| MetroCentre | |
 |
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| Facts and statistics | |
|---|---|
| Location | Gateshead, United Kingdom |
| Opening date | 1986 |
| Developer | Cameron Hall Developments |
| Owner | Capital Shopping Centres Church Commissioners |
| No. Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England. It lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Capital Shopping Centres is a shopping centre management company in the United Kingdom. The Church Commissioners is a body managing the historic property assets of the Church of England. of stores and services | 330 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 3 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,780,000 square feet (165,000 m²) |
| Parking | 10,000 spaces |
| No. In Retail an anchor store, draw tenant, anchor tenant, or key tenant, is one of the larger stores in a Shopping mall, usually Gross leasable area ( GLA) in the retail development industry is a term applied to Shopping malls lifestyle centers, Outlet malls and other retail A parking space is a location that is designated for Parking. of floors | 2 [1] |
| Website | metrocentre-gateshead.co.uk |
MetroCentre is the largest shopping centre in the United Kingdom and the European Union. This is a list of the largest Shopping centres in the United Kingdom, listed by size in Square metres (m² A shopping mall or shopping centre is a building or set of buildings that contain Retail units with interconnecting Walkways enabling visitors The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in
It is located at Swalwell, Gateshead, UK on a former industrial site, close to the River Tyne. Dunston was originally an independent village on the south bank of the River Tyne. Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England. It lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The River Tyne is a River in England. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers the North Tyne and the South Tyne. The Metrocentre opened in 1986 and has nearly 330 shops occupying 1. 78 million square feet (165,000 m²) of retail floor space. [2] Additional retail space is available in the adjoining retail park which houses larger stores.
Contents |
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 is built was purchased for a mere £100,000 in the early '70s. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Sir John Hall (b Ashington, Northumberland, 1933 is a Property developer in North East England. 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. Capital Shopping Centres is a shopping centre management company in the United Kingdom.
Reflecting its Church origins, MetroCentre is one of the few European shopping centres to have its own chapel and resident full-time chaplain. A chapel is a holy place or area of Worship for Christians, which may be attached to an institution such as a large church, a College, a A chaplain is typically a Priest, Pastor, ordained Deacon, Rabbi, Imam or other member of the Clergy serving a group of Services are held on Sunday afternoons, with special services on occasions such as Mothering Sunday and Remembrance Sunday. See also Father's Day Homecoming Laetare Sunday (cf Gaudete Sunday) Lent In the United Kingdom, Remembrance Sunday is the second Sunday of November the Sunday nearest to 11 November ( Remembrance Day) which is the anniversary
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. Carrefour SA ( (karˈfur is a French international Hypermarket chain with a global network of outlets Asda is a United Kingdom Supermarket chain which retails food clothing and general merchandise Later on, Asda moved from the MetroCentre to a nearby site on Gibside Way with a larger store than previously. Asda is a United Kingdom Supermarket chain which retails food clothing and general merchandise
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. Events 105 BC - Battle of Arausio: The Cimbri inflict the heaviest defeat on the Roman army of Gnaeus Mallius Maximus "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " 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. Bluewater is a super-regional shopping centre, opened on 16 March 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. Cevahir Shopping Centre, opened on 15 October 2005, is a modern shopping and entertainment centre located in the Şişli district of Istanbul Istanbul (historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see the other Names of Istanbul) is the largest city of Turkey The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in
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. North-East England is one of the nine official Regions of England and comprises the combined area of Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear In British English and Australian English, the term coach is used to refer to a large motor vehicle for conveying passengers The new interchange features electronic display boards and a new waiting room at the MetroCentre railway station. MetroCentre railway station is a Railway station that serves the MetroCentre shopping and leisure complex in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. 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). The Tyne and Wear Metro is a metro system serving stations in Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside North Tyneside and Sunderland, For the London Underground station see Bank and Monument stations Monument is a principal station on the underground Central Station is an underground station on the Tyne and Wear Metro, which is located below the main line Newcastle railway station. Gateshead Interchange is the name of a Transport interchange in the centre of the town of Gateshead, England.
