SUCH a seemingly permanent fixture have the ‘temporary’ struts and supports become at Castlepoint, that it’s doubtful that many shoppers give the state of the car park much of a thought anymore.

More than a decade after it opened, plans have finally been unveiled to fix it. The structural issues caused significant issues including, at one point, the closure of the entire centre.

Through it all however, Castlepoint has remained a phenomenal success. Manager Peter Matthews claimed at one point that customers “couldn’t give a monkey’s,”

about the problems. He was right.