Halton Lea

infobox shopping mall
shopping_mall_name = Halton Lea Shopping Centre

|thumb|100px
caption =
location = Runcorn, Halton, United Kingdom
opening_date = July 1972
developer = Grosvenor Group
manager = Mayfield Asset and Property Management
owner= Peel Group
number_of_stores = 130 (With capacity for 250)
number_of_anchors = 3
floor_area = 545,082 sq ft (50,640 m²)
parking = 2,200
floors = 3
website = http://www.halton-lea.co.uk

Halton Lea is a medium sized covered shopping centre located in Runcorn, Cheshire. It is the main shopping area in Runcorn. It was the centrepiece of the New Town of Runcorn and was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1972..

History

Opened in July 1972 by Queen Elizabeth II, Halton Lea, then called Runcorn Shopping City was designed by the Chief Planner of Runcorn New Town, Arthur Ling as the centerpiece of the massive development. It was the first 'American-style' shopping centre to be built in the United Kingdom and at the time was one of the largest shopping centres in Europe.

During that period the centre attracted huge numbers of shoppers brought by Runcorn's unique transportation system and its central location between Manchester and Liverpool. It wasn't to last though as the owners at that time Grosvenor pushed rents up in an attempt to capitalise on the centre's new found fortune. Spiralling rents soon saw many of the big names that were attracting shoppers close and move to centres with lower rents such as the Golden Square Shopping Centre in neighbouring Warrington.

In 1989 ASDA Stores Ltd, then part of ASDA MFI opened a convert|90000|sqft|m2|abbr=on superstore on West Lane. The store was recently extended to convert|106000|sqft|m2|abbr=on Some of the problems the centre was experiencing during the late 1980s and early 1990s were blamed on the ASDA Superstore however; it arguably helped to keep the centre alive bringing valuable customers to the area during the centre's poorest years.

The centre suffered for many more years after Grosvenor sold the centre to its current owners, Peel Holdings. Poor running of the centre had left it in a state of disrepair. Asbestos, building faults and out of date decor led to a huge redevelopment of the centre which eventually led to its renaming to Halton Lea. Since then the centre has grown to include a retail park named the Trident Retail Park which hosts many big name shops such as Currys, JJB Sports, Blockbusters, TK Maxx and Fitness First. The flagship unit is a 9-screen cinema complex currently owned and operated by Cineworld.

Future

The centre is still undergoing a large scale redevelopment which will see over the next few years internal redevelopment and distribution of unit space as well as the development of new retail space both inside the centre through the opening of the centre's unused second floor (adding at least another convert|500000|sqft|m2|abbr=on of retail space) as well as the building of more retail parks around the centre, as well as refurbishing a walkway and several shopping units into a large Wilkinsons store that opened in mid August 2007. The Post Office moved into WHSmith around the same time, and a new unit to be opened in place of where it used to be.

One retail park has plans for what would be Europe's largest supermarket although at this time no supermarket chain has yet expressed interest. It was believed Halton Borough Council wanted ASDA to move into the second floor so its current store can be redeveloped into another retail park, but now the nearby ASDA is extending its current building and has no plans to move.

Background Information

The centre is in the proximity of the local district police station, law courts and Halton's General Hospital.

hop Information

Halton Lea holds over 85 shopping units including banks, bakeries, clothing shops, electrical shops and general supermarkets (Tesco, Iceland etc.)Not to mention the nearby 'Trident Park', that holds a huge multi-screen cinema and many other large retail outlets(such as a gym).