But the once-thriving street and its swathes of empty units is now a depressing sight for shoppers, and has been compared to an ‘abandoned town’ after Covid-19 forced some stores to close their doors forever.
This past year has also seen fashion retailers such as New Look, Next and River Island move to new premises on the revamped Moor.
Here’s a look at the stores we’ve lost over the past year.
1. PANDORA
Jewellery retailer Pandora temporarily closed almost all of its 2,746 shops in the first quarter due to the coronavirus lockdown, but 86 per cent of stores had reopened by the end of June- the Fargate branch was not one of them. Photo: Chris Etchells
2. NEXT
Clothing retailer Next relocated to a new 42,000 sq ft store in August 2019, joining the likes of River Island and Primark by moving across the city centre to The Moor. Photo: Chris Etchells
3. CARPHONE WAREHOUSE
Carphone Warehouse closed all of its 531 standalone stores, including its Fargate branch, in April. Dixons Carphone, which was formed by the merger of Dixons Retail and Carphone Warehouse Group, said that the move was down to the change in how customers buy their mobile devices. Photo: Chris Etchells
4. OFFICE
The footwear retailer asked its landlords to allow it to hand back the keys to many of its UK stores in May, as the business struggles to cope with the impact of Covid-19.The Fargate branch closed at the start of lockdown and never reopened. Photo: Chris Etchells