Port Arcades owner promises investment ‘in the millions’ for shopping centre

The firm that owns The Port Arcades has promised investment “in the millions” for the struggling shopping centre — including the demolition of one of Ellesmere Port town centre’s “troubled” buildings. Blackburn-based Adhan Group purchased the lease of the shopping centre from Cheshire West and Chester Council prior to a 2020 auction.

Plans include a cosmetic “overhaul”, rent-free deals intended to attract new tenants, and the demolition of the vacant former B&M Bargains building, mooted since the arrival of the firm in 2020. Half the units in the shopping centre are currently vacant and the PA system is broken.

“At the minute, why would anyone want to have a shop here?” Said David Holt, Redevelopment Director for Adhan Group. “But, as soon as they see someone else is investing in the place, it should start moving pretty quickly.”

READ MORE: Work begins on multi-million pound Ellesmere Port Market revamp | Some traders have been temporarily relocated while several parking spaces outside the main entrance are out of use

READ: New Ellesmere Port market: Can the multi-million pound scheme help revitalise the town? Obvious comparisons are drawn with the new market in Chester – but does everyone agree it’s what the town needs?

David promises a “substantial investment” in the Port Arcades, saying “it will be in the millions” and completed by Christmas, though a definitive figure for the planned redevelopment has not been set. Outlining his plans to CheshireLive, he said: “Cosmetically it will have an overhaul, both internally and externally. We’ve going to have a new lighting scheme and quite a lot of modifications inside the mall itself.

“I’m looking to remove the troubled B&M Bargains building completely,” said David, saying he plans to turn the area into a communal space, with pop-up pubs and cafés on Marina Walk. He also plans for the area to be entirely pedestrianised.

David says he is in talks with the Canal and River Trust with regards to having a boat from the National Waterways Museum suspended from the roof of the Arcades, and that the building will be given a new colour scheme tying in with the Flea Market’s, based on Vauxhall’s 1970s palette. He adds that he wants to involve the Boat Museum with a themed café within the Arcades.

Outside, David says the shop fronts will be “tidied up” and background music installed. He adds: “Between the shops — it won’t quite be Carnaby Street — but it’s my intention for us to be able to hang things between the streets so we have that visual impact.”

He added: “It’s not a two-minute paint job. I’m hoping that we can get it done for later this year.”

David is hoping to attract new tenants to the Arcades with deals for those who want to set up shop. He said: “We’re at about fifty per cent occupancy. I’ve had a few meetings today with potential tenants, and because we’re investing in it, we are looking at maybe rent-free deals, or potentially contributing towards a shop fit. We are very much in this for the long haul.

“For me, it’s lacking quite a lot in small shops, something as simple as a sandwich shop. There’s are 1,000 people that go through that place everyday. Next door to that would lend itself to a café.

“There’s a lack of bars around here and places to socialise; there’s a lack of children’s entertainment around here and places people can go with the kids. We need to create a community feel here.

“We need to get the community back in, get tenants in, and get the place buzzing again.”

David says he hopes this project can build on improvements to the Market that got underway last month. He added: “I think the difference between now and times in the past is that we’ve got some money to do it and levelling-up should hopefully work with it. If it doesn’t work now, I can’t think of a time it would work.”

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