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Sports Direct is the latest high street brand to commit to Yate. It will be opening a new store in East Walk at Yate Shopping Centre alongside the M&S Simply Food Store.
The new store will comprise of a single unit on the ground floor and be spread across three units on the upper floor and will create further employment opportunities for the local community.
Andrew Lowrey, Yate Shopping Centre Manager, said: “The signing of Sports Direct will add to our retail offer and demonstrates Yate Shopping Centre’s popularity as a shopping destination. This is a major signing and will be a terrific boost for the town – and further high profile announcements are in the pipeline!
“Ever since Dominion Corporate Trustees took over the shopping centre seven years ago, it has been their intention to attract more high street brands to complement the local traders. This can only be acheived when there are buildings that suit the modern trading format and the new retail units in East Walk have been designed with this in mind.
“Construction work on the new retail units in East Walk is scheduled to start in late summer once the toilets have been relocated to West Walk.
During the last month Poundland, 99p Store, and Wetherspoons – some of the country’s most prominent high street names have all opened in Yate Shopping Centre, these stores have attracted new customers to the centre and with our loyal customer base we are all really encouraged that Yate Shopping Centre has a bright future.
Andrew Lowrey continued: “Whilst the economy has had a major impact on the retail industry, the Centre has managed to hold its own by replacing some of those that have gone out of business with new names. Our vacancy rates are below the national average and there is still strong demand for premises from national chains.”
Yate Shopping Centre will be filled with the tunes of yesteryear on Diamond Jubilee Day, Wednesday, 6thJune, when Wartime Tribute Act and 1940′s and 50′s singer Heather Marie will be entertaining the crowds.
Shoppers will also be able enjoy a free cream tea outside Parsons in North Walk between 12pm – 3pm.
For the children, the first 100 will enjoy a free street party in West Walk, starting at Noon, with free lunch, music, face painting, bouncy castle and free water balls.
Heather has been touring the UK since 2009 performing songs from wartime 1940′s through to 1950′s rock n roll with swing and big band mixed in along the way. She has performed at functions throughout the UK and for national charities such as the Royal Air Forces Association and Help for Heroes. In April 2009, Heather was honoured to perform with legendary military dance band The Royal Air Force Squadronaires!
Emmerdale star swaps Yorkshire Dales for Poundland in Yate
Local shoppers will be quids in as Poundland,Europe’s biggest single price discountretailer,announces that its new store will open on 3 May in Yate shopping centre, Yate. The new store will create 30 new jobs.
To kick off the celebrations, there will be a family fun day on 5 Maywhen Emmerdale’s Kevin Fletcher aka ‘Andy Sugden’ – will get the party started signing autographs and having his picture taken with local fans.
From 10am ‘Andy’ will be giving out £1 vouchers, which shoppers can exchange for anything from a pack of Kodak batteries to greeting cards for every occasion.
The family fun day will offer shoppers plenty of ways to win Poundland goodies. Shoppers can take part in the ‘Poundland Lucky Numbers’ where £100 worth of Poundland vouchers will be given away throughout the day. The fun continues all day with Poundland’s in-store DJ and entertainer who will be giving away balloons and sweets and getting the crowds excited!
Poundland has over 390 stores nationwide selling an array of products at just £1. The range includes top brand essentials including Mr Muscle, Cadbury, Weight Watchers, Colgate and Heinz.
Poundland also offers seasonal products including ranges for summer and the Queen’s Jubilee, and there are plenty of offers including 3 for £1 on pick and mix crisps, chocolates and drinks, and ‘Buy One Get One Free’ deals, so shoppers can get even more for a pound.
Poundland’s Trading Director, David Coxon, says: “We are delighted to bring our unique proposition to Yate.
“Poundland offers exceptional value on top branded products to over 4 million customers every week .The £1 price hasn’t changed since we opened our first store 22 years ago. Our current customers love us and we are sure the Yate shoppers will too!”
Discount chain store Poundland is to open a shop in Yate, the Gazette can reveal.
The budget retailer has taken over eight former Peacocks stores, including the empty premises in Yate Shopping Centre as well as in Brighton, Dartford, Falkirk and Hoxton, in an expansion of its business that will create 220 jobs with 36 new positions in Yate.
Chief executive Jim McCarthy said: “Poundland has grown significantly over the past 12 months and we will continue to open new stores, creating local employment opportunities.
“We are delighted to bring our unique and well-proven single price discount proposition and provide amazing value every day to thousands of new customers in these towns.”
The Peacocks store in Yate closed suddenly in February after the firm went into administration. It was previously a Woolworths store but was closed when that company went bust in a high profile collapse in 2008. The shop was divided in two to make way for Peacocks and sister company, women’s clothing store Bonmarche in 2009.
Andy Lowrey, manager of Yate Shopping Centre, said shop fitting work for Poundland started on Monday.
He added: “We can confirm that Peacocks’ administrators KPMG have assigned the Peacocks lease to Poundland and as such shop fitting works have commenced.
Taking in to consideration the current retail market, this is great news for Yate as it demonstrates that retailers are very much interested in opening stores at Yate Shopping Centre.
“We believe that Poundland will be very popular with our customers and that the new store will increase footfall around the centre’s walkways thus benefiting our other retailers.”
He added: “Poundland have also advised us that 36 jobs will be created and that Bon Marche will be staying in occupation.”
