I visited Birmingham shopping centre nine years on and barely recognised the place

We paid a visit to New Street to see how Grand Central is looking almost a decade on

It was nine years ago that more than 80,000 eager shoppers rushed through the doors of Birmingham's newest shopping centre on the opening day of Grand Central. Time flies.

A vast number of them headed straight for the shiny new complex's main attraction, one of the largest John Lewis department stores in the UK. It was unimaginable then that the swish new flagship would end up closing down for good just five years later.

The gateway to the city for thousands of people that travel to Birmingham by train each day, Grand Central has undergone some major changes in its short lifetime. I paid the centre a visit to see how it's looking almost a decade on, which businesses have survived, which haven't, and how a hoard of new openings have changed the landscape of this landmark shopping hub.

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Entering Grand Central from The Ramp side, many of the shops looked familiar when compared to the centre's earliest days. Sandbox VR was a later addition to the mall and womenswear boutique Jeff Bains was now a Laser Clinics, but NatWest, The Perfume Shop, Holland and Barret and Tiger were still standing.

As I entered the main atrium, however, I quickly realised how much the place had changed. The left-hand side, previously dominated by shops, was now mostly restaurants.

Steel and Jelly menswear, Jones the bootmakers, Gobstoppers sweet shop, Love Aroma home fragrance store and Newsflow were no more - only FatFace and Paperchase remained - but Shokupan sandwich shop, Thai Express, Comptoir Libanais and Mowgli now sat alongside the original Nando's and Fuel Juice Bar, soon to be joined by US burger chain Shake Shack and independent cookie dough parlour Sweet Joe's.

The far corner by the toilets was also barely recognisable. Carluccio's, Handmade Burger Co, Yakinori and Francesca's pizzeria had all closed. The only sign of life in this tucked away part of Grand Central was the popular Kitty Café. The rest was covered up by hoardings depicting beautiful sketches of local landmarks like Mr Egg and the old Snobs, which softened the blow of seeing so many units lying empty. Grand Central has said 'there are plans' for the plots, but that it's 'not currently in a position to announce the brands' moving in.

Around the corner, stores like Foyles, The White Company, Joules, Kiehl's, Mac, Jo Malone, Hobbs were still going strong, as was Monsoon, Neal's Yard Remedies and L'Occitane. Opposite, Grand Central originals Whittard and Tesco remained, but brightly-coloured boards advertising Drum Birmingham, a huge new hospitality space comprising offices, a restaurant, bar and food market, now took up most of the far side.

Plans were first revealed at the start of last year and shoppers have heard little about the project since, however a recent update offered reassurance that the scheme is still going ahead. Four years after John Lewis closed, it was sad to see the huge unit still covered up, but I got the impression that something else (aside from Ozzy the bull) is drawing Brummies and visitors to Grand Central these days.

Just after noon mid-week, the shopping centre was fairly busy, but the food hall at its centre was positively packed with lunchtime visitors, as were the restaurants on the Nando's side of the mall. Brands that have been there for years - Yo! Sushi, Tapas Revolution, Giraffe, Tortilla and Pho - stood alongside later arrivals like Mrs Chew's and Slim Chickens.

Everywhere I looked, tables were filled with diners enjoying a quick bite and staff in the open kitchens appeared to be rushing to keep up with orders. Even though I was just passing through, it was evident there was a real buzz about the place.

When you think about how much the world has changed in the past nine years, with the Covid pandemic, a cost of living crisis and changing shopping habits all taking their toll on our high streets, it's not surprising that Grand Central has evolved so drastically. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel disheartened to see so many units out of use, but there were also promising signs of exciting things to come.

Some shopping centres can feel depressing to walk around nowadays, but that isn't the case for Grand Central which, for the most part, is still a hive of activity and, in my opinion, gives off a great first impression of our city.