Vision fashioned from Tyne clay

Nov 6 2007 By The Journal

METROCENTRE, the number one shopping centre in the UK, recently celebrated its 21st anniversary.

It’s hard to believe that 21 years have passed so quickly and what was a mud heap is now the biggest shopping centre in Europe and the number one shopping centre in the UK.

Yes, back on October 14, 1986, the grand opening of the centre took place with Environment Secretary Sir Nicholas Ridley and hundreds of guests in attendance.

Years earlier, in 1979, few people realised that when a power station’s waterlogged ash dump on the outskirts of Gateshead was chosen for development, the North-East of England would be pioneering a retail revolution.

The concept, planning and design of MetroCentre covered the needs of the customer in every detail and the aim of Cameron Hall, the developer, was to provide a shopping and leisure centre that combined the best of North American innovation with centuries of European shopping tradition.

In the heart of Tyneside, the potential catchment for MetroCentre was 1.5 million people within a 30-minute drive and three million within one hour. In 1981 the area was chosen as one of the first enterprise zones in the UK.

This gave rise to the opportunity to claim 100% capital allowance on building work and rate-free status until 1991 and it helped MetroCentre become economically viable.

Plans for the scheme were announced in May 1982, but despite major reservations Gateshead Council, which has since proved its visionary skills with other iconic developments, backed the proposals and granted outline planning permission.

Flesh was being put on the bones of the proposals by the following year when it was revealed a huge food store, which would eventually become Carrefour, would be an essential part of the development.

A DIY store, furniture retailer and builders’ merchant had already expressed interest in becoming part of the scheme, although leading retailers eventually took centre stage.

In April 1984, retailers were invited to the Five Bridges Hotel (now the Swallow) in Gateshead to see for themselves the beginning of the retail revolution.

Marks & Spencer announced in November 1984 that it was to open its first out-of-town store at MetroCentre and Kenneth Baker, the then Local Government Minister, said the decision demonstrated justifiable faith in Gateshead. There was no turning back.

In February 1985, the first girders were slotted into place and shortly after House of Fraser, a 10-screen multi cinema complex and other big names, including the Burton Group, Northern Goldsmiths and Bhs, joined the scheme. In October 1985, the Church Commissioners announced they were providing the long-term development capital, taking over from the short-term facilities originally handled by County Bank and NatWest.

Just two years after announcing the initial concept, a few retailers started trading from April 23, 1986, and the first malls officially opened on October 14, 1986.

At the grand opening of the centre, Sir John Hall thanked everyone for allowing his dream, which began seven years earlier, to become a reality.

Capital Shopping Centres (CSC) purchased 90% of MetroCentre from the Church Commissioners in 1995 for £364 million and today it is valued at over one billion pounds.

Recent investments of more than £100m have resulted in the new Red Mall, making use of the redundant Asda store, bringing in Debenhams and 20 new retailers.

Twenty-one years since its opening, MetroCentre has achieved worldwide fame, attracting 24 million visitors annually, and continues to be a catalyst for the regeneration of a larger area of Gateshead and a major employer in the region with a workforce of more than 7,000. The popularity of the centre continues to grow, both in this country and abroad, but the true success of MetroCentre is based on support from loyal local people.

Few Gateshead residents thought 21 years ago that the clarty, derelict land by the River Tyne at Dunston would contribute so much to putting Gateshead on the international map.

MetroCentre Information Line: (0191) 493-0219 www.metrocentre.uk.com

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Big revamp enables MetroCentre to reclaim its UK crown

SIGNIFICANT changes have taken place in the top five ranking of the UK’s leading shopping centres, according to the 2006 shopping centre analysis carried out by Trevor Wood Associates, in conjunction with Savills.

The most notable is that Gateshead’s MetroCentre has regained top spot.

It earned maximum scores in many categories in the report. Every shopping centre trading was ranked by overall attractiveness to shoppers, retailers and investors. Categories include quality of tenants, gross lettable retail area, whether it is open to the elements, covered or enclosed and if it has a food court or crèche.

This was achieved by checking details, including every tenant, for each UK scheme larger than 50,000sqft, covering more than 850 shopping centres, parks and factory outlets.

MetroCentre’s improved tenant mix was a major contributor to its success. It has new stores such as T Mobile, Starbucks and Hotel Chocolat.

However, the opening of the Red Mall, which took the scheme from 1,598,000sqft (148,454sqm) to 1,818,000sqft (168,892sqm) in 2006, to make it the biggest shopping centre in Europe, was also significant. This allowed MetroCentre to increase the number of retailers to 330, bringing in new international stores including Mango, Bershka and a three-level flagship store for Zara.

It is this growth that has allowed the scheme to overtake Bluewater, which had taken the number one position for six years.

Trevor Wood, of Trevor Wood Associates, says: “This year has seen some very significant changes within the UK’s top five shopping centres. In particular, the switch between MetroCentre and Bluewater is very interesting as the results are very close, but MetroCentre has managed to slip into the lead due to its major reconfiguration.”

General manager Barry Turnbull said: “We have over the past couple years made a number of key changes, bringing in new retailers and a number of new customer services initiatives, and this is just reward for all our team who work tirelessly behind the scenes running the shopping centre. It is also great news for the region knowing that they have the number one shopping centre on their doorstep.”

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MetroCentre facts

MetroCentre covers an area of 2.25 million sqft or 209,000 sqm.

MetroCentre has more than 330 shops and leisure attractions, an 11-screen cinema, indoor funfair and bowling alley, more than 50 places to eat and drink and almost 10,000 free car parking spaces.

The fibreglass columns, stacked end to end, would be five times the height of the Eiffel Tower.

More than 30,000 square metres of block paving was used in the construction of MetroCentre, equivalent to four rugby pitches

Facing bricks – more than three million. If all were stacked one on top of the other, they would be 2.75 times the height of Everest.

Reinforcement steel bars – the bars put end to end would go from Gateshead to New York.

Tiles – the equivalent of nearly two football pitches has been laid.

Building blocks – almost one million were used in the construction of the walls.

Road kerbs – the equivalent of 20 kilometres have been laid.

Drainage – almost 18 kilometres of drainage pipes have been laid underground.

The biggest Saturday was in November, when 154,425 visitors were recorded.

The biggest Sunday was in November, when in six hours of trading 106,943 visitors were recorded.

Some 370 private coach trips visited MetroCentre in one day.

More than 50 restaurants and cafes offer diners a total of more than 6,500 seats.

About 7,000 staff work in the centre.

The land was valued at £100,000 in 1981.

It was sold to the Church Commissioners for £100m in 1986.

Capital Shopping Centres bought it for £364m.

Now it is valued at more than £1bn.

More than £100m has been spent on developments including the Red Mall, public transport interchange and retiling the centre.

The footfall over the 20 years is estimated to be 504 million.

It was voted the number one shopping centre in the UK by Trevor Wood Associates.

It acted as a catalyst for numerous companies which flourish on the retail park.

Inward investment into the area focuses mainly on service industries and tourism.

It has helped to put Gateshead and the region on the map.

It has helped establish business for many small, independent retailers.