Businesses in Belfast mall tell of anger at way announcement of closure has been handled
The news on Friday morning was described as a “sad day for East Belfast” by local MP Gavin Robinson
The 20 remaining commercial tenants in the centre, which opened in 1983, were informed it would be shutting in a fortnight.
A senior manager of one charity with a lease at Connswater said it was a “huge, huge shock”.
The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Belfast Telegraph two letters confirming the closure were sent within minutes of each other on Friday morning.
She said: “We are disappointed with how the communication has been handled. To find out, as a tenant, that the very swift closure of the centre is expected on the same day that they made a public announcement is hugely disappointing.”
The charity uses its space to meet with its users, and has invested £20,000 in making it “safe and welcoming”.
She added: “As a charity, we worked very hard to raise that money. To have to relocate with no notice will significantly impact our financial viability.
“I will be meeting with our board and staff next week. It’s a Friday, which is a very unfortunate day, when a number of part-time staff aren’t officially in work. It will be next week before I have an opportunity to look at next steps.
“It will be very costly to any charity to have to relocate, and it will significantly impact our ability to deliver services to our users. We’re a very small team, and we would be unable to deliver a regular programme of activity.
“We need to relocate our premises, our office staff. All of our official registered addresses are registered to Connswater — it is a huge bureaucratic and logistical issue to deal with.”
She added she had “concerns” about whether the way the closure news was communicated fulfilled the terms of the lease.
Connswater Shopping Centre opened in 1983 (David Young/PA)
Strand Arts Centre, which temporarily relocated to Connswater while its Belmont Road home is being refurbished, posted on Instagram: “Like many of you, we only found out this morning that the landlord plans to close Connswater in just two weeks’ time. Whether this will happen remains uncertain.
“If you have booked for any screening, event, or workshop after the 21st March, we will be in touch as soon as we know if we have to relocate or refund events. Needless to say, we are devastated by the news we’ve received today.
“We’ve invested a great deal of time and money in establishing ourselves at Connswater and we’ve been overwhelmed by the wonderful audiences we’ve attracted.
“Thank you for your understanding and continued support. Let’s hope this is not goodbye.”
Connswater informed tenants about the closure early on Friday morning, before receivers BDO NI sent further communication at 11am.
A spokeswoman for Connswater Shopping Centre said: “The evolving retail landscape, the loss of anchor tenants and difficult market conditions have made it increasingly challenging to sustain operations in a viable way.
“So, very regretfully and after much consideration of different options, we have now appointed BDO as fixed charge receivers for the centre.
“We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to our loyal customers, tenants and staff who have supported Connswater Shopping Centre throughout the years.
“Your patronage and dedication have been invaluable, and we are deeply appreciative of the community spirit that has been fostered here throughout our 20 years of ownership.
“We understand that this news will be disappointing to many. Connswater Shopping Centre has been more than just a shopping destination, it has been a part of the fabric of east Belfast.
“We deeply regret having to make this difficult decision.”
BDO NI’s Michael Jennings and Brian Murphy have been appointed as fixed charge receivers, and will have control over certain assets.
The goal of fixed charge receivers in the case of shopping centres is to recover funds owed to creditors. They are often appointed when money for a fixed charge has not been paid.
They only have control over the asset linked to the charge, they do not have control over the business which owns the asset.
In the case of a shopping centre, receivers will usually work towards preparing the property for sale.