The Malls, Basingstoke
Encyclopedia
The Malls, Basingstoke is a shopping centre in Basingstoke
, Hampshire
, England
built between 1978 and 1981.
These properties were demolished in 1967 as part of a major redevelopment of central Basingstoke, which aimed at providing a large, modern shopping centre. Because of financial constraints however, what had initially been conceived as single development was divided into three parts at an early stage; Phase one, later renamed The Walks, Phase two which would become The Malls and Phase three which was eventually considered superfluous and used instead as the site for The Anvil
concert hall.
Work on Phase one was completed in 1971, by which time it was clear that finances were insufficient to support further building work on the centre. Phase two and three were postponed and the cleared sites were temporarily grassed over.
By 1976 the financial situation had improved and after protracted negotiations with prospective tenants, work on Phase two began in 1978. As was originally conceived, this second phase would integrate seamlessly with the initial phase so that as far as shoppers were concerned, the shopping centre would be a single unit.
The design for Phase two was by architects Llewelyn, Davis, Weeks.
As work progressed on Phase two, the new names for the two parts of the centre were announced, both parts coming under the overall title of The Basingstoke Centre. The style and decor of both parts at this time was wholly unified even though the two sites were managed and leased by separate and completely independent companies. The Malls were opened in 1981 with five major stores and a further 24 smaller units.
Since this time, The Malls have seen only minor changes and improvements whilst The Walks have been upgraded dramatically, firstly having walkways roofed over and totally refurbished as part of £12M improvement scheme in 1987 and then undergoing a major rebuild and extension in 1998 to transform The Walks into Festival Place
.
A survey in 1999 (prior to the opening of Festival Place) ranked The Malls as one of the worst retail centres in the country, placing it 186th out of the 200 shopping centres included.
Since this time work by the Borough Council has focussed on trying to find a way to bring substantial improvements to the centre, but this work has been constrained by high occupancy levels and the number of sitting tenants on very long lets.
In 2004, the leasehold was purchased by the St Modwen development group in partnership with Kuwait property investment company Salhia Real Estate. Recently, the first details of the planned makeover for The Malls were released, with plans to renovate the buildings. Work has now begun to refurbish The Malls, which are expected to finish July 2011
Basingstoke
Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, 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...
built between 1978 and 1981.
History and development
Before The Malls were built, the site was occupied by a number of small residential and commercial properties and by the clothing factory of Gerrish, Ames and Simpkins.These properties were demolished in 1967 as part of a major redevelopment of central Basingstoke, which aimed at providing a large, modern shopping centre. Because of financial constraints however, what had initially been conceived as single development was divided into three parts at an early stage; Phase one, later renamed The Walks, Phase two which would become The Malls and Phase three which was eventually considered superfluous and used instead as the site for The Anvil
The Anvil, Basingstoke
The Anvil is a concert hall with theatre functionality and a performing arts centre in the town of Basingstoke in Hampshire, UK.Built on a site originally set aside for the third phase of Basingstoke's shopping centre, The Anvil was built to tackle what was then seen as a 'cultural desert' in the...
concert hall.
Work on Phase one was completed in 1971, by which time it was clear that finances were insufficient to support further building work on the centre. Phase two and three were postponed and the cleared sites were temporarily grassed over.
By 1976 the financial situation had improved and after protracted negotiations with prospective tenants, work on Phase two began in 1978. As was originally conceived, this second phase would integrate seamlessly with the initial phase so that as far as shoppers were concerned, the shopping centre would be a single unit.
The design for Phase two was by architects Llewelyn, Davis, Weeks.
As work progressed on Phase two, the new names for the two parts of the centre were announced, both parts coming under the overall title of The Basingstoke Centre. The style and decor of both parts at this time was wholly unified even though the two sites were managed and leased by separate and completely independent companies. The Malls were opened in 1981 with five major stores and a further 24 smaller units.
Since this time, The Malls have seen only minor changes and improvements whilst The Walks have been upgraded dramatically, firstly having walkways roofed over and totally refurbished as part of £12M improvement scheme in 1987 and then undergoing a major rebuild and extension in 1998 to transform The Walks into Festival Place
Festival Place
Festival Place is a shopping centre in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England which opened on Tuesday, 22 October 2002. It houses 165 shops including large department stores such as Bhs, Debenhams, and Marks and Spencer...
.
A survey in 1999 (prior to the opening of Festival Place) ranked The Malls as one of the worst retail centres in the country, placing it 186th out of the 200 shopping centres included.
Since this time work by the Borough Council has focussed on trying to find a way to bring substantial improvements to the centre, but this work has been constrained by high occupancy levels and the number of sitting tenants on very long lets.
In 2004, the leasehold was purchased by the St Modwen development group in partnership with Kuwait property investment company Salhia Real Estate. Recently, the first details of the planned makeover for The Malls were released, with plans to renovate the buildings. Work has now begun to refurbish The Malls, which are expected to finish July 2011