Nine years of Rushden Lakes as shopping complex celebrates anniversary today
Rushden Lakes is celebrating its ninth birthday today (July 28), having first opened to the public in its first phase on this day in 2017.
The out-of-town shopping complex opened with more than 20 shops including Marks & Spencer, Primark, New Look, JD Sports and H&M, with new stores opening in phases in the subsequent months and years, including the Cineworld complex on June 28, 2019.
Now, the centre is celebrating nine years since it opened its doors to the public for the first time.
Rushden Lakes centre manager Donna French said: “We’re thrilled to be celebrating another milestone at Rushden Lakes, each year is different and always filled with exciting new challenges.
"If you visit the site don’t miss our floral number nine on the boardwalk, always good for a selfie in the sun. We’ve already started to make plans for our 10th birthday next year.”
The site had previously been home to the Skew Bridge Country Club and dry ski slope before being earmarked for development in the mid-2010s.
The development of Rushden Lakes, from planning permission being granted in June 2014 to its opening three years later, brought with it more than 2,000 jobs and millions of visitors annually.
Since its opening, Rushden Lakes has gone through many evolutions, enduring the Covid-19 pandemic, changing shopper habits as a result, and the welcoming of beavers to Nene Wetlands, the first time for 400 years the species have lived in Northamptonshire.