Westfield Shopping Centre, Stratford, London

Westfield Stratford City is a shopping centre in Stratford, east London, which opened on 13 September 2011. With a total retail floor area of , it is the largest urban shopping centre in the UK by land area and the 4th-largest shopping centre in the UK by

retail space Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

, behind Westfield west London, the MetroCentre, and the Trafford Centre. Originally fully owned by the

Westfield Group Westfield Group was an Australian shopping centre company that existed from 1960 to 2014, when it split into two independent companies: Scentre Group, which owns and operates the Australian and New Zealand Westfield shopping centre portfolio ...

, in November 2010 ABP Pension Fund and CPP Investment Board each purchased a 25% shareholding, with Westfield retaining 50%. Westfield's holding is now owned by

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE (previously Unibail-Rodamco SE) is a French commercial real estate company headquartered in Paris, France. Its history originates with the formation of two separate shopping centre operators, Unibail (founded in Fra ...

following Unibail-Rodamco's acquisition of Westfield Corporation in 2018. Westfield Stratford City is adjacent to the

London Olympic Park Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a sporting complex and public park in Stratford, Hackney Wick, Leyton and Bow, in east London. It was purpose-built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, situated adjacent to the Stratford City developm ...

, International Quarter London, East Village, Stratford Regional and

Stratford International Stratford International is a National Rail station in Stratford and a separate Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station nearby, located in East Village in London. Despite its name, no international services stop at the station; plans for it to ...

stations. The shopping centre is part of a large multi-purpose development project called Stratford City. It is promoted as contributing significantly to the local economy, with the creation of up to 10,000 permanent jobs including 2,001 going to local people. However, there are counter-reports of significant harm to other local businesses due to the preponderance of chain stores. The site was formerly occupied by Stratford Works and Locomotive Depot.

Retail area

The shopping centre is anchored by a John Lewis department store, a

Waitrose Waitrose & Partners (formally Waitrose Limited) is a brand of British supermarkets, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. It was acquired in 1937 by employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership, which still se ...

supermarket, a

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

department store, a 24-hour casino (Aspers) and a 20 screen all-digital Vue cinema. The shopping centre also has a 267-room

Premier Inn Premier Inn is a British limited service hotel chain and the UK's largest hotel brand, with more than 72,000 rooms and 800 hotels. It operates hotels in a variety of locations including city centres, suburbs and airports competing with the like ...

hotel, a Holiday Inn with 350 rooms and Staybridge Suites. The shopping centre has approximately 280 stores and 70 restaurants.

Transport

To the south of the site lies

Stratford station Stratford is a major multi-level railway station which rates as the 5th busiest station in Britain, serving the district of Stratford and the mixed-use development known as Stratford City, in the London Borough of Newham, east London. It is ...

which is served by

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and Jubilee lines, Greater Anglia, Elizabeth line, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway, and a number of

c2c Trenitalia c2c Limited,Companies House extract company no 789726 ...

services. To the north lies Stratford International station, which is served by Southeastern High Speed and Docklands Light Railway services. Stratford bus station and Stratford City bus station are served by numerous London Buses routes and National Express and Terravision long-distance services. According to Westfield, while the site supports a 5,000 space car park, 80% of the shoppers arrive at the centre on public transport.

In popular culture

In September 2011

Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Scherzinger (; born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, one of the best-selling g ...

marked the opening of Westfield Stratford City with a performance. In January 2012, '' The X Factor'' singer Olly Murs filmed a music video for his single " Oh My Goodness" at Westfield Stratford City.

References

External links

Official website

Stratford City on The Retail Database

"The Golden Temple" Featured Documentary on Westfield, Stratford and the Olympic Games, 2012
{{Coord, 51.545935, -0.009248, region:GB_scale:5000_type:city_source:Wikimapia, display=title Redevelopment projects in London Thames Gateway Stratford City Shopping malls established in 2011 Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Newham Shopping centres in the London Borough of Newham 2011 establishments in England Stratford, London Privately owned public spaces

Retail area

Transport

In popular culture

See also

References

External links