Quadrant Shopping Centre

The Quadrant Shopping Centre is the principal under-cover shopping centre in the city of Swansea, Wales. It was originally opened in 1978 and has had a number of facelifts since. It consists of two shopping levels, but the second level only consists of the second-floor entrances to Boots and Debenhams as well as the public conveniences. It is directly adjacent to Swansea Market in the city centre and is connected internally to the market.

tores

The centre is deemed successful, having filled its units, but some of its stores are taken up by downmarket private stores.

The anchors of the centre are Debenhams, W H Smith and Boots. Other notable stores include HMV, Clarks, Dorothy Perkins and Oasis, amongst many others.

The building

The centre's main distinctions are its glass roof structure and its large square atrium at the centre, which is now leased out to seasonal businesses, mainly during festive periods. The centre's decor is dated, as much of its upper floor consists of open brickwork from the 1980s. The centre was last redeveloped in the early 1990s, but that was mainly just a substantial facelift when compared to the previous revamp which included the addition of 'The Gallery', a cafe that overlooked the central square and Debenhams store.

urroundings & future

To the west of the shopping centre lies Swansea's bus station. On the south side of the mall is a multi-storey car park. To the east of the Quadrant centre is the considerably less successful St. David's Shopping Centre complex. The complex is seen by many locals as a white elephant that deserves to be demolished as it overshadows the Quadrant centre. Also, Swansea City & County Council is planning to demolish the entirety of the area, replacing it with a new Quadrant development based around St Mary's Square, the new city bus station and Oystermouth Road including its boulevard redevelopment and the Paxton Street ground-level car park.

Ownership

The Quadrant and surrounding areas are owned by the City and County of Swansea council.

External links

* [http://www.quadrantshopping.co.uk The Quadrant Shopping Centre Swansea (official site)]
* [http://wales.gov.uk/news/archivepress/enterprisepress/2007/1422006/?lang=en Welsh Assembly Government: £1 billion blueprint set to transform and revitalise Swansea City Centre]
* [http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/yourwales/culture/tm_headline=1bn-makeover-plan-for-dylan-8217-s-8216-ugly-town-8217&method=full&objectid=18707502&siteid=50082-name_page.html icWales: £1bn makeover plan for Dylan’s ‘ugly town’]