Eastgate Shopping Centre, in the heart of Inverness, has made the decision to further improve facilities by adding a new level to the complex, which will house an eight screen cinema along with several restaurants, it has been announced.
At present, the site covers around 320,000 square feet in the city centre, but this could be increased by around a third under the expansion plans. Furthermore, the expansion will create jobs for an estimated 120 new employees – joining the 800 existing members of staff – without including the number of jobs required to fulfil the construction criteria.
According to owner F&C REIT’s asset manager, Spencer Gower, the expansion is a necessary part of Inverness’ attempt to adapt to modern shopping trends and lift tourism revenues as a result.
He says; “The face of shopping centres are changing.
“With so many people shopping online it is important that centres have a fusion of retail and leisure to attract customers.
“The visitor experience is becoming more and more important particularly in Inverness where tourism is so important.”
While no sum has yet been revealed regarding the cost of the project it is expected that the figure could stretch well into seven figures. However, F&C REIT has claimed that it has already received significant levels of interest from restaurant and leisure chains keen to fill the extra units which would be created.
Assuming planning permission, the application for which was lodged with the Highland Council earlier this week, is granted work on the site could potentially get underway within the next few months. And with the Highlands becoming increasingly popular with visitors from across the world, the sooner the project is completed the more benefits will be reaped by Inverness’ local economy.
Do you think this proves that all shopping centre operators are under pressure to continually improve their offering, or is this a good opportunity to capitalise on the Highland tourism boom?
