Ripon arcade sees two new stores open following £100k refurbishment

A Ripon shopping centre has announced that two new stores will be moving in following a £100k refurbishment.

Ripon Arcade, in the city’s centre, has announced that Yorkshire Cancer Research and The Real Junk Food Project will both be moving onto its site.

Yorkshire Cancer Research, which will be opening this autumn, is taking over the 4,000 sq ft former Fulton’s Foods store. The Ripon shop will be its fourth store and marks wider plans to create a network of retail stores across Yorkshire.

The Real Junk Food Project, the UK’s largest environmental charity redistributing surplus food from across the food industry, will open in a 520 sq ft unit in the arcade also this autumn.

Edward Marshall, director of Frank Marshall Estates, which owns the arcade, commented: “These are two great deals for everyone concerned. The arcade, which links the city’s main car park to the historic Market Square, is a fabulous new location for both Yorkshire Cancer Research and The Real Junk Food Project. It is the beating heart of the city, with a really strong and consistent footfall.

“It gives us great pleasure to welcome our two new tenants to the arcade, who have seen the improvements and made the decision to join the arcade family and help us take this place forward after it had fallen into a state of neglect and decay.

“We believe our sensitive refurbishment has given the arcade a new identity, making it much more visible and more of an attraction from the Market Square side in particular. Ripon is a sleeping giant and we are confident our attractive, new-look development will give the city centre the game-changing regeneration boost it needs.

Juliet Glendinning, director of brand and relationships at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said: “We are thrilled to be opening our latest shop in this fantastic location in the heart of such a thriving community.

“The shop is a particularly exciting prospect for Yorkshire Cancer Research as it will allow the charity to accept and sell donations of small furniture and household items.”

A spokesman for The Real Junk Food Project said: “The project feeds schools, organisations in the third sector and individuals as well as offering bespoke catering for corporate events, weddings and other celebratory events. The food feeds bellies not bins and between April and June 2020, we intercepted nearly 2 million meals.”

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