A MULTIMILLION pound shopping centre which opened nearly two years ago has been judged “outstanding” at a national retail event.

The �100million Arc shopping centre in Bury St Edmunds was built on the former Cattle Market site by development firm Centros.

At the annual dinner of the national retail body BCSC in London, Arc was given a gold award by Rory Bremner for the best small in-town retail development.

Richard Wise, chief executive of Centros, which has now sold the site, said: “Winning this award is the icing on the cake.

“It gives national recognition to all the hard work that went into achieving the success of Arc.

“It is particularly pleasing to see that Arc has created significant economic benefits throughout the town in a very short period since opening.

“Unlike so many other retail schemes up and down the country, we have not created too many shops, so the historic core of the town is still trading well with minimal vacancies.”

St Edmundsbury Borough Council leader John Griffiths said: “This is great news for Bury St Edmunds and west Suffolk and crowns the successful partnership between St Edmundsbury, Centros and the private sector.

“At a time when many other towns are struggling, Bury is doing well, with more visitors throughout the whole town, more shops and a stunning new arts venue.

“The Arc has given an economic uplift to our town, created new jobs, brought in new visitors and is keeping money in our local area which was being spent elsewhere – particularly important at this time of year when we want to make the most of Christmas shopping.

The development included shops, apartments on the upper levels, a new public square, a Debenhams department store and a 500-seat multi-purpose public venue.