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Construction has finished on the new £1.7 million access lane into Rushmere Shopping Centre from Central Way in Craigavon, aimed at easing long-standing traffic congestion at the main roundabout entrance. Approved by Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council in April, the project has created a new entry-only route for motorists heading into the northern section of the centre’s car park. The new road flows into the car park between the Matalan store and McDonald’s drive-thru. Diggers moved on-site in July to begin excavation work on the long-awaited infrastructure upgrade. Rushmere Shopping Centre has been showered with praise thanks to an impressive £10m of improvements across the entire Craigavon complex. With a new wing of the main centre refurbished, the centre has attracted top retailers in recent years including Primark, Waterstones, Mango, Søstrene Grene, Caffe Nero, SCHUH, Mountain Warehouse, RITUALS, Warren James and Miniso to name but a few. The planning application was lodged by MBA Planning Ltd, Citylink Business Park, Belfast, on behalf of Killahoey Ltd, M12 Business Park, Portadown. Speaking during a recent meeting, planning officers said the new lane is designed to reduce traffic build-up at the heavily used roundabout access point, particularly during peak shopping hours. “This proposal seeks to provide access from Central Way into Rushmere Retail Park in order to reduce the congestion on the roundabout at the existing entrance,” a planning report stated. “This will ease the congestion that occurs at busy periods, with a build-up of traffic at the adjacent roundabout. The proposal will involve the reconfiguration of the existing car park to the front of Matalan; three parking spaces will be lost in this reconfiguration.” The new access has been welcomed by both motorists and shoppers as the centre continues to see strong footfall.
