West Quay
Encyclopedia
WestQuay is a shopping centre in Southampton
, United Kingdom
and has an area of 800000 square feet (74,322.4 m²) of retail space and contains around a hundred shops, including major retailers such as, John Lewis
, Marks and Spencer, Zara, Schuh, Waterstone's, Hollister Co.
, Bank, Apple, and many more top brand names.
It is situated in the centre of the city
, close to the docks, with entrances on the main High Street (Above Bar Street), on Portland Terrace, through Waterstone's
and through John Lewis. There is also a built in multi storey car park with an entrance into the centre along with a 3 tier car park beneath. Building work began in 1997 as the former Daily Echo
building and Pirelli
Cable Works were demolished to make way for the centre. The centre was opened on 28 September 2000.
The building is heated using geothermal energy
, as is the civic centre
. A centralised plant uses heat from an aquifer
underground and then distributes it to the buildings in the city centre via a district heating
scheme.
The John Lewis store replaced the local department store Tyrrell & Green
(a branch of the John Lewis Partnership), which was met with mixed emotions from the local people. Marks & Spencer re-located from Above Bar Street to take the second anchor store.
There have been a few major changes to the centre's shops since its opening. The Tower Records
(which faced fierce competition from the HMV
store across the street) was replaced with a Nike
store, which has closed after just a few months. This unit is now Pret A Manger
a sandwich
retailer. Waitrose
moved to Portswood
in 2006. The old Waitrose space has now been replaced by New Look as the current New Look store in the WestQuay was smaller. The smaller store, although having an upper floor, is now occupied by River Island. They have also moved, however they have came into WestQuay from a smaller high street store. In October 2007 some representatives from America came to Southampton (WestQuay) to learn about geothermal energy.
In mid May 2009 the first Hollister Store to be opened outside of the extended London area opened in WestQuay, this is considered to be a major coup for WestQuay as it reflects well on the strength of the retail offering available within WestQuay.
WestQuay has been constructed on the former site of the Pirelli Cable Works and the 1960s Arundel Towers development (two office tower blocks above a multistorey car park) and it measures approximately ¼ of a mile from one end of the site to the other.
Demolition of the previous buildings began in September 1997 and WestQuay opened on 28 September 2000.
The development crosses over three major roads: The 20 m support structure from the two-storey glazed retail link over Portland Terrace weighs 400 tonnes, and Western Esplanade was cut in half by the centre. Harbour Parade is crossed by a footbridge to the adjacent multistorey car park.
It absorbs a 4 ½ metre change in ground level between east and west boundaries and the length of the mall from Above Bar to Harbour Parade is 400 m, and on top of the mall, The roof lights extend to around 350 m in length, There are a total of 32 lifts throughout the development, The steelwork took 20 weeks to design, order and manufacture, As many as 13 tower cranes worked on the site. The tallest crane had a 66 m mast and a reach of 65 m.
Southampton’s nearby Geothermal Heat Station supplies heat and chilling facilities to the centre.
.
Destination Southampton
September 2000 Secured Car park.
June 2001 Best High Street Development
Property Week
July 2001 Opening, Refurbishment & Major Re-launch
Purple Apple, BCSC
August 2001 Cobra Car Park Safety Award
Police (Regional)
October 2001 European Week for Safety & Health
December 2001 Best New Centre
BCSC
February 2002 Regeneration Award
RICS
February 2002 Best New Car Park & Overall Winner
British Parking Awards
February 2002 Secured Car Park Award
Police
February 2002
Visitor Attraction Award,
South Hampshire
Destination Southampton
February 2003 Winner of Overall Marketing Campaign
Purple Apple, BCSC
February 2003 Best Advertising Campaign
Purple Apple, BCSC
March 2004 Services to Disability Award
Destination Southampton
September 2004 Tom Hillyer Award
National Shopmobility Federation
February 2005 Merit Award
BCSC Purple Apple Awards
April 2005 Safe Car Park Award
Park Mark
April 2006
Southampton Centre for Independent Living, Access all Areas Readers Award 2006
Southern Daily Echo
April 2006
Safe Car Park Award
Park Mark
March 2007
Achieving Customer Excellence (ACE) Award Winner 40,000-80,000 m² category
BCSC ACE Awards
March 2007
Achieving Customer Excellence ‘Top ACE’ Overall Award Winner
BCSC ACE Awards
March 2007
Effective Management of Off-street Parking –Commendation
British Parking Association
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and has an area of 800000 square feet (74,322.4 m²) of retail space and contains around a hundred shops, including major retailers such as, John Lewis
John Lewis Partnership
The John Lewis Partnership is an employee-owned UK partnership which operates John Lewis department stores, Waitrose supermarkets and a number of other services...
, Marks and Spencer, Zara, Schuh, Waterstone's, Hollister Co.
Hollister Co.
Hollister Co., sometimes advertised as Hollister or HCo., is an American lifestyle brand by Abercrombie & Fitch Co. The concept was originally designed to attract consumers aged 14–18 through its SoCal-inspired image and casual wear. Goods are available in-store and through the company's online store...
, Bank, Apple, and many more top brand names.
It is situated in the centre of the city
Southampton City Centre
Southampton City Centre is the commercial and organisational centre of the City of Southampton, and the transport hub of the city. Because Southampton is on the South Coast of England, the city centre is not at the geometric centre of the city, but at the southern extremity.The traditional heart...
