Yate Shopping Centre is proving more popular than ever and bucked the national shopping trend in November with record numbers attending the hugely successful Christmas parade.

Whilst latest figures for the number of people visiting town centres and shopping hubs suggest there was a 3.2% decline nationally during November (according to retail analysts Springboard), Yate recorded an increase of 2.6% for the same period with a vastly increased turnout of 17.5% for the Christmas parade.

Andy Lowrey, Yate Shopping Centre Manager, said: “November was a hugely successful month for the Centre bucking national trends and a great boost for traders ahead of the traditional hectic Christmas shopping period. The Christmas Parade was a tribute to the Centre’s staff, always a big attraction but better than ever this year!

“This footfall increase is against what is described as the fastest drop in visitors to  shopping centres for this period since 2009. It proves that the wide variety of shops that Yate offers the local community are competing effectively with other major centres further afield. The Centre offers a good range of national and independent traders with more openings scheduled for early next year.”

Meanwhile Christmas festivities at the Centre continue with Santa’s Grotto open from tomorrow (Thursday 13th December) everyday until Christmas Eve with an entry fee of £4 including a present. Full details of opening times are available on the Centre’s website.

Music, Father Christmas parades, carnival dancers and stilt walkers will form the centre piece of a free family fun-packed entertainment day on 17th November when the Yate Shopping Centre Christmas lights will be turned on.

The lights will be switched on at 4.15pm with Father Christmas parades featuring real reindeer at 1pm and 3pm. During the day activities will last from 11am until 5pm with live music from a Michael Buble tribute act, The Fabulous Rock Choir, a jazz band, carnival dancers and stilt walkers.

Santa’s Grotto will open on 18th November and on subsequent weekends until Thursday 13th December and then run continuously until Christmas Eve with an entry fee of £4 including a present. Full details of opening times are available on the Centre’s website.

Andrew Lowrey, Shopping Centre Manager: “The Christmas lights switch on is always the highlight of our run-up to the end of the year and for the traders is a critical period. This promises to be one of the best family fun days we have ever staged and will be a draw to all ages.

“All entertainment is free and there will be free competitions with prizes throughout the day. There will also be a Christmas pop-up shop opening in the Centre for the Christmas period – Calendar Club – occupying one of the very few vacant units in the Centre.

“Whereas the retail sector has experienced a volatile year with national vacancy levels running at about 11%, Yate Shopping Centre has had a stable and successful year with just a handful of vacant units available, less than 5% on average.

“Footfall at the Centre has also shown a positive increase during 2018 – against a national decline – and both the national and independent outlets will be looking to the Christmas period to continue this success”.

There will be a fun-filled fortnight of entertainment at Yate Shopping Centre for Easter and the half term holidays.

On Tuesday, 27th March in the centre square there will be an Easter Craft Workshop and on Thursday, 29th March White Rabbit & Alice will be there to meet and greet with competitions and prizes.

This will be followed-up in the following week Thursday, 6th April and Friday, 7th April with a New York Taxi Cab Photo Booth with free props and photos.

Andrew Lowrey, Yate Shopping Centre Manager:”Easter is always a busy time for the Shopping Centre and children entertainment is always at the forefront of our activities. It is an opportunity for them to get involved with seasonal activities with their friends and test their skills in the workshops or competitions.

“The Shopping Centre has a wide variety of entertainment for all ages running over the Easter and school holidays break. Cineworld will be showing all the latest films and a screen can even be booked for a party if you have something to celebrate.

“There is also a selection of restaurants to choose from and the shops will be trading their usual hours.”.

Two of the star characters from children’s favorite Paw Patrol will be entertaining visitorsat Yate Shopping Centre on Thursday, 15th February.

Sky and Rubble from the popular children live show will be staging ‘Meet and Greet’ sessions at intervals between 12.30pm and 3.30pm during the day. There will also be ‘Story Time Sessions’ led by a narrator at 11.30am and 4.00pm.

AndrewLowrey, Yate Shopping Centre Manager, said: “The Paw Patrol visit will kick-off our entertainment programme for 2018 and will be an entertaining and interactive day for children of all ages.

“The new Entertainer Store on West Walk will be stocking a large range of Paw Patrol merchandise and will have a demo of a Pup Pup racer on the event day.

