The Belfry (shopping centre)
Encyclopedia
The Belfry is a shopping centre located in Redhill, Surrey
, England.
It spreads over 248000 square feet (23,040 m²), and has two shopping levels - the bottom being High Street Mall, and the upper level Station Road Mall. They are named after the roads the respective levels exit onto.
When it was first opened it was notable for bringing many famous high street names to Redhill for the first time, such as Marks & Spencer
, Our Price
and WH Smiths. The Redhill branch of Boots built an extension to their store so they could connect an entrance to the centre.
In 2004, the Belfry was the first shopping centre to be presented with the ISO 14001 certificate for environmental management. 48% of their waste is recycled, and a full 100% of their electricity comes from renewable sources.
They hold the ParkMark certificate, an award given for providing safe parking to their visitors.
Unofficially, it boasts the largest fake Christmas tree
seen in any shopping centre across the nation, made especially for their big seasonal event, which includes a free Santa's grotto, which is hugely popular with the locals and in 2006 resulted in the opening hours having to be extended to accommodate everyone.
The work was all completed (by contractors Kier East) at night to avoid disruption to shoppers and loss of sales to the shops, and finished two months ahead of schedule in September 2007.
Specialists were drafted in to work on the 70 feet (21.3 m)-high glass atrium and a new smoke-detection system was installed, along with a new fire sprinkle system. New aesthetic features were installed and standing ones upgraded. The ceilings were replaced (although the roof still leaks) and the walls repainted in bright white. 800 high-spec lights were added to increase the vivid white effect, and the 'scenic lifts' were improved to help improve access for disabled customers.
The centre became more environmentally friendly. Changes included energy-efficient lighting and removal of electric hand-driers from the toilets and the installation of hand-towel dispensers.
At the same time, one of the Belfry's biggest retailers, Marks & Spencer
, which spreads over both the floors in the centre, underwent complete refurbishment, including the introduction of an instore cafe and bakery and the launch of their popular Per Una line.
Bags Etc.,
Birthdays
,
The Body Shop
,
Boots The Chemist,
Burton / Dorothy Perkins
,
C & G Plc,
Cafe Ho Sete,
Cafe Piazza,
Cargo Homeshop,
Claire's Accessories,
Clark's,
Clinton Cards
,
Currys Digital,
Early Learning Centre
,
Evans,
Fragrance Shop,
Game
,
H Samuel,
Holland & Barrett
,
JD Sports
,
Julian Graves
,
Linens Direct,
Marks & Spencer
,
Munch @ Coughlans,
New Look,
O2,
Phones 4u,
Post Office
,
Presence,
QS,
Robert Dyas
,
Supercuts
,
Superdrug
,
Tchibo
,
The Bay Trading Co.,
Thorntons
,
Timpsons,
Top Shop
,
Vision Express
,
Vodafone
,
W H Smith
,
Waterstones
These are spread on two shopping levels, Marks & Spencer
being accessible from both levels.
, the Royal Earlswood Museum is a small collection of some of the very few exhibits from the Royal Earlswood Asylum which was opened in 1847 and closed in 1997.
Earlswood is a small town just up the hill from Redhill, and is far closer to the actual hill considered to be the original red hill than the town Redhill itself.
Redhill, Surrey
Redhill is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead, Surrey, England and is part of the London commuter belt. Redhill and the adjacent town of Reigate form a single urban area.-History:...
, England.
History
The Belfry Shopping Centre first opened on 15 October 1991, in the centre of Redhill, having been constructed on the site of an old car park. It dramatically altered the already changing face of Redhill, bringing it well into the modern age and has created many jobs with the 43 shops it contains.It spreads over 248000 square feet (23,040 m²), and has two shopping levels - the bottom being High Street Mall, and the upper level Station Road Mall. They are named after the roads the respective levels exit onto.
When it was first opened it was notable for bringing many famous high street names to Redhill for the first time, such as Marks & Spencer
Marks & 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...
, Our Price
Our Price
Our Price was a chain of record stores in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland from 1972 until 2004. Originally founded in 1972 by Gary Nesbitt, Edward Stollins and Mike Isaacs, early stores were branded "The Tape Revolution" and concentrated on the then-new compact cassette format.The name...
and WH Smiths. The Redhill branch of Boots built an extension to their store so they could connect an entrance to the centre.
Awards
In February 2006, the Belfry announced that it had won the 'Purple Apple' National Retail award. It beat competition from the country's larger and more popular centres in the Best Single Event category, for its 'Modelsearch' competition, which not only looks to find new modelling talent of all shapes and sizes, both male and female, while increasing traffic to the mall and allowing merchants to showcase their wares.In 2004, the Belfry was the first shopping centre to be presented with the ISO 14001 certificate for environmental management. 48% of their waste is recycled, and a full 100% of their electricity comes from renewable sources.
They hold the ParkMark certificate, an award given for providing safe parking to their visitors.
Unofficially, it boasts the largest fake Christmas tree
Christmas tree
The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...
seen in any shopping centre across the nation, made especially for their big seasonal event, which includes a free Santa's grotto, which is hugely popular with the locals and in 2006 resulted in the opening hours having to be extended to accommodate everyone.
2007 refurbishment
On January 17, 2007 it was announced by Richard Cowlard, the centre manager, that the precinct would undergo a £1million, 9-month long renovation, to help bring it into the 21st century. Having bucked the trend over Christmas 2006 of falling high street figures, instead enjoying an increase, they deemed the refurbishment worth the investment and went ahead.The work was all completed (by contractors Kier East) at night to avoid disruption to shoppers and loss of sales to the shops, and finished two months ahead of schedule in September 2007.
