Meadowhall (shopping centre): Difference between revisions
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==Park Street== |
==Park Street== |
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This area includes some |
This area includes some designer brands and [[Debenhams]] and [[House Of Fraiser]] department stores. Outside Debenhams is a [[Costa Coffe]]. |
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==The Arcade== |
==The Arcade== |
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Revision as of 15:17, 1 November 2007
| File:Meadowhall logo.png | |
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| Location | Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK |
|---|---|
| Opening date | 1990 |
| Owner | British Land |
| No. of stores and services | 290 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 9 |
| Total retail floor area | 131,922 m2 (1,419,997 sq ft) |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Parking | 12,000 spaces |
| Website | meadowhall.co.uk |
Meadowhall is a large shopping centre located three miles northeast of central Sheffield and also 3 miles from Rotherham town centre. It is named after the Meadowhall district of the adjacent town of Rotherham. Built on the site of a derelict steelworks, it was opened in 1990 attracting customers from many surrounding towns and cities.
Shopping centre
With over 270 stores and 30 restaurants, it was widely blamed for the closure of many shops in Sheffield City Centre and in the nearby town of Rotherham. Meadowhall has a retail floor space of about 131,922 m2 (1,419,997 sq ft) and is owned by British Land, a property developer. At the time of opening it was arguably the largest indoor shopping centre in Europe [citation needed], but since then other centres such as Bluewater in Kent have been built and the Metro Centre in Gateshead has been extended. The centre attracted 19.8 million visitors in its first year of opening, and now attracts about 30 million visitors a year.[1]
As the region's main shopping and leisure centre its popularity continues to grow and a large expansion has just been completed. Meadowhall can be extremely busy in the run-up to Christmas, and the January sales. In extreme cases it has been known to have a one in, one out policy on some stores. One of Meadowhall's largest stores, Sainsbury's, closed in mid-2005 is expected to be replaced with a new Primark store with a slightly larger floorplate than the old Sainsburys. The closing diverted some customers to other local shopping areas. In December 2005 it became the home to the fifth Apple Store in the UK.
The centre houses large department stores such as Bhs, House of Fraser and Debenhams and also contains a large food court, the "Oasis", modelled on an Italian piazza, with a steel dome and access to a Vue cinema. The surrounding areas of the "Oasis" have Spanish names which is it at odds with the Italian design.
The oasis is the large food court which features restaurant and fast food chains. It was recently refurbished and also includes a large VUE cinema. There is also a section near The Oasis for small independent retails, The Lanes.
Meadowhall Retail Park is a separate development, lying west of the shopping centre itself.
High Street
The High Street includes nearly the most of the shops in Meadowhall and includes big named stores and brands. HMV, JJB, Burtons, as well as top designer brands are included on here.
Park Street
This area includes some designer brands and Debenhams and House Of Fraiser department stores. Outside Debenhams is a Costa Coffe.
The Arcade
This is in the middle of the main dome also in the middle of high street and features brands and stores includign Mark And Spencers and FCUK. The link to the transport station is here.
The Oasis
This is a large food court which includes food outlets like Mc Donalds, KFC, Pizza Hut and Harry Ramsdens. There are also restaraunts including Nandos and Pizza Express. The Oasis includes 2 floors of seating with the upper floor also including VUE cinema.
The Gallery
The Gallery is the new extension over the former Sainsburys supermarket which opened summer 2007 and features a Primark and a new Next store. Also the Gallery has new smaller shops including Tamaris and a Starbucks.
Transport connections
Meadowhall is situated next to the M1 motorway, between Sheffield and Rotherham, in the shadow of the Tinsley Viaduct. It forms the end of the Five Weirs Walk, an 8km walk from the city centre.
Meadowhall also has a transport interchange which includes rail, bus and tram facilities, located at Meadowhall Interchange. It is surrounded on all the other sides by car parks and even has its own ring road. It is the only shopping centre in Britain that combines a bus, rail and tram interchange.
New developments
Meadowhall is currently going through a large extension project planning to add more shops. Sainsbury's has closed down and two large stores, Primark, Next and Starbucks have now fully opened, and other smaller outlets including Optical Express and The Pier, a home furnishings store will be opening within the next month. Currently, the upper Oasis is undergoing closure of the Namco Arcade and it is unaware what will be in its place.
The Centre has won many awards, including two awards for innovative events at the ICSC maxi awards 2006, held in Chicago[2] and two awards for its Retail Bonding Programme (in best Retail Partnership category) and also for its Commercialisation, (adding value to the customer shopping experience) at the BCSC Purple Apple Awards in London.[3]
On Friday 13 October, The Sheffield Telegraph announced that Meadowhall will undergo a £91 million refit, with completion due by Summer 2007.
Flood
Meadowhall was inundated by the River Don during the June 2007 United Kingdom floods, with water reaching a maximum height of 1.8 metres (6 ft). As a result of the severe floods the shopping centre remained closed for the week and reopened on 2 July. Most of the lower level shops were boarded up ready for refurbishment work including all of the Oasis food outlets, with the exception of the major tenants, Marks and Spencer, House of Fraser and Debenhams and a few others around 65% of the lower level was closed. It is anticipated that all closed stores will be open by the end of October 2007.
References
See also
- MetroCentre, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
- Bluewater, Kent
- Trafford Centre, Manchester
External links
53°24′52″N 1°24′39″W / 53.414430°N 1.410949°W Coordinates: Extra unexpected parameters