Popular English beach town to be transformed with £30million overhaul of ‘rundown’ shopping centre
A POPULAR English seaside town is getting a major £30million overhaul to revitalise its “rundown” shopping centre.
The once bustling shopping hub is getting an impressive multimillion-pound facelift – to attract back millions of tourists ahead of summer.
Coastal town Penzance’s iconic Wharfside Shopping Centre has already opened a wave of brand-new independent businesses in recent months.
And the ambitious project has even more exciting openings on the horizon.
It comes as tourism across Cornwall is hoping for a big comeback after visitor numbers across the beachside county sunk to a 10-year-low.
A whopping £30million has been injected into Penzance as part of its revamp initiative.
Wharfside has already welcomed Cork & Fork restaurant and wine bar to its list of new locations as part of the coastal town upgrade.
The family-run business serves up fresh produce and seafood from local farms.
Two more diners are now set to be added to the mall’s résumé – and they will serve up Thai food and pizza respectively.
Thai Moon is set to open its doors, serving up authentic cuisine to attract tourists and locals alike.
Meanwhile Fred’s Microbrewery will dish out fresh pizzas and authentic micro-brewed ales when it opens up in the near future.
Wharfside Shopping Centre has been open for business since 1999.
For years it was a bustling hub of well known chain stores in Penzance, and hosted a few independent stores and eateries.
But coming up to 2019 and 2020, the mall became “rundown”, with many shops shutting down for good and leaving the once popular hotspot.
Since last year, the shopping centre has started to benefit from an ambitious facelift.
Independent stores and new restaurants pop up frequently amid the flashy overhaul.
The Wharfside PZ website said that the £30million investment would allow the area to “thrive and flourish further”.
They said: “We’re proud to be a part of this success.
“In fact, we’ve played an active role in transforming our town’s retail fortunes.”
The shopping hub’s site explained that since 2020, they had been planning to “encourage independent businesses to choose our centre”.
Wharfside added: “The effect has been transformative on the centre and played its part in spreading a growing ‘PZ positive’ message across the town.”
The mall also hosts a range of other stores including Beautique Beauty Salon, Card Factory, Freddie’s Proper Sweets, Helly’s Bistro, HS Functional Fitness, Hunter and Walsh Hairdressers, and Iceland Frozen Foods.
And it boasts a prime location just a short distance from Harbourside Car Park – the biggest in Penzance – as well as train and bus stations.
Easy access is available too, since the mall has several escalators and spacious lifts.
It comes after a “crumbling” coastal town with a “dying” town centre was reportedly set to have a £20million makeover.
The Essex seaside town has been dubbed the “worst place to live in the UK” and is one of the most deprived areas nationwide.