Almost 18 years on from its grand opening, Chantry Place continues to play a crucial part in the Norwich shopping scene.
Visitors from as far afield as Suffolk and Lincolnshire regularly make the journey to spend time in the city centre mall.
Chantry Place was opened in 2005 (Image: Neil Didsbury)
It hasn't all been plain sailing, however.
Its former owner Intu Properties went into administration in 2020 which, although not financially affecting the shopping centre, resulted in it being rebranded from Chapelfield to Chantry Place.
This came at a time when the nation was in the midst of pandemic lockdown restrictions.
The man in charge - general manager Paul McCarthy - admits Covid was a tough time.
"Like every other shopping business in the country, we had to close our doors in March 2020," he said.
"The three lockdowns hurt because we're here to provide a service to all our visitors.
"Throughout the pandemic, we made sure we were completely compliant with whatever the government rules were and they changed quite frequently.
"But whatever they did we made sure we adapted to provide a safe place for our visitors to come and shop with us."
Gradually the lockdown restrictions eased and this year the centre was looking forward to starting its recovery as life returned to normal - but 2022 didn't quite go to plan.
The shopping centre has been working to attract visitors following the pandemic (Image: Sonya Duncan)
High inflation and soaring energy costs resulted in falling consumer confidence.
Compounding this was a noticeable shift towards online shopping during the past two years.
"There was a slight acceleration in terms of the proportion of total sales that goes online," said Mr McCarthy.
"Pre-pandemic it was maybe 20pc of sales, now it is closer to 25-30pc.
"But that's still an enormous opportunity for in-store shopping so there's a massive market out there."
One of the positives for 2022 has been "having a year without any lockdowns".
But visitor numbers in the centre aren't back to 2019 levels, which could in part be down to many city centre workers splitting their time between the office and home working, spending levels have increased.
"People fundamentally enjoy shopping and when people are here they are shopping with a purpose," added the general manager, who took the reins in 2014.
"We've got direct like-for-like data between 2019 and 2022 showing that while footfall isn't at 2019 levels, sales are at or above 2019 levels.
"It's like we've lost some of our browsers but kept all of our buyers and they are still coming and spending.
"Retail is such a competitive environment, it is constantly changing and evolving.
"If they don't get it right for their customers, they don't survive."
Chantry Place celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee (Image: Newsquest)
Of Chantry Place's 90 available units, Mr McCarthy estimates just 10 are empty - significantly below the national average, he said.
A number of new stores are set to open in the coming weeks, meaning that very little retail space will be unused.
Opened in 2005, when walking around Chantry Place today it doesn't look or feel like a centre that is getting close to its 20th anniversary.
This is no accident, Mr McCarthy explains, but is instead down to significant time and investment in keeping it well maintained.
To keep the centre popular for the next two decades, he is focusing on ensuring it remains a welcoming place for friends and family to gather.
"We're looking to make sure we provide as many free events to our visitors as we can next year," he continued.
"We're increasing our spend on free events quite significantly because we recongise money is tough.
"The first three months of 2023 are going to be pretty dire, so we need to make sure we provide free stuff to take the family to.
"We've got events lined up for the February half term and we're looking to do different Easter trails again next year.
"We're already planning a whole summer programme of things that families can do - both for those living locally and for those visiting Norfolk.
"There will also be King Charles' Coronation - so the throne could be making a comeback."
The key time for the centre is the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Chantry Place Christmas decorations double up as good selfie spots for shoppers (Image: Chantry Place)
This year Chantry Place unveiled its new festive lights including an eight-metre Christmas tree and a Santa's sleigh inside the centre, along with giant lit-up stars just outside.
The decorations double up as selfie spots for family and friends, helping to make the centre a place for visitors to have fun and socialise, as well as shop.
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