MetroCentre (shopping centre)

Metrocentre, (stylised as intu Metrocentre) is a shopping centre and entertainment complex in Gateshead. It is located on the former site of Dunston Power Station, near to the River Tyne.

Metrocentre
The Green Quadrant of the Metro Centre
LocationGateshead, Tyne and Wear, England
Coordinates54.9569°N 1.6689°W / 54.9569; -1.6689
Opening date14 October 1986 (1986-10-14)
DeveloperCameron Hall Developments
ManagementGavin Prior
OwnerIntu Properties
Church Commissioners
GIC Real Estate[1]
No. of stores and services500
No. of anchor tenants
Total retail floor area2,076,000 sq ft (192,900 m2)[2]
No. of floors2
Parkingalmost 15,000 spaces
Public transit access
  • MetroCentre Interchange
  • MetroCentre
Websiteintu.co.uk/metrocentre

Metrocentre opened in stages, with the first phase opening on 28 April 1986, and the official opening being held on 14 October 1986. It has more than 370 shops occupying over 2,000,000 sq ft (190,000 m2) of retail floor space, making it the second-largest shopping centre in the UK, after London's Westfield. Additional retail space can be found in the adjoining Metro Retail Park and MetrOasis.

The centre was rebranded as intu Metrocentre in 2013, following the renaming of its parent Capital Shopping Centres Group as intu Properties.[3]

History
The logo used from 2004 to 2009; the stylised "M" is based on the previous grey-coloured symbol used from 1987
The logo used from 2009 to 2013

Metrocentre's construction was financed by the Church Commissioners of England, and was masterminded by Sir John Hall's company, Cameron Hall Developments. The ground upon which it is built was purchased for £100,000 in the early 1970s. Access to the development was facilitated by an urban development grant from the Department of the Environment, and the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead.

In October 1995, the centre was sold to Capital Shopping Centres (now intu Properties) for £364 million, although the Church Commissioners retained a 10% stake.

Reflecting its Church of England origins, Metrocentre is one of the few European shopping centres to have a full-time resident chaplain. Services are held on special occasions such as Mothering Sunday, Remembrance Sunday, and at Christmas.

The Metrocentre has five main malls, these being: Red, Green, Blue, Yellow and Platinum.

The first phase of the development, the Red Mall, was opened in April 1986. At the time, it featured a large Carrefour supermarket, which later became a Gateway, and subsequently Asda. Metrocentre also featured the first out of town branch of Marks & Spencer.

In 1997, Asda moved from Metrocentre to a larger stand-alone store nearby, facilitating the redevelopment of the Red Mall.

Refurbishment
The current logo, which has been in use since 2013

Malls and Transport Interchange
The Red Mall extension

When Asda moved out of the main centre, the former store was demolished to make way for an extension and refurbishment of the Red Mall. The redeveloped Red Mall, anchored by a Debenhams department store, opened in October 2004.

The programme also included the construction of a new Transport Interchange, sited at the edge of the Blue Mall, replacing the former bus station.

Metrocentre Qube

In November 2006, centre owner Capital Shopping Centres announced plans to redevelop the centre's Yellow Mall.[4] The Metroland indoor funfair closed in April 2008, and the area, along with the neighbouring Clockworks Food Court, has since been refurbished to become Metrocentre Qube.

Qube is home to a number of restaurants, including Bella Italia, Nando's, Pizza Express, YO! Sushi and Zizzi.

As well as this, Qube also houses an Odeon cinema (which relocated from the Blue Mall in December 2009). It includes twelve screens, including multiple 3D screens, and an IMAX Digital – the first in the north-east of England.

The Namco Funscape is located on the lower floor, and is a family entertainment centre including a ten-pin bowling alley, dodgems and soft play. The Qube's exterior is clad with zinc and glass, to distinguish it as the entertainment part of the centre.[5]

Platinum Mall
Interior of Red Mall extension in 2007

The former central area of the mall, which was known as the Central Mall, has been refurbished and renamed the Platinum Mall. This area focuses on higher-end stores and furnishings, including improved lighting and decor.

The development hopes to copy designer outlets much similar 'The Village' mall at Westfield London. In August 2012, the first of the new retailers, 360 Champagne & Cocktails (now closed), opened its doors. It soon was followed by retailers Mamas & Papas and H&M Kids. Tessuti opened in December 2012, followed by designer footwear retailer, Daniel.

Retailers

Many large retail chains are represented in the centre. It is anchored by three main department stores:

  • Marks & Spencer (Green Mall)
  • Debenhams (Red Mall)
  • House of Fraser (Platinum Mall)

Major fashion retailers include: All Saints, H&M, New Look, Next, Primark, River Island, Topshop, Topman and Zara

Other major retailers include: Argos, Boots, Hotel Chocolat, HMV, Lush and Waterstones.

In September 2010, the region's second Apple Store was opened at Metrocentre.

In Autumn 2010, the first TK Maxx Homesense store opened on the site of the old Odeon cinema in the Blue Mall.

In March 2018, a 78,000 sq ft Next store opened, taking twelve shops on the upper floor, and the former BHS unit on the lower level, to create one of the largest Next stores in the country.[6][7]

Leisure Facilities
The New Metroland, previously Europe's largest indoor amusement park

The centre's leisure facilities consist of a 12 screen Odeon cinema, which opened in 2010. It features a VIP lounge, as well as an IMAX screen.

