Luton Point

Last updated

Luton Point
Luton Mall.jpg
Luton Point
Location Luton, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom
Coordinates 51°52′45″N0°24′54″W / 51.87917°N 0.41500°W / 51.87917; -0.41500
Opening date1972;52 years ago (1972)
ManagementRoy Greening [1]
Owner Frasers Group
No. of stores and services128
Total retail floor area 906,850 sq ft (84,249 m2)
No. of floors2
Parking1,707 spaces
Website https://lutonpoint.co.uk/

Luton Point is in the centre of Luton, in Bedfordshire, England. It was formerly an Arndale Centre, until it was purchased by Capital & Regional in January 2006. [2] It was temporarily called The Mall Arndale, but was later referred to as The Mall Luton, although local people still refer to it as "The Arndale". It has been renamed Luton Point in 2024.

Contents

History

Originally opened in 1972, as The Arndale Shopping Centre, it was purchased by Capital & Regional in January 2006. [2] The centre has 147 shop units occupying 906,850 sq ft (84,249 m2), and parking for 1,707 cars.

The area that would become the new shopping centre was cleared during the 1960s. Many notable buildings which had escaped the damage of World War II were subsequently demolished.

St George's Square

The Mall at Night Luton Mall at Night.jpg
The Mall at Night

Following the completion of the redevelopment of St George's Square in Luton, the St George's Square end of The Mall Luton was also remodelled.

The development created 8,825 sq m (75,000 sq ft) of new retail space across 8 new retail units. Three levels of car parking at the top of the development provided an increase of approximately 200 car parking spaces. On completion The Mall Luton totalled 77,199 sq m (831,000 sq ft). The new six-storey building has an entrance directly onto St George's Square, with escalators inside the building taking shoppers to the main mall level.

Ken Ford, chief executive of The Mall, said, when the scheme was announced:

"Our proposals will provide enhanced retail units in order to improve the retail offer in the town. They will also improve The Mall Luton's relationship with the town – by providing bright, modern shop fronts and a landmark new entrance we will vastly improve the Mall's presence onto St George's Square and help create an attractive area for the people of Luton to shop, eat and relax."

TK Maxx was the new anchor tenant for the extension, [3] with Argos also taking a unit. Completion of the St George's Square redevelopment was planned for September 2009. However, due to the recession, the funding was delayed. The redevelopment was eventually completed in 2012.

Extension plans

The Northern Gateway

In December 2007, a further planning application was submitted for a much larger extension to The Mall. [4] As well as several much larger shopping units, housing and office space was planned. The site is between The Mall and train station, and would see total redevelopment of Silver Street, Bute Street, one side of Cheapside and Part of Guildford Street.

Although much of the site is either car parking or vacant, two grade II listed buildings and several locally listed buildings would be demolished, including several 19th century hat factories, for which the town was once famous. [5]

The plan was criticised by English Heritage [6] and the Victorian Society. [7] [8] Following the comments The Mall stated that following discussions with council officers, "amendments to the application are being made".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bull Ring, Birmingham</span> Major shopping centre in central Birmingham

The Bull Ring is a major shopping area in central Birmingham England, and has been an important feature of Birmingham since the Middle Ages, when its market was first held. Two shopping centres have been built in the area; in the 1960s, and then in 2003; the latter is styled as one word, Bullring. When coupled with Grand Central it forms the United Kingdom's largest city centre based shopping centre, styled as Bullring & Grand Central.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Enoch Centre</span> Shopping mall in Glasgow, Scotland

The St. Enoch Centre is a shopping mall located in the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. The centre is located adjacent to St Enoch Square. The Architects were the GMW Architects. The construction, undertaken by Sir Robert McAlpine, began in 1986, and the building was opened to the public on 25 May 1989. It was officially opened by the then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, in February of the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MetroCentre (shopping centre)</span> Shopping centre in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear

Metrocentre is a shopping centre and entertainment complex in the Dunston area of Gateshead. It is located on the former site of Dunston Power Station, near to the River Tyne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastland Shopping Centre</span> Shopping Centre in Ringwood, Victoria, Australia

Eastland Shopping Centre is a super-regional shopping centre complex located in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Ringwood, Victoria, Australia. The fourth-largest shopping centre in Australia, it first opened on 31 October 1967 and has since grown to host over 340 retail stores and services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blanchardstown Centre</span> Large retail facility in Dublins western suburbs

The Blanchardstown Centre is one of Ireland's two largest shopping complexes, located in Blanchardstown and Coolmine, western suburbs of Dublin, Ireland. It opened in October 1996 and was extended in 2004 to create extra retail space. It lies in the administrative area of Fingal County Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southside Wandsworth</span> Shopping centre in London, England

Southside Wandsworth is a shopping centre in the district of Wandsworth in London, England. When it was built it was the largest indoor shopping centre in Europe and is currently the fifth largest indoor shopping centre in London after Westfield Stratford City, Westfield London, the Whitgift Centre and Brent Cross Shopping Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Market Street, Manchester</span> Retail street in Manchester, England

Market Street is one of the principal retail streets in Manchester, England. It runs from its junction with Piccadilly and Mosley Street, close to Piccadilly Gardens, in the east to where it meets St. Mary's Gate at the crossroads with Exchange Street and New Cathedral Street in the west. St Mary's Gate then continues to where it meets Deansgate (A56). Other major streets crossed are High Street, Corporation Street, Cross Street and Fountain Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchester Arndale</span> Shopping centre in Manchester, England