“2018 promises to be an exciting year for the Centre with an extensive schedule of events lined-up throughout the year with some old favorites making return appearances including our popular Beach and the usual Christmas launch.

“In addition to the special events, the Centre offers a comprehensive range of entertainment, and dining experiences ranging from the very latest cinema showings at Cineworld through to a wide variety of eating places including Boleros, Frankie & Benny’s, and Prezzo at Yate Riverside.”

All Paw Patrol events will take place in the Central Square outside Boswell’s Cafe.

One of the country’s leading textile retailers opens a store in Yate Shopping Centre this week.

Julian Charles, a specialist retailer in luxury bed linen, quality curtains and ancillary textile products, will be opening in the former Lloyds Pharmacy unit at 14 West Walk on Friday, 8th December.

Andrew Lowrey, Yate Shopping Centre Manager: “Julian Charles is the latest addition to Yate Shopping Centre which has seen a major improvement in its retail, dining and leisure offer in recent years.

“The Centre has undergone a three stage redevelopment over the last few years and now boasts a range of prominent high street stores including Tesco Extra, Marks & Spencer Simply Food, Sports Direct, Entertainer, Pandora, Next, TKMaxx, a six screen multiplex Cineworld along with restaurants such as Prezzo, Frankie & Benny’s, Nandos and Loungers.

“Yate Shopping Centre is now a destination centre with new national retailing brands, a fantastic dining offer and a new modern cinema experience capable of serving the town’s growing population.”

Speaking about the Julian Charles store opening, Manager, Tracey Lowthian, said: “We are very excited about opening the doors to our new store and introducing the Julian Charles brand to the people of Yate. If you are looking for some interior inspiration or just feel like freshening up your home, a warm welcome will be waiting for you at Julian Charles with up to 70% off their collections you really are getting luxury for less.”

The first occupants of the recently completed flats within the Yate Shopping Centre complex have moved in this week.

Eight of the 13 flats, a mixture of one and two-bedroom units, above retail units in South Parade, South Walk and West Walk have been occupied already and there are still one one-bed and four two-bedroom flats available for rent.

Andrew Lowrey, Yate Shopping Centre Manager, said: “The Government and South Gloucestershire Council encourage landowners to bring back redundant space in town centres above retail units to help meet the urgent requirement for more housing.

“Over the last couple of years we have been looking at our options and identified several areas where we can make badly needed residential units available for public rental.

“We had an immediate demand for the flats, we have five remaining for rent and are interested to hear from any parties wishing to be considered as tenants.

“The Shopping Centre already has 34 long-established residential tenants and this is the latest move to ensure all space within the complex is used effectively, making both a social and economic contribution to the town’s economy.

“The Shopping Centre is now an attractive place to live and has a great eating and leisure offer with a 6 screen cinema, a fantastic range of restaurants and an onsite gym. The centre provides over 2,500 jobs and has excellent public transport links.

“The new residential units come at the same time as several new operators are opening in North and West Walks ensuring the Centre has a very highly successful overall occupancy rate.”

Anybody interested in renting a flat should contact Jeny Hillson, Yate Shopping Centre, tel no 01454 318554.

A bumper summer entertainment programme kicks-off at Yate Shopping Centre this week with activities ranging from ‘Bugs & Butterfly Workshops’ to steel bands and tribute acts.

All acts will be in the Central Square and will run from 11am until 3pm .

Tracy King, Yate Shopping Centre Marketing Manager: “We have assembled a wide range of entertainment acts to keep children of all ages occupied throughout the summer holidays.

“The acts start this Thursday, 27th July and run through until Tuesday, 29th August when an ABBA Tribute act brings matters to a climax. These special activities run alongside the ever-popular beach which will be open every day throughout the summer holidays in the Central Square.”

The full list of events is:

27th July – Crazy sand workshop

1st August – Jungle Jim

3rd August – Bugs & butterfly workshop

5th August – Dinosaur workshop

10th August – Beach disco & games

15th August – Steel Band

17th August – Jungle workshop

22nd August – Punch & Judy

24th August – Bee gees tribute

29th August – Abba tribute

Five new tenants will be showing their faces in Yate Shopping Centre over the next few months after having agreed to take premises.