NEW TOILETS PLANNED FOR YATE SHOPPING CENTRE
Yate Shopping Centre has submitted a planning application to South Gloucestershire Council to build new public conveniences in West Walk.
They will replace the existing facilities in East Walk which are due to be demolished to make way for the new Marks & Spencer Simply Food store, construction of which will begin in the Spring.
The new public conveniences will be sited immediately outside the West Gate Centre, Yate’s new health centre in West Walk. (the same location as the toilets that were knocked down during the development of the West Gate Centre)
Andrew Lowrey, Yate Shopping Centre Manager, commenting on the application said: “There has been extensive dialogue over recent months about suitably sited replacement facilities. There are already toilets in the Tesco Extra store in East Walk which are available to the public. These new toilets will ensure facilities are available at both ends of the Shopping Centre.
“We will be reviewing our signage within the Shopping Centre as part of the process and will make sure that there is adequate signage throughout the centre to direct shoppers to the nearest toilets”.
Work to convert four retail units adjacent to the post office on South Parade at Yate Shopping Centre into a Wetherspoon public restaurant will commence next Monday, 27thFebruary.
Andrew Lowrey, Shopping Centre Manager, said: “This is another exciting phase in the development of the Shopping Centre and when completed will offer further eating facilities. JD Wetherspoon will invest significantly and transform this area of the centre bringing vitality and along with Waves Entertainment Centre a nightlife for the Yate community and surrounding areas.
“Hoardings will be placed around the units whilst external and internal works are undertaken and therefore our customers will experience minimal disruption.“
The works are expected to be complete by 17thMay with the new pub restaurant opening on 29thMay.
BUOYANT CHRISTMAS PERIOD FOR YATE SHOPPING CENTRE
“2012 another year of further significant change”
Nearly 6% more shoppers visited Yate Shopping Centre in December 2011than in the same month the previous year. In Christmas week alone the increase was nearly 24%.
Andrew Lowrey, Yate Shopping Centre Manager: “The figures are very encouraging especially as many shoppers delayed their shopping in 2010 because of the severe inclement weather. They also show that in addition to drawing back those customers who may have shopped elsewhere during the construction of the new Tesco Extra we have, importantly, also attracted new customers.
“Our latest marketing campaigns have concentrated on promoting the Centre as a whole and these latest figures show that the campaign has been effective. There was an increase of nearly 13% in shoppers using the Centre’s internal walkways demonstrating that shoppers are visiting all areas of the Centre and not just going to the new Tesco Extra store. The Centre is now a destination shopping centre and is more than just a local facility.
“2012 will be another exciting year for us as several further significant changes take place. The first of these will be the start of works on the new Wetherspoons public house in South Walk which is scheduled for 23rd January with completion in mid-May.”
A planning application will soon be submitted to relocate the existing toilets in East Walk to the site of the former toilets in West Walk. Once the East Walk toilets are demolished, work will be able to start on construction of the new retail units opposite Tesco in East Walk which will house a Marks & Spencer Simply Food and two other operators. In the interim, quality temporary toilets will be erected for customer use until the new toilets in West Walk are completed.
“By the end of 2012 the Centre will have some more prominent high street names balancing the blend of local and national shops and further enhancing the Centre’s reputation as a major local shopping destination”, concluded Andrew.
Waves Night Club to open at Yate Shopping Centre on 29th October 2011.
Click here for story from the Gazette
FREE ENTRY all night with HEARTS Bush & Troy 8pm to 10pm Games, Band and music for the whole family to enjoy.
So get your self down to Waves for a great night resident DJ will be spinning some great tunes from 10pm to 2am with great promotions on for our very first night.
St Peter’s Hospice are moving units at Yate Shopping Centre.
For the full story from the Gazette, please click here
The owners of Yate Shopping Centre have submitted a planning application for a Marks & Spencer Simply Food store in East Walk at the Yate Shopping Centre.
The application is for a new unit of combined floorspace at ground and first floor level of 1,678 square metres to sell both food and non-food goods as typically found in such a store.
Planning permission was granted by South Gloucestershire Council in July 2009 for four new retail units in East Walk, located directly opposite the new Tesco Extra store. This application seeks to amend that permission to accommodate the Marks & Spencer store. Two of the units will be merged at ground floor level to form the new store.
Andrew Lowrey, Yate Shopping Centre Manager, said: “The announcement that Marks & Spencer want to take part of the new development in East Walk is a tremendous boost for both the Centre and Yate.
“With such a prominent high street name coming onboard along with the new Tesco store and smaller retail units under the Tesco Extra, the eastern end of the shopping centre will experience a major transformation that is certain to be a major crowd puller! We hope that if all goes according to plan, the new Marks & Spencer will be open by late 2012.
“Furthermore, we are working hard to attract other leading names to fill the remaining two new units and existing vacant units. The emphasis over the next twelve months will be to ensure that the enthusiasm created by these new shops spreads throughout the shopping centre.”
Representatives from Yate Shopping Centre are this week (19-21September) attending the British Council of Shopping Centres (BCSC) at The Manchester Central Convention Complex where they are promoting the centre to potential new tenants.
Mark Hull, Group Property Controller for the owners of Yate Shopping Centre, said: “BCSC is the UK’s showcase of the retail world and for the first time we will be presenting the Shopping Centre looking to attract more high street names to fill the larger vacant units. With all the main retailers in attendance we are optimistic that there will be strong interest in the two new units in East Walk and potential to draw-in new occupants for some of the other existing vacant units”.