is a large out-of-town
Shopping Mall located in
Greenhithe in the borough of
Dartford , just outside
London in north-west
Kent . It was opened on
March 16 ,
1999 and is connected by shuttle bus to
Greenhithe Railway Station . All trains running between
Gravesend and
Dartford now stop at Greenhithe, which had previously been served infrequently. In May 2005, it hit the headlines for becoming one of the first shopping malls in the UK to ban anti-social behaviour, including swearing, smoking (except in designated areas) and the wearing of
Baseball Cap s or
Hooded Tops in order to maintain its upmarket image, and for the comfort of its customers. Over 400
CCTV Cameras monitor the building, and there is a deployment of
Kent Police officers in and around the mall at all times.
The centre covers an area of 154,000 m² (1,600,000 ft²) and is the largest shopping centre in the
United Kingdom , although some would say that the
Metrocentre in
Gateshead (after its expansion in 2004) is larger by area (housing an indoor theme park). It was built in a former chalk
Quarry and is jointly owned by four major UK institutions,
Prudential (35%), Lend Lease Europe Ltd (30%), the Lend Lease Retail Partnership (25%) and
Hermes (10%).
The centre is in a
Triangle shape on two levels with a large department store at each corner. These are
House Of Fraser ,
John Lewis and
Marks & Spencer . There are over 27 million visitors a year to the site and it includes over 330 stores and 40 cafés, bars and restaurants plus a 13-screen Cinema. It has parking spaces for 13,000 cars. The
Bollywood film
Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham was filmed there. In 2005, it became home to the third
Apple store in the UK, after the Bullring store in Birmingham, and
Regent Street store in
London .
Bluewater is in direct competition with
Lakeside Shopping Centre in
Thurrock on the other side of the
Thames and positions itself as a more upmarket proposition and alternative to London's
West End . The genre of shops differs significantly between Bluewater and Lakeside, with Lakeside having more discount, lower-end retail stores. Many large retail chains are represented in the mall, such as
HMV ,
Zara ,
Next ,
Topshop ,
New Look ,
Boots ,
WH Smith ,
Virgin Megastores ,
Waterstone's and
Jessops . Notably missing are
Woolworths and
Argos ; rumours abounded that the reputations of these two shops led to them being declined positions at the mall. In addition, there are many one-off boutique shops, many being open solely in Bluewater, or as a complementary store to its London branch.
In addition to its large retail area, Bluewater offers recreational facilities including the Land Rover Adventure Zone, Nestlé All Stars Active Zone, the Blue Rock Climbing Wall, the Timberland Discovery Trail, Fishing, Golf Pro Tour Putting, Cycles and Tandems, Boating, Showcase Cinemas, and Molton Brown Day Spa. There are numerous food outlets, and a creche.