In North Walk, two former vacant units have been occupied by independent card shop operator, Card N Wrap, who started fit-out yesterday in unit 31 North Walk, and Turkish barber and unisex hairdresser, Karizma, opened in 33 North Walk earlier this month.

However, the most significant change is the redevelopment of the former Entertainer unit at the end of West Walk to accommodate three smaller operations including a return to Yate of the popular Entertainer outlet in a new 4,500 square foot unit.

Andrew Lowrey, Yate Shopping Centre Manager: “The Entertainer unit in West Walk has been vacant since January 2014 and it has been difficult to attract shops requiring that amount of space. We opted to split the unit and have received many subsequent offers.

“The other two new operators in addition to Entertainer are Loungers, a locally based informal food led cafe/bar outlet, and Papa John’s pizza shop. These new additions bring further variety to the Centre and will increase our evening trade offer”.

Entertainer started its fit-out earlier this month, expecting to open on 5th August, and Loungers took occupation this week to start their internal works with a scheduled opening of 9th August. Papa John’s is expected to start internal works imminently.

Andy Lowrey: “With so much new housing coming online locally in the foreseeable future, it is important we have a wide selection of outlets to suit the many different tastes. It is great that these five new tenants realise the importance of tapping into this growing market by having a presence in Yate Shopping Centre”.

Yate Shopping Centre is one of 140 shopping centres across the UK taking part in ‘One Great Day’on 1st June 2017.

One Great Dayis a series of family and community charity events being held throughout the month of June to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, and other locally based children’s health charities. Participating shopping centres will provide a special family fun day for local communities across the UK, whilst raising money for a number of great causes.

One Great Daywas established in 2014 and has so far raised over £250,000 for 93 different children’s charities along with Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity. One Great Day now covers over 46 million square feet of retail space across the United Kingdom, from Folkestone to Aberdeen and nearly everywhere in-between!

Yate Shopping Centre will be raising money for the local Jessie May children’s charity as well as Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity.  Jessie May is a Children’s Hospice at Home service caring for local terminally ill children, providing vital respite care, emotional support, end of life care, and bereavement support alongside family events that help create treasured memories

On One Great Day the Shopping Centre is laying on a day of festive activities including a steel and duo; face painting; craft workshops; glitter and ink tattoo sessions; and the chance to meet your superheros.

Tracy King, Marketing Manager of Yate Shopping Centre, commented:

“We are absolutely delighted to be a part of One Great Day. Hosting an event like this gives us the chance to give something back to support the wonderful work of Jessie May and Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity which supports patients and families from across the UK.”

“One Great Day is about community engagement and raising money for a number of great causes, but it is also a fantastic opportunity for families in the area to get together and enjoy a fun day out whilst spending quality time together.”

Michal Noe, Trustee of One Great Day, said: “We are thrilled to have Yate Shopping Centre as one of 140 shopping centres taking part this year. This is the largest One Great Day yet, and we are proud that One Great Day is helping so many children’s health charities across the country.”

Works have started on converting the former ‘The Entertainer’ unit in West Walk into three small retail units and building a new coffee pod at the entrance to the Yate Riverside Cinema and Leisure complex.

Meanwhile a new tenant, Little Giggles Soft Play, is currently undergoing fit-out and is set to open in the first floor unit above the Prezzo and Frankie & Benny’s units at Yate Riverside on Easter Monday, 17th April.

The works on both sites, planning permissions for which have already been granted, are expected to start in the next few weeks and will last approximately five months.

Andrew Lowrey, Yate Shopping Centre Manager: “The Entertainer unit has been empty for several years and as time has gone on it has become evident that the demand for larger sized units has declined. Thus, we have decided to split the unit to meet current demand.

“We are currently in legals with three potential operators and are expecting completion by the middle of the year.”

Building works will also start on construction of a new coffee pod at the entrance to Yate Riverside in the very near future, the final piece of construction on this site.

Pretty Nails and Furniture Store have recently opened on North Walk and a ladies fashion operator is close to completing a lease for a unit in West Walk next to Halfords. Update Yours Clothing have taken 5 West Walk and will be opening week 3rd April.

“These are exciting times for the Centre as we fill the various unit vacancies but, importantly, we are now seeing a lot of enquiries from operators wanting to set-up in Yate”.