Reimagining retail | Q&A with Freight Island and Eldon Square
Following the opening of the 60,000 sq ft rooftop venue, Place North East spoke to centre director Helen Cowie and Freight Island chief executive Dan Morris, who explain why the city won out over rivals and what the development means for the future of retail.
What was the strategic vision behind bringing Freight Island to Eldon Square, and why was now the right time for this partnership?
Helen Cowie: Freight Island is a defining moment for Eldon Square and a major milestone in the centre’s transformation. We’ve always been clear that Eldon Square needs to keep evolving with the way people use city centres today and Freight Island is a massive part of that vision.
Retail remains at the heart of the destination, but we know that people also want great food, drink, music, culture, and shared experiences. Freight Island brings all of that together in one amazing 60,000 sq ft rooftop destination, right in the heart of Newcastle.
Dan Morris: Freight Island is about creating destinations that bring food, drink, and music together under one roof. Eldon Square shared that ambition and had a space with the scale to do something genuinely transformative. The timing felt right because consumers increasingly want experiences that go beyond traditional retail, and Newcastle is a city with the appetite and energy to support that.
Dan, When did Freight Island decide on Newcastle as a destination, and what drew you to the city?
DM: Newcastle has been on our radar for a long time. It shares a lot of the same DNA as Manchester – a strong music culture, passionate sports fans, a large student population, and an excellent food and drink scene. When the Eldon Square opportunity came along, it felt like a natural fit for the brand.
Which other cities were in the running, and what made Newcastle come out on top?
DM: We’re always looking at a number of cities, including places like Leeds, Glasgow, Cardiff, and Dublin. Newcastle stood out because of the combination of the site itself, the strength of the local cultural scene, and the ambition of the partners involved. It felt like a city ready to embrace a concept of this scale.
Retail destinations are increasingly diversifying beyond traditional shopping. How does this launch reflect changing consumer expectations around leisure, hospitality, and experiential retail?
HC: People want more reasons to visit and more reasons to stay! Freight Island gives Eldon Square a new all-day and evening offer, from daytime dining and after-work drinks to live music, sport and events.
For us, this is not about moving away from retail. It is about strengthening the wider destination and giving visitors a richer experience when they come into the city centre. This evolution is something the entire retail market is grasping hold of, so we are thrilled to be driving it here in Newcastle.
DM: People want more from a visit to a city centre than simply shopping. They’re looking for places where they can eat, socialise, watch live sport, discover new music, and spend quality time with friends and family. Freight Island is designed around those behaviours, creating an all-day destination that blends hospitality, entertainment and culture.
Click on any image to enlarge – all images courtesy of BWP Group
What opportunities does Freight Island create for local operators, brands, and the wider Newcastle business community?
HC: Freight Island creates a major platform for local operators, artists, partners and organisations. It brings together twelve kitchens, a strong events programme and free-to-attend music, including emerging local talent.
It is also expected to support more than 300 jobs across hospitality, events, production and the creative industries, so the impact goes well beyond the venue itself. With both the job creation and inclusion of local talent, we’re really proud of how Freight Island is truly championing the Newcastle community.
DM: Supporting local talent is central to what we do. We’ve brought together a mix of Newcastle favourites and regional independents, while also creating opportunities for emerging chefs, musicians, and creatives. The aim is to provide a platform that helps local businesses reach new audiences and contributes to the wider city economy.
Do developments like this signal the end of the traditional shopping-centre model, or are they simply the next stage of its evolution?
HC: I see it very much as the next stage of evolution. Eldon Square remains one of the UK’s most visited city-centre shopping destinations, with 26.4m visitors in 2025, more than 100 retailers and over 35 food and beverage providers.
But successful centres have to keep adapting and move with consumer demand. Freight Island shows how retail, leisure, hospitality and culture can sit together and make the overall destination stronger.
What message does this investment send about confidence in Newcastle city centre and the future of regional retail destinations?
HC: It sends a very strong message of confidence in Newcastle. Freight Island is a significant investment in the city and adds a fresh dimension to an already vibrant food, drink, music and cultural scene. It also shows the continued importance of regional retail destinations like Eldon Square when they are willing to evolve, invest and respond to what visitors want.
DM: It’s a strong vote of confidence in Newcastle. We’re making a significant long-term investment because we believe in the city’s future and its ability to attract visitors from across the region and beyond. It also shows how retail destinations can evolve by combining shopping with hospitality and entertainment.
Could Freight Island become a blueprint for how landlords and operators rethink underutilised retail space elsewhere in the UK?
HC: Potentially, yes. The transformation of the former Debenhams top floor and rooftop shows what can be achieved when space is reimagined in the right way. It is not about filling space for the sake of it. It is about creating something relevant, ambitious and rooted in the city it serves.
Dan, What lessons have you taken from Freight Island’s Manchester incarnation, and how have those informed the concept and operational approach for Eldon Square?
DM: The biggest lesson has been understanding how to operate a large, multi-use venue successfully. We’ve refined everything from service models to programming and space design. We’ve also learned the importance of working with local talent, operators, and creatives so that each Freight Island reflects the city it’s in rather than following a cookie-cutter formula.
Large-scale mixed-use concepts can be operationally complex. What have been the biggest challenges in bringing this project to life, and how have you addressed them?
DM: The scale of the project is both the opportunity and the challenge. Rising construction and operating costs have created pressure across the industry, and delivering multiple large projects at the same time has tested resources. The key has been building the right team, working closely with partners, and staying focused on delivering a great guest experience.
Finally, looking beyond the opening, what does success look like for Freight Island at Eldon Square, and what metrics will you be using to measure its impact?
DM: Success is about becoming part of the fabric of the city. Of course, we’ll look at footfall, dwell time, repeat visits and trading performance, but we’ll also measure success by the opportunities we create for local operators, the strength of our programme, and whether people see Freight Island as a place they want to return to again and again.
HC: We’ll be looking at a whole host of metrics, including footfall, dwell time, and how Freight Island supports the wider performance of Eldon Square. But success is also about how it is embraced by Newcastle. If it becomes part of the city’s social and cultural fabric, brings new audiences into the centre and supports local operators and talent, then it will have done exactly what we hoped!
