The ‘worst shopping centre in Britain’ is a total ghost town which does not even have a single store open.

Festival Park was built with taxpayer money in the Welsh town of Ebbw Vale in 1992.

It was part of the government’s national garden festival which hoped to regenerate derelict land in the UK’s industrial districts.

Shopper Megan Woods, 59, said: ‘It was amazing then – long queues to get in and a real buzz. It had its own fairground and even a talking moving clock. But now it is more like a zombie land with no one here.’

The shopping centre was struggling with dwindling customers before the pandemic but Covid seems to have put the final nail in the coffin.

Over the years more than 40 companies have moved out of the retail space, including M&S, Nike, Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Costa and Gap.

Shop owner Kim Maguire, whose John Jenkins gift store was one of the centre’s originals, had to move to the high street.

She said: ‘I still regularly hear from customers about how much they miss Festival Park though, and how shocked they all are at what has happened to it over the last few years.

‘It was a sad day when it closed for me as a business and for the community as a whole. Everyone who worked there misses it as well, though we are now in a larger shop further towards the centre of town.’

Kelvin Morgan, who once ran a fresh fruit and veg shop in Festival Park, said: ‘It used to be so beautiful over there with all the flower gardens and shops so to see it as it is now is very sad.’

The space now belongs to Birmingham-based private real estate company Mercia Real Estate Ltd, after it was sold last year.

There are now plans to ‘recycle and repurpose’ the existing land and buildings to create a mixed-use business centre.

It used to have a lot to attract customers, including an owl sanctuary, a children’s play park and dozens of popular shops and restaurants.

The likes of Prince Charles, Dannii Minogue and Catherine Zeta Jones were present for its grand opening.

At one point, there were reportedly plans to build a splash park and a hotel on the site.

It is not clear why the centre declined so dramatically.

Some blame a lack of investment and planning by the council and others say it was a lack of private investment.

Metro.co.uk has contacted the council for comment.

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