Opening of Odeon Luxe Cinema expected to herald new era for Peterborough Queensgate Shopping Centre

Hopes are high that the long-awaited opening of the £60 million Odeon Luxe Cinema in the Queensgate Shopping Centre marks the beginning of a new era for the 42-year-old mall.

As the latest blockbusters began to play at the 600-seat IMAX cinema, so Danish homeware retailer Søstrene Grene threw open the doors to its new store while a sparkling ceremony marked the switching on of the centre’s Christmas lights.

The combination has given the Queensgate a buzz and a sense of a bright future heightened by the knowledge that retail giant Frasers is expected to move into the former John Lewis space early next year with fitting out likely to begin in weeks.

A number of leisure operators are also understood to be ready to move into the Queensgate, complementing the mini golf centre Putt & Play Peterborough, which opened a year ago.

A spokesperson for the Queensgate said: “It is such a new era for Queensgate and this really will change the use of the centre.”

It is a sharp contrast with the mood over the last three years.

When plans for the eight screen IMAX cinema were first unveiled in 2017 it was originally intended that department chain John Lewis would give up 70,000 square feet of its space to make way for the cinema plus restaurants and shops in a move that would create 200 jobs in a bustling Queensgate.

But the Covid-19 pandemic struck, new health rules closed shops, forced people to stay at home and quickened the use of online shopping.

It triggered what seemed like a retail battering for the Queensgate as John Lewis, the anchor store since the centre opened in 1982 and the occupant of swathes of space across four floors, announced in 2021 it was moving out with the loss of 318 jobs.

It was quickly followed out of the doors by fashion giant Next.

Other smaller retailers came and went until last year when M&S announced it too was on its way and closed its Food Hall and clothing department that sat across two storeys.

Retail expert Dr Cheryl Greyson, senior business lecturer at ARU Peterborough, said: “The opening of the Odeon Luxe Peterborough is exciting news for the Queensgate Shopping Centre.

"Good news comes to those who wait, and we really have waited for this.

"We have new stores already coming to Queensgate attracted by the prospect of Frasers opening next year and with the cinema now open, in time to profit from three big films, Wicked, Gladiator II and Paddington in Peru.

"It really does feel like the shopping centre is on the up.

"This should be great for our students and should attract more people into the city centre to enjoy the retail and leisure facilities.

“Plus, my retail marketing students at ARU Peterborough are currently working with Unity, one of the really exciting independent retailers in the Queensgate to see how they can help increase footfall even more to the M&S / John Lewis end of the centre.”

Peterborough MP Andrew Pakes said: “I hope this is a positive sign of revival for Queensgate and leisure in the city.

"We now need all parts of the city to join up with the council, police and others working to make the city centre a safe, attractive and welcoming place to visit.

He said: “I’m optimistic about the future.

"The ingredients are there for success.

"We need to keep focused on making change happen.”