£7m facelift for Magherafelt shopping centre

Magherafelt’s Meadowlane Shopping Centre is set to benefit from a £7 million extension and refurbishment project, it was announced today.

The development work, due to be completed in November of this year, will bring ten new tenants to the complex and create more than 40 new permanent jobs.

Meadowlane Centre Manager, Paul Beacom, said that the extension at the Moneymore Road establishment would be a boost for consumers and the town.

“Meadowlane Shopping Centre will undergo major development work which will increase the existing retailing provision of circa 80,000 sq ft by an additional 50,000 sq ft, and add a new multi-storey car-park,” he said.

“The expansion at Meadowlane is a major boost for Magherafelt as it will bring new consumers to the town and will create new jobs.

“The extension will also provide greater choice for consumers, attracting major retail names to Magherafelt for the first time.

“Meadowlane is one of the largest and most popular shopping centres in the mid-Ulster area and we are confident that the additional retail space will increase its appeal in Magherafelt and further afield.”

Development work at the complex, to be undertaken by the McAleer & Rushe Group, will begin in early March 2005. The extension will include one major unit of 14,500 sq ft with nine smaller units ranging from 1,100 – 7,000 sq ft. The essential new multi-storey car-park will provide 481 parking spaces including 22 disabled spaces.

Meadowlane, which first opened in 1991, has 23 tenants including anchor tenants Dunnes Stores and Iceland. The centre currently offers approximately 80,000 sq ft of retail floorspace and attracts some 45,000 consumers per week.

(MB)