Blue and Yellow Malls
On 30 November 2006, centre owner Capital Shopping Centres announced plans to redevelop the centre's Blue and Yellow Malls [3]. Events 1700 - Battle of Narva — A Swedish army of 8500 men under Charles XII defeats Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Capital Shopping Centres is a shopping centre management company in the United Kingdom. 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. Marks & Spencer Group plc (also M&S, Marks and Sparks, and Marks) is a British Retailer with 843 stores in more than 30 House of Fraser is a British Department store group with 63 stores (April 2008 across the United Kingdom and Ireland. Debenhams plc ( is a British -based retailer operating under a Department Store format in the UK and franchise stores in other countries This article is about the British Woolworths Group plc, and its stores Argos is the largest general-goods Retailer in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland with over 700 stores This article is about the retail chain for people of that name see William Henry Smith. Jessops is Britain's largest specialist photographic retailer with 233 stores nationwide This article is about a former British company which has now merged to form Alliance Boots, as a result information on this page may be out of date Zavvi (also known as zavvicouk) is an Entertainment retail chain in the UK and Republic of Ireland, originally Virgin Megastores The Carphone Warehouse Group PLC ( known as The Carphone Warehouse, claim to be Europe 's largest independent Mobile phone retailer with over 1700 Lush is a company based in Poole, Dorset in the UK, that produces and sells fresh hand-made bath products Soaps body lotions and Cosmetics 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. J D Wetherspoon plc (commonly referred to as Wetherspoons or Spoons) is a British Pub chain, founded by Tim Martin in 1979
Leisure facilities
Up until April 2008, the MetroCentre featured a theme park called Metroland.
The New Metroland was Europe's biggest indoor amusement park. The New Metroland was Europe's largest indoor Theme park until its closure on 20th April 2008 Theme park is the generic term for a collection of rides and other Entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a large group Metroland opened in February 1988 at a cost of £20 million; it was renamed The New Metroland following a 1996 revamp. [1] The park featured a roller coaster, Ferris wheel, pirate ship and dodgem cars among its rides. The roller coaster is a popular Amusement ride developed for Amusement parks and modern Theme parks LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first A Ferris wheel (also known as an observation wheel or big wheel) is a Nonbuilding structure consisting of an upright wheel with passenger gondolas attached A pirate ship is a type of Amusement ride, consisting of an open seated Gondola (usually in the style of a Pirate ship which swings back and forth Bumper car is the generic name for a type of Flat ride consisting of several small electric cars which draw power from the floor and/or ceiling and which are turned off by the Rides redirects here For the album by Reef see Rides (album, and for the BBC television series see Rides (TV series.
Parts of The New Metroland were individually sold, its 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). Odeon Cinemas is the largest chain of cinemas in Europe It is owned by Terra Firma Capital Partners. Cinemaaustraliajpg|thumb|A movie theater in Australia ]]A movie theater, movie theatre, picture theatre or cinema is a venue Ten-pin bowling is a competitive Sport in which a player (the “bowler” rolls a Bowling ball down a wooden or synthetic ( Polyurethane Q-Zar (called Quasar in the UK and Republic of Ireland) is a type of Laser tag that was developed by Geoff Haselhurst and Omnitronics in Laser tag is a team or individual Sport where players attempt to score points by engaging targets typically with a hand-held Infrared -emitting targeting device A video arcade (also known as an amusement arcade in the United Kingdom in Japan or as an "arcade" is a venue where people play arcade video games An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in businesses such as Restaurants Pubs Video arcades and Family Entertainment A slot machine ( American) fruit machine ( British) or poker machine ( Australian) is a Casino gambling machine with three
Metro Retail Park
The Metro Retail Park houses stores such as IKEA, ASDA, and Toys 'R' Us. IKEA is a privately-held international home products retailer that sells flat pack Furniture, accessories bathrooms and kitchens at retail stores around the world Asda is a United Kingdom Supermarket chain which retails food clothing and general merchandise Toys "R" Us ( currently typeset as Toys Я Us in the logo and before as Toys "Я" Us) is a Toy store chain based 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. Marriott International Inc ( is a worldwide operator and Franchisor of a range of value and luxury Hotels and related Lodging facilities. Premier Inn (formerly Premier Travel Inn) is the UK's biggest hotel brand with over 32500 rooms and more than 500 hotels and motels Travelodge is the second largest budget hotel brand (behind Premier Inn) and third biggest hotel chain (by bedroom numbers - approximately 20000 in the United Kingdom Holiday Inn is a Brand name applied to Hotels within the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG Until August 2007 the retail park was not actually under the ownership of MetroCentre Partnership; it was purchased for £82. 5 million. [4]
Transport links
Public transport
The MetroCentre's transport interchange has a large bus station and a railway station. MetroCentre railway station is a Railway station that serves the MetroCentre shopping and leisure complex in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. It is not, however, directly connected to the Tyne and Wear Metro. The Tyne and Wear Metro is a metro system serving stations in Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside North Tyneside and Sunderland, 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. Central Station is an underground station on the Tyne and Wear Metro, which is located below the main line Newcastle railway station.
