Darwin Shopping Centre
Encyclopedia
The Darwin Shopping Centre is the largest of the three main shopping centres
in Shrewsbury
, the county town
of Shropshire
, England
, comprising approximately 17 per cent of the town centre's retail offer by leasable area.
It was built by John Laing Developments in 1989 and refurbished in 2002. It is due to undergo further refurbishment in a plan being devised by Chapman Taylor Architects
.
. Defaulting on £82m of that loan, the centres entered receivership with the collapse of Lehman.
UK Commercial Property Trust (managed by Ignis Asset Management) took control of the three centres in March 2010 and is under management by Ignis and Shearer Property Group. The Darwin centre has been attributed a nominal value of £38.6m as part of the £63.6m purchase.
anchors the centre and is the largest unit by some way, featuring two retail floors and a mezzanine level. The former Woolworths
is occupied by an H&M
with 22000 sq ft (2,043.9 m²) spread over two levels.
Principle tenants also include Currys Digital, Dorothy Perkins
, Home Bargains
, Monsoon, Poundland
, River Island
, T.K. Maxx
, Topshop
and W H Smith
.
The centre is connected by a pedestrian link directly to council-owned multi-storey parking
at 'Raven Meadows' and to the town bus station, which is in turn a short walk to Shrewsbury railway station
.
The centre is an unusual example of a vertical mall. Similar to the Pride Hill Shopping Centre, it is built on the side of a steep hill and around the former outer walls of the nearby medieval castle
. This geography and archaeology
prevented the centres from being built as one contiguous arcade. Consequently these centres together occupy seven floors split over two horizontal locations, connected with escalators, lifts and walkway bridges.
Chapman Taylor Architects were hired by Shearer Property in October 2010 to devise plans for refurbishment as part of a wider renewal and redevelopment of the estate.
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
in Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
, the county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, comprising approximately 17 per cent of the town centre's retail offer by leasable area.
It was built by John Laing Developments in 1989 and refurbished in 2002. It is due to undergo further refurbishment in a plan being devised by Chapman Taylor Architects
Chapman Taylor
Chapman Taylor is an international firm of architects, designers and masterplanners operating from 16 offices in 12 countries. Headquartered in London and established in 1959, it has won a number of awards; including those that recognise its contribution to sustainable practices and its commitment...
.
Ownership
The mall has shared a turbulent recent history with the Pride Hill and Riverside centres which came under common ownership in 2003 under Dunedin Property. Protego’s UK Actively Managed Shopping Centre Fund acquired the centres in 2006, serviced by a loan provided by Lehman BrothersLehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was a global financial services firm. Before declaring bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth largest investment bank in the USA , doing business in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (former NYSE ticker...
. Defaulting on £82m of that loan, the centres entered receivership with the collapse of Lehman.
UK Commercial Property Trust (managed by Ignis Asset Management) took control of the three centres in March 2010 and is under management by Ignis and Shearer Property Group. The Darwin centre has been attributed a nominal value of £38.6m as part of the £63.6m purchase.
Retailers
Marks & SpencerMarks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
anchors the centre and is the largest unit by some way, featuring two retail floors and a mezzanine level. The former Woolworths
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
is occupied by an H&M
H&M
H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is a Swedish retail-clothing company, known for its fast-fashion clothing offerings for women, men, teenagers and children....
with 22000 sq ft (2,043.9 m²) spread over two levels.
Principle tenants also include Currys Digital, Dorothy Perkins
Dorothy Perkins
Dorothy Perkins, whose trading name was inspired by a rambler rose of the same name, is a large British women's clothing retailer, active mostly in the United Kingdom.- History :...
, Home Bargains
Home Bargains
Home Bargains is a chain of discount stores, offering home bargains, operating throughout the United Kingdom, founded by Tom Morris in Liverpool, England approximately 30 years ago...
, Monsoon, Poundland
Poundland
Poundland is a British-based variety store chain which sells every item in its stores for £1. Established in April 1990 by Dave Dodd and Stephen Smith, Poundland stock a variety of around 3,000 home and kitchen-ware, gifts, healthcare and other products, across 16 categories many of which are brand...
, River Island
River Island
River Island is one of Britain's best known high street fashion brands and can be found in most cities across the UK. The brand also has stores in Singapore, Turkey, Poland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the Middle East.-History:...
, T.K. Maxx
T.K. Maxx
T.K. Maxx is a retailer with stores throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and Poland. The company is part of the TJX Companies which also owns other 'off-price' retail chains such as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls in the United States and Winners in Canada...
, Topshop
Topshop
Topshop is a British clothes retailer with shops in over 20 countries and online operations in a number of its markets. Its sales come primarily from women's clothing and fashion accessories...
and W H Smith
W H Smith
WHSmith plc is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It is best known for its chain of high street, railway station, airport, hospital and motorway service station shops selling books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, and entertainment products...
.
Location
The centre is accessed directly from the pedestrianised shopping area in Shrewsbury town centre on Pride Hill. Further access can be gained via the dual frontages into the centre offered by WHSmith, Marks & Spencer and H&M. It is joined to the Riverside Mall and the Pride Hill Shopping Centre via a pedestrian walkway and Raven Meadows.The centre is connected by a pedestrian link directly to council-owned multi-storey parking
Multi-storey car park
A multi-storey car-park is a building designed specifically to be for car parking and where there are a number of floors or levels on which parking takes place...
at 'Raven Meadows' and to the town bus station, which is in turn a short walk to Shrewsbury railway station
Shrewsbury railway station
Shrewsbury railway station is the railway station serving Shrewsbury, county town of Shropshire, England. It is the only remaining railway station in the town; Shrewsbury Abbey, as well as other small stations around the town, having long closed. The station was built in 1848 and has been extended...
.
The centre is an unusual example of a vertical mall. Similar to the Pride Hill Shopping Centre, it is built on the side of a steep hill and around the former outer walls of the nearby medieval castle
Shrewsbury Castle
Shrewsbury Castle is a red sandstone castle in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. It stands on a hill in the neck of the meander of the River Severn on which the town originally developed. The castle is situated directly above Shrewsbury railway station....
. This geography and archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
prevented the centres from being built as one contiguous arcade. Consequently these centres together occupy seven floors split over two horizontal locations, connected with escalators, lifts and walkway bridges.
Future
There has long been an ambition to physically link the Darwin and Pride Hill shopping centres through the development of vacant land between the sites. Referred to as the 'Gap site', a retail and leisure link development proposed by Morris Property, owners of the land, was granted full planning permission in 2006 prior to being sold to new owners. The onset of economic crisis ensured the scheme was put on hold. Dunedin, promoters of the scheme in 2005, put four branding proposals to the public vote in a high-profile marketing push for the renaming of the present centres following the new development's completion. The reconfigured centre would have been branded 'Castle Gate'.Chapman Taylor Architects were hired by Shearer Property in October 2010 to devise plans for refurbishment as part of a wider renewal and redevelopment of the estate.