Forestside Shopping Centre facts for kids
Main Forestside entrance, December 2009
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| Location | Newtownbreda, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
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| Coordinates | 54°33′49″N 5°54′33″W / 54.56361°N 5.90917°W |
| Opening date | 3 April 1997 (Sainsbury's) 22 September 1998 (Mall) |
| Developer | J Sainsbury plc |
| Management | Lee Cutler |
| No. of stores and services | 36 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 3 |
| Total retail floor area | 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2) |
| No. of floors | 3 (Underground, Mall floor, M&S, Dunnes Stores, H&M and Next 2nd Floor) |
| Parking | Free for the first 4 hours |
Forestside Shopping Centre, often called Forestside, is a popular shopping mall. You can find it in Newtownbreda, a southern part of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The very first part of the centre, a large Sainsbury's supermarket, opened in March 1997.
This shopping centre quickly became very popular. So many people visited that it caused traffic jams during busy times! Because of this, Sainsbury's helped pay for big improvements to the roads nearby.
History of Forestside
In 1995, Sainsbury's announced they were opening stores in Northern Ireland. The spot where Forestside now stands was one of their chosen locations. Before Forestside, this site was home to a supermarket called Supermac. Supermac was special because it was Northern Ireland's first supermarket, opening way back in 1964.
Supermac had plans to update its own store. However, they faced a lot of competition from Sainsbury's. So, Sainsbury's ended up taking over the site.
Building the Centre
Permission to build the Sainsbury's store was given in early 1996. Construction started quickly after that. The Sainsbury's store was built on a part of the land that was empty. When the Sainsbury's store opened in March 1997, it was much more successful than expected!
Work continued on the rest of the shopping mall. This included 31 smaller shops and two other big stores: Marks & Spencer and Dunnes Stores. The whole shopping centre is very large, covering about 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2).
The designers of the centre were clever. They used the natural slope of the land to build underground car parking. This also allowed for easy delivery access for the shops. Sainsbury's also opened a petrol station at the same time as the supermarket.
Ownership Changes
In 1997, Sainsbury's sold Forestside to a company called Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). This sale was completed in September 1998. However, Sainsbury's kept a long-term lease to continue running its store there.
Later, in 2001, USS sold the centre again. This time, it was bought by Foyleside Ltd. This company also owns other shopping centres in Northern Ireland, like Foyleside in Derry.
Changes and Updates
In 2005, there was a security incident at the centre. A device was found in the Next store after it closed. Another device was safely removed from the Dunnes Stores.
In 2006, Marks & Spencer invested a lot of money into its Forestside store. They spent £8 million to remodel it and add a second floor. They also built a multi-storey car park to make parking easier.
Over the years, some shops have closed down. For example, Game and HMV closed their branches in Forestside in 2012 and 2013. However, new shops have also opened. In 2013, Next expanded its store. Other new shops included O2, Vision Express, and Blue Inc.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, some companies that owned shops in Forestside faced difficulties. This led to some units becoming empty. However, new businesses like Hallmark Cards have since taken over some of these spaces.
Forestside is an important part of the local area. It brings in a lot of money for the local council each year.
