The Ridings Shopping Centre is an indoor

shopping centre A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England. It opened on 17 October 1983. The pioneering centre was a UK first and subsequently served as a template for many shopping centres throughout the UK.

Stores and services

The Ridings Centre covers an area of and has an estimated annual footfall of 11 million. The centre contains a number of retailers such as

Boots A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited, trading as Morrisons, is the List of supermarket chains in the United Kingdom, fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Sco ...

Primark Primark Limited (; trading as Penneys in Ireland) is an Irish multinational fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with outlets across Europe and in the United States. The original ''Penneys'' brand is not used outside of Irel ...

as well as a number of independent stores. The centre has three car parks (each assigned a colour) including three multi-storeys and a rooftop car park. A five-screen Reel Cinema opened in the centre in 2019.

History

The Ridings Centre opened on 17 October 1983. It included construction of a large complex to house the upper and middle malls along with the blue and red car parks. In addition to this, an existing open shopping precinct on Kirkgate originally opened in 1972 was roofed and extensively updated to become the lower mall, and the existing Almhouse Lane multi-storey was adapted to become the green car park. It was the first of its kind in the UK, containing features such as a food court inspired by shopping centres in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and its major popularity upon opening meant there were queues even to enter the centre. The centre was extensively refurbished in 2008 at a cost of £2.5 million. The improvements included a redesign of the centre's entrances as well as new lifts (replacing the original glass wall-climber lift that was the first in the UK). The Ridings Centre was purchased in 2015 by NewRiver. This was followed by a £5 million renovation in 2017 which included a new

food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food Vendor, vendors and provides a common area for self-serve di ...

(since closed) and space for 'pop-up' shops.

Awards

*The Ridings Centre won the award for 'European Shopping Centre Of The Year' on numerous occasions. *In 2018 the centre won the Revo Purple Apple Marketing Awards, obtaining a Golden Apple Award.

Transport connections

The Ridings Centre is located near Wakefield Westgate and Wakefield Kirkgate railway stations as well as Wakefield Bus Station. The centre is located near the A61 and the M1. Arriva Yorkshire have their headquarters and main depot located in Wakefield, on the A61, next to the Hepworth Gallery. Arriva are the owners and managers of Wakefield Bus Station.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridings Centre, The Buildings and structures in Wakefield Shopping centres in West Yorkshire Shopping malls established in 1983