The shopping centre that Christmas forgot
IT WAS the shopping centre which was meant to herald a new dawn for Wales’s oldest town, hurtling it well and truly into the 21st century by offering shoppers a modern and fresh retail experience alongside the older part of Carmarthen and all its charm. That was the plan, anyway.
But, 13 and a half years on from the opening of St Catherine’s Walk Shopping Centre – built on the site of an old mart and indoor market – it could be said that the lights have well and truly been turned off at a development that was meant to rejuvenate a thirst for high street shopping in Carmarthen and further afield.
That’s because for the first time since the site opened in April, 2010, there are no Christmas lights at St Catherine’s Walk.
While the annual festive cheer has been spread elsewhere in the town with the switching on of the main lights two weeks ago, there is no sign of the town’s biggest shopping centre doing the same.
In years gone by, the Christmas lights at St Catherine’s Walk would be switched on the same day as others throughout the town and be beaming brightly by the final weeks of November.
The tradition was often carried out with a lot of fanfare too – a huge lit Christmas bauble would sit proudly at the top end of the shopping centre, which children would delight in seeing and running through every winter. Santa Claus would also make an appearance and once upon a time X Factor winners would sing on a stage to hundreds of people as they gathered to welcome the start of the festive season. Not in 2023, sadly.
St Catherine’s Walk has taken a hammering in the past three years. Since the spring of 2020 it has seen a host of high street chains close up shop including Topshop, Debenhams, H&M, River Island, Miss Selfridge, Fat Face, and, most recently, Frankie & Benny’s. That’s a huge number of huge names, and their disappearing act would be enough to floor any town.
It’s important to stress that the shopping centre remains open and some businesses there continue to thrive.
One positive to come out of the closures mentioned above and the retail chaos caused by multiple Covid-19 lockdowns is the emergence of local and independent retailers trading where giants previously did.
They sit alongside nationwide chains which have remained at St Catherine’s Walk, including Next, The Entertainer, New Look, Lush, Costa, Harvester, and Toby Carvery.
Meanwhile, the centre’s biggest building – the former Debenhams store which has been largely empty since May, 2021 – is being transformed into a town centre hub that will, according to Carmarthenshire Council, “benefit local residents, businesses, and visitors”.
The new venue – which will be called Carmarthen Hwb – will be the first of its kind in Carmarthenshire, bringing together a range of key public services including a gym and other state-of-the-art leisure, culture and exhibition spaces alongside health and tourist information, customer services and access to further and higher education.
Management at St Catherine’s Walk have remained tight-lipped about the absence of Christmas lights at the centre this year.
The lights are not permanent fixtures which simply have to be switched on once a year – they have to be put up and fixed, something which normally happens every November. It’s understood that budgetary constraints have led to the decision not to put up lights this year, with many left disappointed by the lack of an annual event which has become a family tradition.
The centre itself is up for sale, according to reports. In 2012, just two years after the centre opened, a company called Orchard Street Invest
ment Management, on behalf of St James’s Place Wealth Management, bought 50% of the shares in St Catherine’s Walk for £26.5m.
What it is currently valued at, and what the long-term future holds for its owners and tenants, remains to be seen.
St Catherine’s Walk has not responded to requests for a comment on the decision not to have Christmas lights at the centre this year or the budgetary concerns which have seemingly played a part in that decision.
While the shopping centre may be lacking light this year, it was lit up with the glow of lanterns on Thursday evening thanks to an event supported by St Catherine’s Walk and Carmarthen’s other shopping centre – Merlin’s Walk – as well as Carmarthen Town Council and Carmarthen Bid. A lantern ‘parade of peace’ started from St Peter’s Church and ended at St Catherine’s Walk, which hosted music and entertainment as the late-night shopping season got under way in Carmarthen.