Published:
3:36 PM May 10, 2021
Shoppers in Bury St Edmunds are being encouraged to support the new Our Bury St Edmunds campaign
- Credit: Our Bury St Edmunds
Shoppers and diners in Bury St Edmunds are being encouraged to support a new ‘Spend It’ campaign - which could see thousands of pounds pledged to the area s economy.
The Our Bury St Edmunds Gift Card, launched last year, has already seen nearly £40,000-worth of cards purchased.
It is hoped more people will use it when further venues open following the relaxation of Covid restrictions on May 17.
It can currently be used in almost 60 different outlets in the town centre from boutiques to bike shops, and cafes to cinemas.
Debenhams in Bury St Edmunds has closed for the last time.
- Credit: Sarah Lucy Brown
Suffolk s last Debenhams store has shut its doors to the public for the last time.
The Bury St Edmunds store, in the Arc Centre, closed on Saturday - four days after the Ipswich store closed after it was sold to local development company the Unex Group.
The future of the striking building that is one of the best-known modern landmarks in the town is still not certain.
But Mark Cordell of Our Bury St Edmunds, the town s BID company said earlier this year that the owners of the shopping centre had been aware of the threat to the store - and had been looking at contingency plans at the time it was announced all the stores would be closing when the chain collapsed at the end of January.
Debenhams in Bury St Edmunds has closed for the last time.
- Credit: Sarah Lucy Brown
Suffolk s last Debenhams store has shut its doors to the public for the last time.
The Bury St Edmunds store, in the Arc Centre, closed on Saturday - four days after the Ipswich store closed after it was sold to local development company the Unex Group.
The future of the striking building that is one of the best-known modern landmarks in the town is still not certain.
But Mark Cordell of Our Bury St Edmunds, the town s BID company said earlier this year that the owners of the shopping centre had been aware of the threat to the store - and had been looking at contingency plans at the time it was announced all the stores would be closing when the chain collapsed at the end of January.
Footfall has increased hugely in Bury St Edmunds, nearing 2019 levels
- Credit: Johnny Griffith
Nearly 20,000 shoppers visited Bury St Edmunds town centre in one day last week as footfall approached pre pandemic levels.
Last Saturday, April 24, was the busiest day for a long time, said business leader Mark Cordell, with footfall figures for last week up 327% on the same time last year - when we remained under tough lockdown restrictions.
Mark Cordell, CEO at ourburystedmunds BID.
- Credit: Sarah Lucy Brownn
The footfall data also shows 73,446 people visited the town centre last week, just shy of the 78,593 figure from two years ago before the Covid pandemic hit. The same week year the figure was just 17,197.
New Bury St Edmunds police inspector Andy Beeby
- Credit: Suffolk Constabulary/Archant
A new police inspector for Bury St Edmunds has set out some of the challenges and opportunities of the job ahead.
Inspector Beeby, who already lives in the area, worked for the last four years as custody manager at the local police investigation centre.
He joined Suffolk Constabulary in 1998 and arrived in Bury St Edmunds as part of the armed policing team in 2003, before a spell as sergeant at Mildenhall seven years later.
Insp Beeby said many of today s policing priorities remain the same. Drugs are a problem that never goes away, he added.