Major bus links include:
- X66 - A non-stop Shuttle service operated by Go North East connecting the MetroCentre with Gateshead Interchange, for links to the Metro and Gateshead Quays. Go North East was originally the founding company of the Go-Ahead Group. Gateshead Interchange is the name of a Transport interchange in the centre of the town of Gateshead, England. The Tyne and Wear Metro is a metro system serving stations in Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside North Tyneside and Sunderland, The Quayside is the area along the banks of the River Tyne between Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead in North East England.
- 100 - A Shuttle service operated by Stagecoach North East connecting the MetroCentre with Newcastle's Eldon Square Bus Station, the Grey's Monument area on Pilgrim Street and Newcastle Central railway station. Stagecoach Group plc ( is a leading international transport group operating Bus, Train, Tram, express coach and Ferry operations Eldon Square Bus Station is one of two bus stations serving the city centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Grey's Monument is a Grade I listed monument to Charles Grey 2nd Earl Grey built in 1838 in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Newcastle Central railway station is the mainline railway station in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England and is a principal stop on the East Coast
- 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. The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, also known as the Tyne Valley Line, is a Railway line in northern England. Newcastle upon Tyne ( (often shortened to Newcastle) is a city and Metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, England Newcastle Central railway station is the mainline railway station in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England and is a principal stop on the East Coast History The metropolitan borough was formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 by the merger of several districts of County Durham - Washington Carlisle (pronounced CARLYLE(emphasis on the first syllable is a City in northern England the largest settlement in Cumbria. Middlesbrough ( IPA ( Received pronunciation) is a Town in the Tees Valley sub-region of the North East of England Northumberland is a county in the North East of England. The non-metropolitan county of Northumberland borders Cumbria to the west Stranraer ( Gaelic: An t-Sròn Reamhar, ən̴̪ t̪ɾɔːn ɾãũ Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Dumfries (dəmˈfriːs is a town and former Royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland and is situated close to the
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 is often significant congestion at peak times.
Air and sea
National and international visitors can reach the centre via air using Newcastle Airport. Newcastle Airport is located in Newcastle upon Tyne, about 6 Miles (11 km) north-west of the city centre Alternatively, it is possible to travel by ferry to North Shields from Scandinavia and the Netherlands. North Shields (or locally just Shields) is a town on the north bank of the River Tyne, in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in North Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands
References
- ^ 3 in the case of the Yellow Quadrant Clockworks food court - an upstairs seating area on the upper floor is available. Also, a few department stores have floors past the 2 main floors.
- ^ European Shopping Centre Awards
- ^ Capital Shopping Centres (2006-11-29). Capital Shopping Centres is a shopping centre management company in the United Kingdom. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1777 - San Jose California, is founded as el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe "Public Consultation for Yellow and Blue Mall Proposals". Press release. A news release, media release, press release or press statement is a written or recorded Communication directed at members of the News Retrieved on 2006-11-30. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1700 - Battle of Narva — A Swedish army of 8500 men under Charles XII defeats
- ^ Purchase of Metro Retail Park, MetroCentre, 23rd August 2007
External links
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