Everything about Metrocentre totally explained
MetroCentre is the
largest shopping centre in the
United Kingdom, the
European Union, and the third biggest on the
European continent after the
Cevahir Mall in
Istanbul, Turkey and the
Shopping City Süd located south of
Vienna in (
Vösendorf).
It is located at
Swalwell,
Gateshead,
UK on a former industrial site, close to the
River Tyne. The Metrocentre opened in 1986 and has nearly 330 shops occupying 1.78 million square feet (165,000 m²) of retail floor space. Additional retail space is available in the adjoining retail park which houses larger stores.
Origins
MetroCentre's construction was financed by the
Church of England Commissioners, and was masterminded by Sir
John Hall's company, Cameron Hall Developments, the ground upon which it's built was purchased for a mere £100,000 in the early '70s. In October 1995, the centre was sold to
Capital Shopping Centres for £364m, although the Church Commissioners retained a 10% stake, a stake of which is currently valued at around £1 billion.
Reflecting its Church origins, MetroCentre is one of the few European shopping centres to have its own
chapel and resident full-time
chaplain. Services are held on Sunday afternoons, with special services on occasions such as
Mothering Sunday and
Remembrance Sunday.
The MetroCentre has four malls; red, green, blue and yellow. The malls were formerly known as quadrants. It also has themed shopping areas, called The Antiques Village, The Forum, and The Studio, formerly known as the Mediterranean Village. The studio houses many restaurants and cafes. The first mall of the MetroCentre was built in 1986 - the red mall. At the time it featured a large
Carrefour store, which later became
Asda. Later on,
Asda moved from the MetroCentre to a nearby site on Gibside Way with a larger store than previously.
The MetroCentre in late 2007, was valued at just under £10 billion, a large increase from its original purchase price.
Refurbishment
Red Mall & Transport Interchange
ASDA's move out of the main centre was planned so that the unit could be demolished to make way for an extension and refurbishment of the Red Mall. The new Red Mall extension (including a number of new shops, such as a Debenhams department store) opened on
6 October 2004. A consequence of the expansion was that Metrocentre regained the crown of Europe's largest shopping centre that it had lost to
Bluewater in 1999. However a year later, with the opening of the
Cevahir Mall in
Istanbul, Turkey, the MetroCentre was moved down to being only the largest shopping centre within the
European Union.
The refurbishment programme also included a new Transport Interchange at the end of the Blue Mall. It replaced the old bus station and is intended to provide improved
bus links to many parts of
North East England, and accommodate
coach services from elsewhere in the UK. The new interchange features electronic display boards and a new waiting room at the
MetroCentre railway station. The MetroCentre is still not directly connected to the
Tyne & Wear Metro System (but is planned to be in the near future), though regular bus
shuttle services provide connections to
Monument,
Central Station, and
Gateshead Metro stations (see Transport Links below).
Blue and Yellow Malls
On
30 November 2006, centre owner
Capital Shopping Centres announced plans to redevelop the centre's Blue and Yellow Malls . Metroland is now closed and the area is now boarded up with display boards announcing 'The New Yellow Mall', which will feature a brand new ODEON cinema (re-located from the Blue Mall), a family entertainment centre (including a new Bowling Alley) and an assortment of restaurants and other retail units. The current Blue Mall will be re-developed and used as additional retail space. The outside of the Yellow Mall is also being refurbished using cladded Zinc and Glass to distinguish it as the entertainment part of the centre.
Shops and food/drink
Many large retail chains are represented in the centre, such as
Marks & Spencer (their first out of town store),
House of Fraser,
Debenhams,
Woolworths (since 2000 when C&A closed),
Argos,
HMV,
W H Smith,
Jessops,
Boots,
zavvi,
Carphone Warehouse and
Lush. There are also numerous places to eat and drink, with a recently redeveloped area containing bars and restaurants providing an alternative to the
McDonald's,
Pizza Hut and
Wetherspoons elsewhere in the centre.
Leisure facilities
Up until April 2008, the MetroCentre featured a theme park called Metroland.
The New Metroland was Europe's biggest indoor
amusement park. Metroland opened in February 1988 at a cost of £20 million; it was renamed The New Metroland following a 1996 revamp.
(External Link
) The park featured a
roller coaster,
Ferris wheel,
pirate ship and
dodgem cars among its
rides.
Parts of The New Metroland were individually sold, it's closure was to allow for development of the Yellow Quadrant.
In addition to the former Metroland, the centre's leisure facilities include an 11-screen
Odeon cinema, a
bowling alley, a
Quasar laser tag arena, and
amusement arcades (with
arcade games and
slot machines).
Metro Retail Park
The Metro Retail Park houses stores such as
IKEA,
ASDA, and
Toys 'R' Us. The retail park also has a
Marriott hotel; three further hotels, a
Premier Inn,
Travelodge and
Holiday Inn Express, are within a mile and designed to serve the centre. Until August 2007 the retail park wasn't actually under the ownership of MetroCentre Partnership; it was purchased for £82.5 million.
Transport links
Public transport
The MetroCentre's transport interchange has a large bus station and a
railway station. It is not, however, directly connected to the
Tyne and Wear Metro. It is connected to Gateshead metro station by the X66 bus service and to
Newcastle Central metro station by the heavy rail services to Newcastle railway station.
Major bus links include:
100 - A Shuttle service operated by Stagecoach and connecting the MetroCentre with
Newcastle Eldon Square bus station, stopping at Monument Metro station, on Pilgrim Street and Newcastle railway station.
S1/S2 - Local shuttle services serving the MetroCentre complex and the surrounding retail park, as well as the Watermark development.
The railway station is on the Tyne Valley Line, which provides regular services to Newcastle Central station, Sunderland, Carlisle, Middlesbrough and Northumberland, with a twice daily service to Stranraer in South West Scotland, via Dumfries.
Road
The MetroCentre has its own junction on the A1 road and northbound this road was widened to three lanes after the MetroCentre was built to cope with increased traffic levels. Even so the centre is responsible for many journeys onto the A1 and there's often significant congestion at peak times.
Air and sea
National and international visitors can reach the centre via air using Newcastle Airport. Alternatively, it's possible to travel by ferry to North Shields from Scandinavia and the Netherlands.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Metrocentre'.
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