One Suffolk town centre continues to thrive, with a top UK retailer opening its doors today, while other areas seem to be struggling with potential closures.
Primark has opened in the 33,000 sq ft former Debenhams store in Bury St Edmunds today, employing 150 people from the area.
Philippa Nibbs, Primark's director of sales for London and south east, said: "It really does complete our East Anglia story, we already trade in Norwich, Ipswich, Cambridge and King's Lynn, so to be opening in Bury St Edmunds is just truly exciting."
This comes after Everyman cinema opened its doors in the same building last month.
In Ipswich, however, there is speculation that the 14-screen Omniplex Cinema in the Buttermarket shopping centre could be set to close.
Staff at Omniplex Cinema received an "at risk of redundancy" letter that said the business will close on or before March 24.
The news has been called "bad news for Ipswich town centre" with calls for parties to find a solution.
Mark Cordell, chief executive officer of Our Bury St Edmunds BID, said he was 'absolutely delighted' that Primark was opening and hoped it would bring new visitors to the 'great retail destination'.
He added: "I think there are a number of reasons why our town continues to thrive and these include the variety of offers and attractions we have here such as our history, the fabulous array of high quality independent shops mixed with top quality high street brands, our culture and entertainment venues, our outstanding hospitality businesses, which is the reason for our reputation as the foodie capital of Suffolk, the appearance of the town centre and how safe people feel visiting here.
"This combination enables us to promote the town as a great place to visit and hence our footfall levels being above pre-Covid levels," he added.
Terry Baxter, chair of Ipswich Central, said: "It is not helpful to compare locations against each other, as each place will have its own unique challenges and opportunities.
“It is important to be realistic, evolve and to continually adapt to meet local need. Ipswich Central champions the 15-minute connected town, offering a mix of residential and business use in the town centre.
"With the top of the former Debenhams and Sailmakers Shopping Centres both making application for flats above ground floor level, this supports our vision for the town.
“Towns Deal Funding to regenerate vacant premises and Digital Ipswich plans to create new interactive trails around the town for residents and visitors, provides further opportunity for Ipswich to repurpose unused business space for public use, and, to offer more for visitors to the town centre to enjoy and learn about the town’s culture and history.
“One example is the Wolsey 550 project enabled by Ipswich Central, celebrating Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Ipswich’s most famous son.
"There are lots of engagement events taking place this year to celebrate his place in Ipswich, with a parade through the town this summer.
"It’s so important to celebrate history and heritage, and Wolsey’s legacy is something unique for Ipswich."
This comes after Levelling-up Secretary Michael Gove accused Ipswich's Labour council of failing to deliver for residents over delays with getting Town Deal projects up and running.
Answering a question in the House of Commons from Ipswich MP Tom Hunt, Mr Gove said the government had not seen the progress it had expected from the deal which was first announced in 2019.
Ipswich council's Labour leader Neil MacDonald said that three of the 10 Ipswich Town Deal projects have completed, including the Post Office conversion to the Botanist, which was led by IBC - which was better than the national average.
He said nationally only 20% of Town Deal projects had been completed by the start of March.
And he added: "Since the Tory government mis-handled the economy, many capital projects have had financial gaps, and Paul’s Silo is no different.
"Ipswich council has worked hard to fill funding multi-million pound gaps on both Broomhill Pool and Ipswich Museum. The borough has already started on work to close the financial gap on the Silo."
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