Halton Lea
Encyclopedia
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England. It is the main shopping area in Runcorn. It was the centrepiece of the New Town of Runcorn and was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1972.
History
Opened in July 1972 by Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, Halton Lea, then called Runcorn Shopping City, was designed by the Chief Planner of Runcorn New Town, Arthur Ling, as the centrepiece of the massive development. It was the first 'American-style' shopping centre to be built in the United Kingdom and at the time was one of the largest shopping centres in Europe.
During that period the centre attracted huge numbers of shoppers brought by Runcorn's unique transportation system and its central location between Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. However this did not last, as the owners at that time, Grosvenor
Grosvenor Group
Grosvenor is a privately owned property group with offices in 18 cities. It has four regional investment & development businesses in Britain & Ireland, the Americas, Australia and Asia Pacific; an international fund management business, which operates across these markets and in continental Europe;...
, pushed rents up in an attempt to capitalise on the centre's popularity. Spiralling rents soon saw many of the big names that were attracting shoppers close and move to centres with lower rents such as the Golden Square Shopping Centre in neighbouring Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
.
In 1989 Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
Stores Ltd, then part of ASDA MFI, opened a 90000 sq ft (8,361.3 m²) superstore on West Lane. The store was recently extended to 106000 sq ft (9,847.7 m²). Some of the problems the centre was experiencing during the late 1980s and early 1990s were blamed on the ASDA Superstore; however, it arguably helped to keep the centre alive, bringing customers to the area during the centre's poorest years.
The centre suffered for many more years after Grosvenor sold the centre to its current owners, Peel Holdings
Peel Group
The Peel Group is a diversified real estate, transport and infrastructure investment company in the United Kingdom. It has assets owned and under management approaching £6 billion...
. Poor management had left the centre in disrepair. Asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
, building faults and out of date decor led to a huge redevelopment of the centre and eventually to its renaming to Halton Lea. Since then the centre has grown to include an outdoor mall named the Trident Retail Park, which hosts many big name shops such as Currys
Currys
Currys is an electrical retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland and is owned by Dixons Retail plc. It specialises in selling home electronics and household appliances, with 295 superstores and 73 high street stores...
, JJB Sports
JJB Sports
JJB Sports plc is a United Kingdom sports retailer. It currently operates 251 stores in the UK and Ireland.- History :The sportshop chain was founded in 1971, when ex-footballer Dave Whelan acquired a single sports shop in Wigan. The original store was established by JJ Broughton in the early...
, Blockbuster, TK Maxx and Fitness First
Fitness First
Fitness First is the largest privately owned health club group in the world with over 540 Fitness First clubs worldwide reaching over 1.7 million members in 21 countries...
. The flagship unit is a 9-screen cinema complex currently owned and operated by Cineworld
Cineworld
Cineworld Group plc is a cinema chain operating in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Jersey. The chain consists of 78 cinemas; 76 of which are located in the UK and one each in Ireland and Jersey. It is the second-largest cinema operator in the UK with 801 screens, and the owner of...
.
Future
The centre is still undergoing large-scale redevelopment which is to include internal redevelopment and re-distribution of unit space as well as the development of new retail space both inside the centre by opening the unused second floor (which will add at least another 500000 sq ft (46,451.5 m²) of retail space) and the construction of more retail parks around the centre. A walkway and several shopping units were refurbished into a large Wilkinson's store which opened in mid-August 2007. The Post OfficePost office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
moved into 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...
around the same time, and a new unit was to be opened in its former location.
One retail park has plans for what would be Europe's largest supermarket although at this time no supermarket chain has yet expressed interest. It was believed Halton Borough Council wanted ASDA to move into the second floor so its current store can be redeveloped into another retail park, but now the nearby ASDA is extending its current building and has no plans to move.
In September 2009, Halton Lea was taken into receivership
Receivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
which is being managed by Savills
Savills
Savills plc is a global real estate services provider listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. They have an international network of more than 200 offices and associates throughout the Americas, the UK, continental Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle...
. Meanwhile, it will "trade and operate as normal".
In about September 2010, the centre was put up for £27.8 million by Savills, £27.8 is a roundabout amount that is wanted. Once again everyone has been reassured that the centre will trade and operate as normal, throughout the sale.
A new Lidl store has also recently been given the go ahead for work to begin on a Lidl store, pub and retail units on Land near the centre on the site of the former Vestric House. Work is due to commence in January 2011. Its developer is Opus Land North.
Barton Willmore have submitted plans to Halton council for a new food store on east lane on behalf of owners back in 2009 Fordgate, on 14 February 2011 these plans were given the go ahead for an extension on the planning permission, the supermarket has not been signed to any company just yet, but as Tesco have just secured a new store in neighbouring widnes it is likely to be Morrisons or Sainsbury's because ASDA also own a shop in Halton Lea Town centre.
On 24 March 2011, it was announced Halton Lea Shopping Centre had been sold to F&C reit Asset management, for approximately £29.1 million.
Background information
The centre is located close to the local district police station, the law courts and Halton's General Hospital.The centre is loacted near the M56 motorway just off the A533, about 5 minutes from Runcorn Town Centre, and The Brindley arts centre, and 20 minutes from Warrington, and 15 minutes from Daresbury. It is situated in the centre of Runcorn New Town, and buses are available from the two bus terminis to liverpool, chester and Widnes, it has excellent transportation links.
Shop Information
Halton Lea comprises over 85 shopping units including banks, bakeries, clothing shops, electrical shops and general supermarkets (TescoTesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
), etc. In addition the adjacent Trident Park includes a huge multi-screen cinema and many other large retail outlets (such as a Fitness First
Fitness First
Fitness First is the largest privately owned health club group in the world with over 540 Fitness First clubs worldwide reaching over 1.7 million members in 21 countries...
gym).