Exciting plans unveiled for Carryduff shopping centre

Exciting plans unveiled for Carryduff shopping centre

22 June 2016

AMBITIOUS plans have been unveiled to redevelop the struggling Carryduff shopping centre.

Plans for a modern new shopping complex featuring a supermarket, nine retail outlets, 28 apartments and car parking went on public display last week.

The development proposal is viewed as a catalyst which could put the heart back into Carryduff and transform the Moss Road site where the current centre has been in decline over recent years.

The redevelopment plans are on public display at the Lough Moss Leisure Centre in Carryduff ahead of a 12-week consultation period. Causeway Asset Management, a company directed by property developer Paddy Kearney, is behind the ambitious scheme. Roisin Donnelly from the Carryduff Regeneration Forum said the ambitious plans “represent an opportunity for the town to be redeveloped.

She continued: ”The general feeling is that this is a step in the right direction, but that there needs to be more retail space. This is the only opportunity for Carryduff to get additional businesses and retail units within the centre of the town. We would also like to see some sort of public square within the plans, somewhere community groups could hold events. This really is an opportunity to change the face of Carryduff.”

DUP Lisburn and Castlereagh City councillor, Nathan Anderson, said he hoped the plans would “put the heart back into Carryduff” and is encouraging everyone living in the area to fully participate in the consultation process if they can.

“As long as the people are happy and we have a situation where there is sufficient retail and enough services for the people of Carryduff, it will be a good thing for the area,” he said. “The proposals are a good place to start and, hopefully, after the consultation process we will have a planning application that everybody will buy into.”

The once thriving centre hit turbulent times in 2013 when anchor tenant SuperValu moved out as a result of reduced footfall. As customer numbers continued to dwindle, the remaining shops also began to close. A planning application was submitted in July to demolish the centre.

Some businesses remain along the centre’s exterior units, including Winemark and a chip shop. However, part of the shopping centre’s roof has already been removed.