Manchester Arndale is a large shopping centre in Manchester, England. It was constructed in phases between 1972 and 1979, at a cost of £100 million. Manchester Arndale is the largest of the chain of Arndale Centres built across the UK in the 1960s and 1970s. It was redeveloped after the 1996 Manchester bombing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarendon Shopping Centre</span> Shopping centre in Oxford, England

The Clarendon Centre is a shopping centre in central Oxford, England, opened in 1984. The centre faces Cornmarket Street, and has other entrances onto Queen Street and Shoe Lane. The fascia onto Cornmarket Street is that of the Woolworths store which had, in a decision later criticised, replaced the Georgian Clarendon Hotel; it was discovered during demolition that medieval construction had been present within the hotel. The shopping centre was expanded in 2012–14. Major tenants include TK Maxx, H&M and Gap Outlet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Mercat Shopping Centre</span> Shopping mall in Scotland

The Mercat Shopping Centre is located in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland, United Kingdom. The Mercat has one anchor store; TK Maxx. The Mercat – including surrounding areas – accounts for at least 30% of all the floorspace in Kirkcaldy town centre, which in total is 46,000-square-metre (500,000 sq ft) and providing as much as 200 shops, making Kirkcaldy the largest shopping area in Fife. The shopping centre was built in two phases between 1972 and 1981–83 with a refurbishment completed in 1997. A proposal to extend the shopping centre for a third phase is pending. In 1996 plans to broadcast an episode of Family Fortunes live from the Mercat Centre were scrapped due to concerns that the event would not be covered by the Centre's insurance company. Les Dennis described the decision as "unfortunate, but sadly unavoidable".

Castle Towers Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in Castle Hill, New South Wales, Australia. The shopping complex is owned by the Queensland Investment Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queensgate Peterborough</span> Shopping mall in Peterborough, Cambs.

The Queensgate shopping centre is located in the centre of the UK city of Peterborough, in Cambridgeshire. It contains over 100 stores and parking for 2,300 cars in four onsite multi-storey car parks. Queensgate bus station is located within the shopping centre and only a short walk from Peterborough railway station. Peterborough Shop Mobility provide wheelchairs and electric scooters to help those with limited mobility. The centre was opened by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands on 9 March 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Top Ryde City</span> Shopping mall in New South Wales, Australia

Top Ryde City, previously known as Top Ryde Shopping Centre, is a large shopping centre in Ryde, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. It is owned by Blackstone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karingal Hub Shopping Centre</span> Shopping mall in Victoria, Australia

Karingal Hub Shopping Centre as well as its "Town Square" is the second largest shopping complex located at 330 Cranbourne Rd, Frankston, Victoria, Australia, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Melbourne CBD. The complex has a combined gross leasable area of 53,000 m2 (570,000 sq ft), 2,750 parking spaces and 200+ stores. It was acquired by ISPT, or the Industry Superannuation Property Trust in July, 2013 and has been owned by other large corporations in the past such as Vicinity Centres, which owns its major competitor Bayside. It has the only Big W in and around the peninsula and has a multitude of popular shops, and includes a renovated and tall playground within its Town Square as well as an additional smaller playground in the south of the building, close to the retailer aforementioned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">100 St Georges Terrace</span> Skyscraper located in Perth, Western Australia.

100 St Georges Terrace is a 24-storey skyscraper located at 100 St Georges Terrace in Perth, Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadway Shopping Centre, Bexleyheath</span> Shopping mall in Greater London, England

Broadway Shopping Centre is the principal covered shopping centre in the town centre of Bexleyheath and is the largest single covered shopping facility in the London Borough of Bexley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exchange Ilford</span> Shopping mall in Ilford, England

The Exchange Ilford is the main retail shopping mall of Ilford, east London. It was owned by The Mall Fund for a period of time but has been sold and changed its name to Exchange Ilford in late 2010 or early 2011. The Exchange is located on Ilford High Road in the town centre and opened on 6 September 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eglinton Square</span> Shopping mall in Ontario, Canada

Eglinton Square Shopping Centre is an enclosed shopping mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located at Eglinton Avenue East and Victoria Park Avenue in Scarborough's Golden Mile neighbourhood. It opened in 1953 as a strip plaza and was later converted to mall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telford Shopping Centre</span> Shopping mall in Shropshire, England

Telford Centre, previously branded as Telford Shopping Centre, is a 52-acre (210,000 m2) indoor shopping centre in Telford, Shropshire, England, housing the streets North Sherwood Street, Sherwood Square, Sherwood Street, Wyre Hall, Sherwood Row, Southwater, The Border, Kielder Square, New Street, Chase Telford, Wrekin Square, New Row, Dean Street, Dean Square and Ashdown Row.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westfield Hurstville</span> Shopping mall in New South Wales, Australia

Westfield Hurstville is a shopping centre in the suburb of Hurstville in the St George area of Sydney, Australia.

References

  1. "The Mall Luton - On site team" . Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Capital & Regional Website".
  3. "TK Maxx confirmed in extension". Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  4. "The Mall Fund submits Luton Arndale plans".
  5. Luton Today article on proposed demolition
  6. "English Heritage criticisms". Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008.[ dead link ]
  7. http://www.victorian-society.org.uk/news/8986/hat_trick_of_destruction_planned_for_lutons_historic_heart.html Archived 21 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine Victorian Society
  8. "Broadway Malyan scheme for Luton ignites row over destruction of listed buildings". bdonline.co.uk. 5 February 2008. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012.[ dead link ]