Princes Bishops Place, Durham

Citrus acquired Prince Bishops Place Shopping Centre in Durham City in August 2022 with joint venture partners. The centre comprises a two-acre site, which is effectively an extension to the historic city centre built on a podium boasting a 400-space car park, open shopping mall and circa 50 retail tenants. The centre opened in 1998 and has been trading for 25 years but in more recent times has struggled to retain value in the retail offer alone and as such Citrus acquired the site for its redevelopment potential.

The centre benefits from a commanding position on the banks of the River Wear, looking towards the Castle and Cathedral World Heritage Site and wider Conservation Area, but the 1990s design turned its back on this aspect and the intention is to open the centre up to the elevated river views and wider cityscape creating a new public piazza that can be used as an event space, something the current scheme lacks. The retail offer will be reinvented to be a mix of national and local/regional operators with more affordable and appropriately sized units. Some leisure uses are anticipated in the vicinity of the new piazza.

Underpinning the retail and public realm is likely to be a scheme of purpose built student accommodation and a new city centre hotel. The proposed scheme has undergone public consultation (summer 2023) and is currently being considered further ahead of an intended planning submission. Citrus and its partners have been working hard in the interim to manage and finesse the existing retail offer against the backdrop of a difficult market to improve the appeal of the centre and reduce the number of voids.

Prince Bishops Place – Durham