North Circular Road and Hendon Way
London (Borough of Barnet), United Kingdom
Development of Great Britain's first regional-class, suburban shopping mall was underway as early as 1963, but it would be nearly 20 years before the first such centre would begin trading to the public.
In the meantime, two inner city shopping malls had been dedicated. BULL RING CENTRE, in central Birmingham, opened its doors in May 1964. ELEPHANT & CASTLE CENTRE, in the London's Borough of Southwark ["Suh-thirk"], began business in March 1965.
Early proposals for an "out of town" shopping precinct, to be built in the northwestern outskirts of London, were met with a tremendous amount of opposition. It was thought that such a facility would take business away from "high street" (centre city) merchants. Moreover, potential traffic issues were cited as a reason for the rejection of development plans.
Nonetheless, by April 1970, approval had been granted for the construction of a north London out-of-town mall. Two major British department stores, John Lewis and Fenwick ["fin-ik"], had signed on as anchors. The new complex, to be known as BRENT CROSS CENTRE, would be designed by London's Bernard Engels & Partners firm and be developed by the London-based Hammerson Properties Investment Trust, with financing provided by Edinburgh-based Standard Life Investments.
A 52-acre plot was acquired. This was located 5 miles northwest of the London urban core, at the junction of the Hendon Way and North Circular Road thoroughfares. The Hendon Greyhound Stadium had stood at the site since 1935. It was demolished in 1970. Johnsons of Hendon, a photographic supply factory, had also occupied a portion of the land parcel.
A (15,200 square foot) Waitrose supermarket became the first operational BRENT CROSS tenant, on February 3, 1976. An official mall-wide dedication was held on March 2nd. The 799,900 square foot, 2-level complex was anchored by a 3-level (211,300 square foot) John Lewis and 3-level (173,600 square foot) Fenwick.
Among its seventy-five shops were WH Smith, Peter Lord Shoes, Ravel Shoes, Harry Fenton, Lord John, Spectra TV Rentals, Lilley & Spinner, Dixons, Mothercare, Russell & Bromley, Boots chemist, Benetton, C & A Modes and Intersport. A 3-level (76,800 square foot), London-based Marks & Spencer was a charter junior anchor.
As stated, BRENT CROSS CENTRE was Britain's first out-of-town, United States-style shopping mall...and the nation's largest retail hub. It was also noteworthy for its extended shopping hours. Whereas standard "high street" shops closed by 5 pm, those in BRENT CROSS would operate until 8 pm, Monday thru Friday, and until 6 pm on Saturday. Sunday sales were first sanctioned in 1994.
Other mall-type centres were built on the periphery of Greater London. These included WOOD GREEN SHOPPING CITY (1981) {4.9 miles northeast, in the Borough of Haringey}, LAKESIDE CENTRE (1990) {22.5 miles southeast, in the Borough of Thurrock} and THE GALLERIA, HATFIELD (1991) {12.6 miles north, in the Borough of Welwyn Hatfield}.
BRENT CROSS CENTRE was given a major upgrade and expansion between 1994 and 1996. The 40 million pound project, envisaged by Manchester's Building Design Partnership, added 98,000 square feet of retail space, ten stores and services, a 5-bay Cafe Court and new multi-storey car park (replacing a structure added to the mall in 1985).
On the mall's interior, glass domes, lighting, fountains, escalators and a "glazed scenic lift" (elevator) were installed. US-based Talbots opened their first UK store. BRENT CROSS CENTRE now encompassed 897,700 lettable square feet and 115 shops and services.
A second expansion was proposed in 2003 but met a tidal wave of opposition. The proposal was subsequently dropped. A greatly revised plan, which was less automobile-centric, garnered initial approval in June 2010. Known as Brent Cross Cricklewood, the 4.5 billion pound endeavor would renovate and expand BRENT CROSS CENTER, adding over 800,000 lettable square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment venues.
250 acres directly south of the mall would be redeveloped as a town centre, with a second commercial district, parks, office blocks, residential units, community centre, public library and NHS (National Health Service) facility.
It was plausible that the development could have been serviced by a new transit corridor; the North & West London Light Railway. Consisting of four routes and thirty-four station stops, the prospective transit line was modeled on the existing Docklands Light Railway in London.
The BRENT CROSS CENTRE revitalization was designed by the CallisonRTKL and Chapman Taylor firms. The fully-realized, mixed-use facility was to encompass up to 1.7 million lettable square feet and contain 345 stores, restaurants and entertainment venues. Construction was to begin in 2018. However, in July, the BRENT CROSS and Cricklewood projects were indefinitely shelved.
Sources:
https://www.brentcross.co.uk/shop
https://www.brentcross.co.uk/shop
https://www.brentcross.co.uk/shop (Website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
https://completelyretail.co.uk
http://retailproperty.cushwake.com
https://completelyretail.co.uk
http://retailproperty.cushwake.com
https://www.standard.co.uk (The London Evening Standard)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
http://www.johnlewis.com
https://londonist.com
http://www.pastscape.org.uk
http://www.waitrosememorystore.org.uk
http://www.brentcrosscricklewood.com
http://www.chrismrogers.net
https://fashionunited.uk
"Brent Cross" article on Wikipedia
"The Brent Cross Shopping Centre - Characteristics & Early Effects" / I. Shepherd & P. Newby
"Shopping, Place and Identity" / Peter Jackson, Daniel Miller, Michael Rowlands http://www.telegraph.co.uk
http://www.johnlewis.com
https://londonist.com
http://www.pastscape.org.uk
http://www.waitrosememorystore.org.uk
http://www.brentcrosscricklewood.com
http://www.chrismrogers.net
https://fashionunited.uk
"Brent Cross" article on Wikipedia
