St George's Shopping Centre

St George's Shopping Centre
Location Preston, Lancashire, England
Opening date 22 March 1966
Management Ken Williams
Owner Aviva Investors Property Trust
No. of stores and services 106[1]
Total retail floor area 270,000 sq ft (25,000 m2)[1]
No. of floors 2
Parking 410 spaces[1]
Website St George's Shopping

St George's Shopping Centre, formerly The Mall Preston and The Mall St George, is a shopping centre in the city of Preston, Lancashire, England.

History

The Friargate entrance in 2002
The Friargate entrance in 2002

The shopping centre opened on 22 March 1966 as St George's Shopping Centre. It was originally an open-air centre and was roofed over during refurbishment in 1981. It was further refurbished in 1999.[2]

When The Mall Company took over the centre, they were greeted with an ageing shopping centre. The shopping centre was rebranded as The Mall, and a massive development scheme was planned. Small stalls, main shops, cafes, restaurants, toilets, and escalators were overhauled. The introduction of television screens in the shopping centre has given information and news to the shoppers in the centre. The Mall Company also put 'Ask Me' points in the centre, so that shoppers could ask members of staff directions and other information.

In March 2010, the shopping centre was acquired by Aviva Investors for £87 million.[3][4] In September 2010, The Mall was rebranded under its original name St George's Shopping Centre.

Centre information

The centre is arranged around a large circular glass-roofed rotunda in the centre, where there is a Costa Coffee, which was originally known as "The Bullring", when it was open air.

Radiating from the rotunda are large halls and promenades, lined with shops and stalls. Glass roofs and walls are also evident in the centre. A two-floor hall leads to Friargate, with another hall leading to Fishergate on the upper floor, and a third route leading to Lune Street on the lower floor. The rotunda also has a third floor with offices and access to the centre's car park.

St George's is located between the city's two main shopping streets of Fishergate and Friargate, and runs its own multi-storey car park above the centre, which can be accessed from Lune Street. There is a Preston Park & Ride bus stop outside the centre's Lune Street entrance, and Fishergate is served by several bus routes. The centre is within half a mile of Preston railway station and Preston bus station.

References

  1. 1 2 3 St George's Shopping: Visitor Info
  2. ↑ Holland, P. (1996) Nostalgic Preston, True North Publishing, Halifax, ISBN 1-900463-50-4
  3. ↑ Robinson, Ben; Coates, David (9 March 2010). "Preston city shopping centre sold for £87m". Lancashire Evening Post. Johnston Press. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
  4. ↑ Mall sells St George's shopping centre, Preston

Coordinates: 53°45′32″N 2°42′06″W / 53.7589°N 2.7016°W / 53.7589; -2.7016

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