Westfield London

Infobox shopping mall
shopping_mall_name = Westfield London

---

image_width = 250
caption =
location = London, UK
opening_date = 30 October 2008
developer =
manager =
owner = Westfield Group
number_of_stores = 270
number_of_anchors = 5
floor_area = 1.615m ft² (150,000m²)
floors = 5
parking = 4500
website = [http://uk.westfield.com/london/ uk.westfield.com/london]

Westfield London will be a large shopping centre in Shepherd's Bush, London, United Kingdom. The centre is being developed by the Westfield Group, at a cost of £1.6b, on a site bounded by the West Cross Route (A3220), the Westway (A40) and Wood Lane (A219), and is scheduled to open on 30 October 2008.cite web|url=http://uk.westfield.com/london/retail-delivery/retail-delivery-explained.html|title=Retail Delivery|date=2008|publisher=Westfield Group|accessdate=2008-09-27]

The site is part of the White City district, where several other large scale development projects are under way or in the planning stages. The development is on a large brownfield site which was once the location of the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition; the initial site clearance demolished the final set of halls still remaining from the exhibtion.

Retail area

When completed in late 2008 the centre will boast a retail floor area of 150,000m² (1.615m ft²)cite press release
title = A New Icon in UK Retail: "Westfield London"
publisher = Westfield Group
date =
url = http://westfield.holler.co.uk/pdfs/press/Westfield%20Launch.pdf
accessdate = 2006-11-30 Dead link|date=September 2008] . Consequently, it will be the third largest shopping centre in the UK behind MetroCentre and Bluewater and will overtake Centrale in Croydon as the largest shopping centre in London. The completed centre will feature around 270 stores, including
House of Fraser, Marks & Spencer, Next, Debenhams, Waitrose, All Saints, Habitat, Apple, Boots, Bose, Bershka, Coast, Dorothy Perkins, French Connection, Gerry Weber, Hackett, Jaeger, Kurt Geiger, Mango, Mulberry, Reiss, Topshop, Zara, Cinema de Lux multiplex cinema. Other retailers speculated to be in negotiations include [cite news
last = Kelly
first = Sean
coauthors =
title = A Death by 1,000 Cuts
publisher = Shopping Centers Today
date = March 2006
url = http://www.icsc.org/srch/sct/sct0306/feature_british.php
accessdate = 2006-12-04 ] Barneys New York [cite news
last =Pickard
first =Jim
coauthors =Jonathan Birchall
title = Barneys to open first London store
publisher = Financial Times
date = 2006-09-02
url =
accessdate = ] . On Sundays in order to maximize available shopping times whilst keeping within the UK's Sunday trading laws some of the stores will open from 09:00 to 15:00 and the others 12:00 to 18:00.

An unusual aspect of the development is a new high end retail area to be called The Village. Building on experience in attracting high end retailers to its Australian malls, developer Westfield hopes to attract black label brands unheard of in the London shopping mall market. As of August 2007 Louis Vuitton had already signed up for a unit in the area, with more rumoured to be in negotiation. [cite press release
title = High Fashion in Shepherds Bush
publisher = Vogue
date = 2007-08-02
url = http://www.vogue.co.uk/vogue_daily/story/story.asp?stid=46343
accessdate = 2007-08-03 ] . This was followed in the subsequent months with confirmed tenants in the form of the likes of TAG Heuer, Mulberry, Tiffany & Co, Thomas Pink, Armani, Duchamp, Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, Gieves & Hawkes, Tommy Hilfiger and TM Lewin - arguably establishing The Village at Westfield London as London's third biggest luxury retailing centre after the West End and Sloane Sq retail destinations.

Transport connections

The Westfield centre opening will coincide with the completion of several major London transport infrastructure projects which will serve the centre and the surrounding area:cite web|url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/9337.aspx|title=White City and Shepherd's Bush|date=September 2008|publisher=Transport for London|accessdate=2008-09-27]

*London Underground: the new Wood Lane station has been built on the western side of the Westfield site, on the Hammersmith and City Line, and is due to open on 12 October 2008. The centre will also be served by Shepherd's Bush tube station (Central Line), which is undergoing reconstruction and will re-open on 5 October 2008.cite press release
title = Westfield at White City opens October 30
publisher = London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
date = 2008-09-22
url = http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/News_and_Media/Press_office/Press_releases/105642_Westfield_opens_October_30.asp
accessdate = 2008-09-27 ]

*London Overground: Shepherd's Bush railway station is a new station which has been constructed on the West London Line and opened on 28 September 2008. It is located on the southern side of the development, immediately next to the Central Line tube station.
The opening of the station was delayed by several months when the finished platform was found to be 18 inches narrower than the required width. [citation |newspaper=Private Eye |issue=1195 |pages=6 |date=2007-10-12] [citeweb |url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23416403-details/New+railway+station+over+budget...and+undersized/article.do |title=New railway station over budget...and undersized |accessdate=2007-10-12 |last=Barney |first=Katharine |publisher=Evening Standard]

*Bus and taxi: a southern transport interchange next to the Overground station will include a bus station and a taxi rank.cite web
url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/stationsandinterchanges/4752.aspx
title=White City Development
author=Transport for London
accessdate=2007-10-02] The Grade II listed Dimco Buildings (1898) - former London Underground power station sheds - on Ariel Way have been preserved and redeveloped into a bus station cite web
url=http://www.maps.lbhf.gov.uk/udp/text/udp_part2_chapter10.asp?section=4&subsection=3&subsection2=1&policy=0&c=k&userExtent=520135:175000:527750:183500
title=Site Proposals - Site 36 White City Centre Site
author=London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
accessdate=2007-10-02
date=] cite web
url=http://www.sharpfibre.co.uk/UK/CaseStudy-WhiteCity.html
title=Case study: White City
author=Sharpfibre Ltd
accessdate=2007-10-02
date=] . The Dimco buildings were used as a filming location for the ‘Acme Factory’ in the 1988 film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" cite web
url=http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/w/whoframed.html
title=Who Framed Roger Rabbit filming locations
author=The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations
accessdate=2007-10-02
date=] .
*Cycle routes: the development includes new cycle routes.
*Road links: a grade-separated junction connects to the West Cross Route (A3220) which runs alongside the development site.

See also

* List of shopping centres in the United Kingdom
* Stratford City - another Westfield development in London

References

External links

* [http://uk.westfield.com/london/ Westfield London Official Website]
* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/white-city-development.pdf White City Development leaflet] (Transport for London, August 2007)
* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/corporate/white-city-and-shepherd-bush-leaflet.pdf Leaflet: "White City and Shepherd's Bush travel connections are being transformed"] (Transport for London, September 2008)
* [http://westfield-shops.com/ Westfield London Shops, Transport and Parking]
* [http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/24 White City & Shepherd's Bush] descrpition and map of transport developments