Located below is the Namco Funscape, an indoor amusement arcade featuring a dodgem ride, and 18-lane ten-pin bowling alley.

Both are located in the Qube Mall, on the site of the former Metroland theme park.

Metroland

Until its closure in April 2008, Metrocentre featured an entirely enclosed theme park called Metroland. Renamed The New Metroland following a refurbishment by operators Arlington Leisure in 1996, it was Europe's largest indoor amusement park. Metroland opened in February 1988 at the cost of £20 million. The park featured a roller coaster, Ferris wheel, pirate ship, waltzers, a miniature railway and dodgem cars among its rides.

Its closure made way for redevelopment of the Yellow Mall, including a new Odeon cinema, as well as the Namco Funscape arcade, and a number restaurants.

On the final weekend of operation (19-20 April 2008), the park held the 'Last Ride Weekend', where the admission price was £5 for the whole day, with unlimited access to all the rides.[4] The park finally closed at 8:00 pm on 20 April 2008, despite strong local opposition, and petitions raising around 4,000 signatures against the closure. Proceeds from the last night of operation went to charity.

The Metroland roller coaster was later relocated to The Big Sheep, a farm-themed amusement park in Abbotsham, northern Devon. The ride entered operation in March 2016. The park offered a free ride to visitors from the north-east of England for a period after the ride's opening.[8][9]

Metro Retail Park

Metro Retail Park is situated to the west of Metrocentre. It has the layout of a conventional out-of-town retail park, with large stores such as Barker and Stonehouse, Oak Furniture Land and Furniture Village.

McDonald's and Pizza Hut are both situated to the south of the retail park site (in addition to other sites within Metrocentre). Until August 2007, when it was purchased for £82.5 million, the retail park was not under the ownership of Capital Shopping Centres (now intu).[10] Further west of the retail park, there is a 24-hour Asda supermarket, an IKEA, The Range and Sports Direct (the former site of Danish furniture store, ILVA). To the south is the Marriott Hotel.

metrOasis

The metrOasis retail area, on the perimeter of the shopping centre, opened to the public in September 2012. It is located between Qube and the Metro Retail Park, on the former site of a petrol station. The development is home to a range of dining and entertainment venues, with construction beginning in January 2012. The project opened to the public in September 2012. The retail area includes: drive-thru Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Starbucks, as well as Toby Carvery.

Buses

intu Metrocentre Interchange opened in the mid-2000s, as a replacement for the former bus station. It is served predominantly by Go North East's local bus services, with routes running in and around Gateshead and Newcastle upon Tyne, as well as County Durham, North Tyneside, Northumberland and the Tyne Valley.

Rail

Metrocentre is served by Metrocentre station, on the Tyne Valley Line. Services are currently operated by Northern Trains.

As of the December 2019 timetable change, service frequency is as follows:

Monday to Saturday

  • Three trains per hour to Newcastle, with an hourly service continuing towards Morpeth, and an hourly service continuing towards Sunderland, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Nunthorpe (some continuing as far as Whitby).
  • Three trains per hour to Hexham, with two trains per hour continuing towards Carlisle. Stations at Haydon Bridge, Bardon Mill, Brampton and Wetheral are served hourly.

Sunday

  • Three trains per hour towards Newcastle, with a two-hourly service continuing towards Morpeth, and an hourly service continuing towards Sunderland, Hartlepool,Middlesbrough and Nunthorpe (some continuing as far as Whitby).
  • An hourly service towards Carlisle. Stations at Haydon Bridge, Bardon Mill, Brampton and Wetheral are served two-hourly.

Metrocentre is not served by the Tyne & Wear Metro, with the nearest station being at Gateshead. Connection with Metro is provided by Go North East's X66 service, with a journey time of around 10 minutes.

Road

Metrocentre is served mainly by a junction from the A1 road, a road which suffers from significant congestion, especially during peak hours. A major widening of this stretch of the A1 was completed in June 2016.

References
  1. "Liberty International announces a strategic partnership with GIC Real Estate for Metrocentre, Gateshead". Government of Singapore Investment Corporation. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2011. Liberty International announces a strategic partnership with GIC Real Estate for Metrocentre, Gateshead
  2. "intu Annual Report 2018" (PDF). 2018. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  3. Soult, Graham (11 July 2013). "Gateshead's Metrocentre prepares for overnight Intu-fication". Soult's Retail Report. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  4. "Public Consultation for Yellow and Blue Mall Proposals" (PDF) (Press release). Capital Shopping Centres. 29 November 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2006.
  5. "State-of-the-art IMAX cinema for MetroCentre Odeon". Chronicle Live. 23 July 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  6. Ford, Coreena. "BHS store in Metrocentre is snapped up by Next, creating new jobs". Newcastle Chronicle. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  7. Duke, Simon (6 March 2018). "Next opens huge new flagship store at the Metrocentre". Newcastle Chronicle. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  8. Hodgson, Barbara. "Metroland ride gets rolling again - and North East fans can enjoy a free ride in DEVON". Newcastle Chronicle. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  9. "Devon's Biggest Coaster at The Big Sheep". ThemeParks-UK. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  10. Purchase of Metro Retail Park, Metrocentre, 23 August 2007
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