, close to the docks, with entrances on the main High Street (Above Bar Street), on Portland Terrace, through Waterstone's
Waterstone's
Waterstone's is a British book specialist established in 1982 by Tim Waterstone that employs around 4,500 staff throughout the United Kingdom and Europe....
and through John Lewis. There is also a built in multi storey car park with an entrance into the centre along with a 3 tier car park beneath. Building work began in 1997 as the former Daily Echo
Southern Daily Echo
The Southern Daily Echo, commonly known as the Daily Echo or simply The Echo, is a local newspaper that covers the area of south-central Hampshire, England, including the city of Southampton...
building and Pirelli
Pirelli
Pirelli & C. SpA is a diverse multinational company based in Milan, Italy. The company, the world’s fifth largest tyre manufacturer, is present in over 160 countries, has 20 manufacturing sites around the world and a network of around 10,000 distributors and retailers.Founded in Milan in 1872,...
Cable Works were demolished to make way for the centre. The centre was opened on 28 September 2000.
The building is heated using geothermal energy
Geothermal power
Geothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth. Thermal energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter. Earth's geothermal energy originates from the original formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of minerals...
, as is the civic centre
Civic Centre, Southampton
The Civic Centre in Southampton is the home of Southampton City Council.It hosts a police station, council offices, the Guildhall venue, the well-endowed city art gallery, and the city library...
. A centralised plant uses heat from an aquifer
Aquifer
An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
underground and then distributes it to the buildings in the city centre via a district heating
District heating
District heating is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating and water heating...
scheme.
The John Lewis store replaced the local department store Tyrrell & Green
John Lewis (department store)
-Recent developments:In June 2004, John Lewis announced plans to open its first store in Northern Ireland at the Sprucefield Park development, the province's largest out of town shopping centre, located outside Lisburn and from Belfast. The application was approved in June 2005 and the opening of...
(a branch of the John Lewis Partnership), which was met with mixed emotions from the local people. Marks & Spencer re-located from Above Bar Street to take the second anchor store.
There have been a few major changes to the centre's shops since its opening. The Tower Records
Tower Records
Tower Records was a retail music chain that was based in Sacramento, California. It currently exists as an international franchise and an online music store....
(which faced fierce competition from the HMV
HMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
store across the street) was replaced with a Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
store, which has closed after just a few months. This unit is now Pret A Manger
Pret A Manger
Pret a Manger is a British sandwich retail chain based in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom. The name "Pret a Manger" comes from the French prêt à manger, meaning "ready to eat", a reference to prêt-à-porter .The company was founded in London in 1986 by friends Sinclair Beecham and...
a sandwich
Sandwich
A sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...
retailer. Waitrose
Waitrose
Waitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom and is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England...
moved to Portswood
Portswood
Portswood is a suburb and Electoral Ward of Southampton, England. The suburb lies to the north-east of the city centre and is bounded by Freemantle, Highfield, Swaythling, St. Denys and Bevois Valley....
in 2006. The old Waitrose space has now been replaced by New Look as the current New Look store in the WestQuay was smaller. The smaller store, although having an upper floor, is now occupied by River Island. They have also moved, however they have came into WestQuay from a smaller high street store. In October 2007 some representatives from America came to Southampton (WestQuay) to learn about geothermal energy.
In mid May 2009 the first Hollister Store to be opened outside of the extended London area opened in WestQuay, this is considered to be a major coup for WestQuay as it reflects well on the strength of the retail offering available within WestQuay.
Construction
Demolition of the previous buildings began in September 1997 and WestQuay opened on 28 September 2000.
The development crosses over three major roads: The 20 m support structure from the two-storey glazed retail link over Portland Terrace weighs 400 tonnes, and Western Esplanade was cut in half by the centre. Harbour Parade is crossed by a footbridge to the adjacent multistorey car park.
It absorbs a 4 ½ metre change in ground level between east and west boundaries and the length of the mall from Above Bar to Harbour Parade is 400 m, and on top of the mall, The roof lights extend to around 350 m in length, There are a total of 32 lifts throughout the development, The steelwork took 20 weeks to design, order and manufacture, As many as 13 tower cranes worked on the site. The tallest crane had a 66 m mast and a reach of 65 m.
Southampton’s nearby Geothermal Heat Station supplies heat and chilling facilities to the centre.
Television Publicity
The WestQuay has had a lot of adverts on television in the local television region. WestQuay has appeared briefly on an episode in the first series of Trinny & Susannah Undress on ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
.
Awards
February 2000 Marketing AwardDestination Southampton
September 2000 Secured Car park.
June 2001 Best High Street Development
Property Week
July 2001 Opening, Refurbishment & Major Re-launch
Purple Apple, BCSC
August 2001 Cobra Car Park Safety Award
Police (Regional)
October 2001 European Week for Safety & Health
December 2001 Best New Centre
BCSC
February 2002 Regeneration Award
RICS
February 2002 Best New Car Park & Overall Winner
British Parking Awards
February 2002 Secured Car Park Award
Police
February 2002
Visitor Attraction Award,
South Hampshire
Destination Southampton
February 2003 Winner of Overall Marketing Campaign
Purple Apple, BCSC
February 2003 Best Advertising Campaign
Purple Apple, BCSC
March 2004 Services to Disability Award
Destination Southampton
September 2004 Tom Hillyer Award
National Shopmobility Federation
February 2005 Merit Award
BCSC Purple Apple Awards
April 2005 Safe Car Park Award
Park Mark
April 2006
Southampton Centre for Independent Living, Access all Areas Readers Award 2006
Southern Daily Echo
April 2006
Safe Car Park Award
Park Mark
March 2007
Achieving Customer Excellence (ACE) Award Winner 40,000-80,000 m² category
BCSC ACE Awards
March 2007
Achieving Customer Excellence ‘Top ACE’ Overall Award Winner
BCSC ACE Awards
March 2007
Effective Management of Off-street Parking –Commendation
British Parking Association