Specialists were drafted in to work on the 70 feet (21.3 m)-high glass atrium and a new smoke-detection system was installed, along with a new fire sprinkle system. New aesthetic features were installed and standing ones upgraded. The ceilings were replaced (although the roof still leaks) and the walls repainted in bright white. 800 high-spec lights were added to increase the vivid white effect, and the 'scenic lifts' were improved to help improve access for disabled customers.
The centre became more environmentally friendly. Changes included energy-efficient lighting and removal of electric hand-driers from the toilets and the installation of hand-towel dispensers.
At the same time, one of the Belfry's biggest retailers, Marks & Spencer
Marks & 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...
, which spreads over both the floors in the centre, underwent complete refurbishment, including the introduction of an instore cafe and bakery and the launch of their popular Per Una line.
Shops within the Centre
The shops at the Belfry are 3 store,Bags Etc.,
Birthdays
Birthdays (retailer)
Birthdays is a British High Street greeting cards retailer. From its beginning in 1966, Ron Wood Greeting Cards operated as a wholesaler of greeting cards and gift wrap in Bury, Greater Manchester. In the mid 1970s three card shops were opened and soon the number had increased to thirty...
,
The Body Shop
The Body Shop
The Body Shop International plc, known as The Body Shop, has 2,400 stores in 61 countries, and is the second largest cosmetic franchise in the world, following O Boticario, a Brazilian company...
,
Boots The Chemist,
Burton / 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 :...
,
C & G Plc,
Cafe Ho Sete,
Cafe Piazza,
Cargo Homeshop,
Claire's Accessories,
Clark's,
Clinton Cards
Clinton Cards
Clinton Cards is a chain of stores in the UK founded in 1968 by Don Lewin. Mostly selling greeting cards, as the name suggests, the chain claims to be "the largest specialist retailer of greetings cards, plush merchandise and related products in the UK with over 700 shops." They used to be...
,
Currys Digital,
Early Learning Centre
Early Learning Centre
The Early Learning Centre is a British chain of shops selling toys for very young children.-History:Originally set up as a mail order company in 1974 and was always based near Swindon; by 1980 it had ten shops; and it has grown to include 215 shops in the UK and over 80 in 19 other countries such...
,
Evans,
Fragrance Shop,
Game
GAME (retailer)
The Game Group plc is a British video games retail company. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index....
,
H Samuel,
Holland & Barrett
Holland & Barrett
Holland & Barrett is a chain of health food shops with over 600 stores in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, Singapore and Malta. The company also has stores in The Netherlands, where they trade as "De Tuinen".-Ownership:...
,
JD Sports
JD Sports
JD Sports Fashion plc, more commonly known as just JD, is a sports-fashion retail company based in Bury, Greater Manchester, England with shops throughout the United Kingdom and with one in Ireland...
,
Julian Graves
Julian Graves
Julian Graves is a health food retailer, with 255 stores operating in the United Kingdom and the Republic Of Ireland. They sell health foods, a limited range of kitchenware, baking ingredients and a variety of confectionery items. NBTY who own rival chain Holland & Barrett reached an agreement to...
,
Linens Direct,
Marks & Spencer
Marks & 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...
,
Munch @ Coughlans,
New Look,
O2,
Phones 4u,
Post Office
Post 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...
,
Presence,
QS,
Robert Dyas
Robert Dyas
Robert Dyas is a large UK retailer founded London 1872. The stores provide ranges of house wares, small electrical appliances, gardening products, kitchen wares, DIY, and consumer electronics throughout 98 stores, mainly in Greater London and South East England.-History :Robert Dyas emigrated from...
,
Supercuts
Supercuts
Supercuts is a hair salon franchise with over 2,000 locations across the United States. The company was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1975, by Geoffrey M. Rappaport and Frank E. Emmett. The company's first location, which is still in existence, is in Albany, California. Its headquarters...
,
Superdrug
Superdrug
Superdrug Stores PLC is Britain's second-largest beauty and health retailer behind Boots. Superdrug - part of the AS Watson Group which in turn is part of the Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa - is a UK based company with over 890 stores, which since 2006, includes the Republic of Ireland...
,
Tchibo
Tchibo
Tchibo is a German chain of coffee shops and cafés, also known for its weekly-changing range of other products. The latter includes: clothing, household items, electronics and electrical appliances...
,
The Bay Trading Co.,
Thorntons
Thorntons
Thorntons is a UK chocolate company established by Joseph William Thornton in 1911. Thorntons today is a £180 million turnover company with nearly 400 shops and cafes and around 200 franchises together with internet, mail order and commercial services...
,
Timpsons,
Top Shop
Top Shop
Top Shop may mean:* TopShop A British Clothes Store* BOARD GAME Top Shop - A PlayStation Game* A Serbian national shop located in Novi Sad...
,
Vision Express
Vision Express
Vision Express is one of the four major opticians that control 70% of the British market for spectacles and contact lenses.The company opened its first store in 1988 at the MetroCentre. After buying out LensCrafters' UK base, they further increased their number of stores. They had over 220 stores...
,
Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
,
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...
,
Waterstones
These are spread on two shopping levels, Marks & Spencer
Marks & 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...
being accessible from both levels.
The Royal Earlswood Museum
Housed on Car Park level one, above 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...
, the Royal Earlswood Museum is a small collection of some of the very few exhibits from the Royal Earlswood Asylum which was opened in 1847 and closed in 1997.
Earlswood is a small town just up the hill from Redhill, and is far closer to the actual hill considered to be the original red hill than the town Redhill itself.