The Buttermarket

The rear of the The Buttermarket showing the car park entrance

The Buttermarket is a four-level, £65 million shopping centre located in the centre of Ipswich, England. The Buttermarket was opened on 1 October 1992, comprising 270,000 square feet (25,000 m2) over four levels. There is also a 430-space underground car park covering two levels under the shopping centre. There is also access from the car park to the shopping centre via lifts and stairs. The anchor stores (upon opening) were Owen Owen and C&A, however TK Max is now the anchor store comprising 120,000 square feet (11,000 m2) of floor space.[1] The shopping has 32 retail units including Boots, Starbucks and Julian Graves.[2]

Closures

When Alders closed and left The Buttermarket in 2005, the shopping centre has had vacant space ever since. The large food court has been closed since 2008, despite some outlets opening they have closed shortly after.[3] Starbucks are set to close on March the 19th. [4]

Recent Investment

In 2012 the national cinema chain, Vue Cinemas, was granted permission by Ipswich Borough Council to convert the 2 storey shopping centre into a cinema. Their vision for the coversion was to convert the ground floor into a 9 screen cinema with retail outlets on the upper floor. However, in February 2015, Vue Cinemas withdrew plans but did not give an answer to why.[5]

In March 2015 was bought by Capital & Regional and Drum Property Group for £9.2 million.[6] The group venture called Buttermarket Ipswich Ltd will see the creation of a 16 screen cinema plus 6 restaurants. [7]

References

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