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The Quays Shopping Centre

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The Quays Shopping Centre
The Quays Shopping Centre logo
The Quays exterior
LocationNewry, County Down,
Northern Ireland
Opening dateOctober 1998
DeveloperParker Green International
OwnerUrban Green Private
No. of stores and services55
No. of anchor tenants3
Websitewww.thequays.co.uk

The Quays Shopping Centre (or The Quays Newry) is a major retail and leisure centre situated in Newry, County Armagh and is one of Northern Ireland's top shopping destinations with its anchor tenants being Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer. The centre also contains a 10 screen cinema operated by Omniplex Cinemas, a 24 hour gym operated by PureGym and over 1,000 car parking spaces.

History

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The Sainsbury's store opened in October 1998, while the rest of the centre opened in 1999.[1] The Quays was constructed on the site of the old coal yards which served the Albert Basin. An old warehouse, which was part of these yards was incorporated into the centre and is now used as office and retail space.

Roches Stores opened their first store in Northern Ireland in the centre in 1999, but this store was closed in February 2003 to make way for a new Debenhams store next to it which opened in October 2004, and later closed in 2021. The former Roches space became more shops.[2]

In February 2018, Marks & Spencer relocated from the Buttercrane Centre to The Quays where a new 30,000 sq ft store was built on the site of the old Sainsbury's filling station. In the same year, owner Parker Green International sold off the centre.[3][4]

During the 2020s, The Quays has lost most of its tenants due to declining footfall and the COVID-19 pandemic, it went into receivership in 2022.

In September 2023, Domino's announced that they are planning to open a restaurant in the new part of the shopping centre in 2024.[5]

In January 2024, it was announced that Urban Green Private would buy the shopping centre and Drumalane Mill, Urban Green also owns the Marina Market and the former Our Lady's Hospital in Cork, among other properties.[6][7]

Cross-border shopping

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The centre has experienced shoppers from the Republic of Ireland, who cross the border to Newry to buy cheaper goods due to difference in currency. This remarkable increase in cross-border trade has become so widespread that it has lent its name to a general phenomenon known as the Newry effect.[8]

Tenants

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Main area (opened in 1999, expanded in 2004)

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Outside area (opened in 1999, expanded in 2017)

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Former tenants

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Main area (opened in 1999, expanded in 2004)

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References

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  1. ^ "North meets South over the shop counters at the Quays". The Irish Times. 24 March 1999.
  2. ^ "Debenhams' proposed Newry branch will create 230 jobs". 4ni.co.uk. 5 December 2002. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  3. ^ "M&S opens new Newry store". The Irish News. 2 February 2018.
  4. ^ "End of an era as developer O'Hare sells Quays Shopping centre". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. 13 March 2018. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  5. ^ McKenna, Micheal (16 September 2023). "Domino's cooking up plans for new restaurant at Newry shopping centre". Armagh I. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Buyer found for Belfast's £7m ETAP Hotel, with deals close for Bloomfield and The Quays shopping centres". The Irish News. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Quays Shopping Centre, Newry bought for under £17m by Cork businessman". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. 5 February 2024. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Cross-border shopping can keep the euro in your pocket". Irish Independent. 30 November 2008.
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