two weeks’ notice, on March 21, 2025, Connswater Shopping Centre closed its doors for the final time. The centre was placed into receivership due to issues including declining footfall and high vacancy rates, including the loss of anchor tenants.
In the year since its closure, the shopping centre remains derelict, with smashed windows and bricks lining the former car park a familiar sight. The area has been plagued by anti-social behaviour, and just last week four young people were detained by police for entering the premises.
READ MORE: Four young people detained as derelict Belfast shopping centre becomes anti-social behaviour hotspotREAD MORE: Connswater Shopping Centre: What happens to site following closure
Local representatives in the area are calling for the site to be redeveloped, to avoid it continuing to lie derelict. The surrounding retail park, including busy sites such as The Range and Lidl, remains open and operational.
Speaking to Belfast Live, DUP councillor for the area, Ruth Brooks, said: “When Connswater was closing, there was a discussion around how it got to the stage it did. It obviously lost its anchor tenant, and we’ve seen other shopping centres thrive.
“I don’t think it was a lack of willingness on behalf of the owners, they did try everything, but unfortunately it just wasn’t attracting the names that would generate income to keep the shopping centre going.
“The Range is still here beside the old shopping centre and does a good trade, then you have the rest of the retail park, where Cancer Research has taken the last unit, and it has really grown in the area.
“The conversation around where we go, what uses are still for retail in the area, but how we adapt to the needs of the area is a really important conversation that’s ongoing.”
“It was like a daycare facility for older people – they have nowhere to go now”
When Connswater closed, the 162,000 sq ft centre with 52 units had only 20 commercial tenants remaining. Many of the vacant units were being used by charities and community arts groups, giving the shopping centre a new life as a sort of community hub.
Ruth Brooks said the closure announcement sent “shockwaves” through the local community. She added: “It was more than just a shopping centre and I think in its latter days, particularly the use of charities and community spaces, it meant a lot to the older community.
“There was a wee Translink bus that used to come down and the older people would potter around the shops, have a wee coffee, and see each other then get safely home. It’s been really sad to see that that community in particular has been displaced.”
Barry Macaulay is the CEO of Arts Care, an arts and health charity who were based in a unit at Connswater Shopping Centre for 18 months before it closed.
He said the charity spent around £40,000 in rehabilitating their unit, which included rewiring, putting heating in, as well as developing a dance studio and art gallery for their services.
Barry said they were hoping to spend at least three years at the shopping centre, unaware they would only get a few months.
“I understand business is business, but what really frustrates me is that we were never really told the centre was going to close in that period of time,” he explained.
“After spending all that money, with two weeks’ notice, we were told to get out and lost every penny of that. We’re a small charity, we can’t afford to throw £40,000 away. That really angers me.
“We have had no recompense. You can imagine the cost financially, but also the human cost to my staff, the stress of it. We lost a fantastic art gallery which we had vulnerable people coming into to do dances, that’s all gone.
“While we took a hit financially, we’ve regrouped. We weren’t going to let this destroy our organisation. We’ve been able to re-establish ourselves, but it was a traumatic time, and we’re still reeling from it.”
As for how the closure impacted the community who had been regular users of the centre, Barry said: “There were a number of particularly older gentlemen who would come to the centre, it was almost like a social outlet for them. They would come into our gallery and have a chat and a coffee.
“The centre was almost like a daycare facility for those lonely older people – a facility that just went away overnight.
“I remember meeting a few of them after the closure, and they said they had nowhere to go now. They don’t drive, and it would be impossible for them to walk to another shopping centre. So that was lost.
“There were five arts organisations and a men’s shed in a small centre. We had a couple of big festivals, and we were bringing footfall in and really building it as a community arts hub. It’s a massive loss to the local community.”
Anti-social behaviour hotspot
In the year since the former shopping centre closed, it has become a regular site for anti-social behaviour including criminal damage, with the front windows of the centre smashed up and boarded over.
Last week, four young people were detained for entering the derelict site. Ruth Brooks said those in the area want to see an end to such criminal behaviour.
She said: “There is fencing around the site, but that can’t be sustainable in the long-term, and certainly what people don’t want to see is the continued decline of a building just left to rot.
“We’re already dealing with a lot of dereliction and dilapidation on the Newtownards Road and we’re working through some of the challenges that building control or council have in dealing with those. So we certainly don’t want to see this continued.”
PSNI Neighbourhood Inspector Dawson said: “We are aware of ongoing issues of anti-social behaviour, including criminal damage at the derelict premises and continue to engage with residents and community representatives. Derelict buildings by their very nature can be unsafe and we do not want to see anyone being injured as a result of being inside.
“Young people who choose to engage in anti-social behaviour must understand it is unacceptable and must stop. People have a right to live in peace and to feel safe in their communities. Officers continue to work alongside partner agencies, local representatives and the community to find collaborative and proactive solutions to address the problem.
“Parents and guardians must speak to their young people about where they are and who they are with and also warn them of the dangers of getting involved in behaviour which could result in injuring themselves, others, or ultimately, a criminal record.”
Changing retail and housing need – What’s next for the site?
The closure of the shopping centre has opened up conversations regarding how retail in the area has changed, as well as shone a light on the need for more housing provision.
There have been no decisions regarding the future of the Connswater site, but ideas floated include a mixed-use retail and housing site.
On this issue, Ruth Brooks said: “The site’s closure has opened a conversation on how retail in the area has changed. You need to get the right balance and I think from coronavrius when we were seeing lots of offices being built, the conversation around what the workforce needs and what retail needs is ongoing, and we’re looking at the wider area.
“There’s also a conversation around the need for housing in the area as well. I think there are a number of options being looked at, but whatever is agreed, it needs to be futureproof.
“I think there is a need for housing of some description. Obviously the high street and retail model that has been floated in other areas does have its benefits. You continue then to have small independent retail units that do support the community.
“If you get the right mix where they are supporting each other, and you do have footfall from people who don’t have to go a great distance to come there, with the likes of housing mixed with retail, that would be my personal preference. To have a better balance that is well thought out.”
Barry Macaulay agrees on the preference for a mixed housing and retail site, but added that a community aspect needs to be added into the wider mix.
“I wouldn’t like to see it just be levelled for housing,” he explained. “I think the community there still needs more, whether it’s some form of retail, maybe not the big shopping centre, but maybe smaller retail units in and around a village square type of idea.
“It would be good to see some sort of community hall there too, a facility the likes of us and other organisations could avail of. I would just hate to see the site being developed into housing alone, that would be a loss to the community.”
Video by Belfast Live videographer Justin Kernoghan.
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