THE MANAGER of a modern shopping centre which has changed the face of a historic town centre is moving on from the role.

Paul Haynes, centre manager of the Arc in Bury St Edmunds, leaves tomorrow to start a new job managing Northampton’s Grosvenor Shopping Centre, which is undergoing a �300million-development project.

The father-of-four said it was a fantastic opportunity which was “too good to turn down,” adding that his family home is near Northampton.

Mr Haynes, 55, said: “It will be really sad to leave the Arc and Bury.

“It’s a fantastic place. And I’m sure the Arc will go on from strength to strength and Bury as a town will be a great place to live and work in and attract businesses.”

Mr Haynes has been involved with the Arc – which opened on March 5, 2009 – since it was at the construction stage.

He said: “What the Arc has given Bury is a reason to come here rather than go to the regional destinations of Ipswich, Cambridge and Norwich.

“It has provided that range of a really good day out in a fantastic environment and provided people with modern day shopping facilities.”

He said the Arc had actually encouraged other retailers to invest in the town centre, with shops such as Wilkinson, Tesco Express and Mountain Warehouse coming in.

“Bury didn’t have a great range of multiple shops [chains] before,” he said.

“Now it does and therefore we haven’t felt the impact of the current economic climate as much as many towns in the UK.”

Stepping into Mr Haynes’ role is Colin Roberts, 57, who manages the Buttermarket shopping centre in Ipswich. He is employed there until the end of March, but hopes he will be able to join the Arc team a bit sooner.

The father-of-one said: “I have lived here [Bury] 21, nearly 22 years, and I have never really had an opportunity to work in the town. I fell in love with it the time I moved here years ago.”

He added: “I really want to carry on Paul’s work and integrate the Arc with the town centre, and there’s still some work to do with that, and I really want to play a part with the new Bid [Business Improvement District].”