The is a large out-of-town
Shopping Mall located in
West Thurrock in the borough of
Thurrock , just beyond the eastern boundary of
Greater London . It opened in October 1990.
The shopping centre is one of the largest in Europe with 123,644 m&
2 (1,330,936 ft&
2) available as retail floorspace although
Bluewater in
Kent and most recently the
Metrocentre in
Gateshead (after its expansion 2004) are larger. There are 287 shops, 4 department stores, 30 cafes and restaurants and a 26-acre lake with a
PADI certified diving school complex.
It is open daily from 10am - 10pm and has an average 500,000 visitors per week. The centre's
Car Park s have capacity for 13,000 cars. The centre has a direct link to
Chafford Hundred Station and is connected to the
M25 Motorway which is London's outermost ring road. There is also a
Retail Park nearby called the
Lakeside Retail Park .
The shopping centre, in addition to the
Lakeside Retail Park forms the largest shopping area in a single location within Europe with almost 2.6 million square feet of retail space on a 200-acre site. The community of
Chafford Hundred has grown to the east of the centre since its opening.
To ensure the centre maintains its competition with the somewhat more upmarket
Bluewater shopping centre, which lies just over the
Thames in
Greenhithe , Lakeside has recently undergone major
Refurbishment at a cost of £30 million. This included new Italian porcelain flooring, new lighting, a new ceiling and new glass roofs which allow much more natural light into the shopping centre. There are now also new, faster
Elevator s, and 4 more
Escalator s along with automatic entrance doors. A non-smoking policy across the whole shopping centre was also introduced in January 2004. The refurbishment has also encouraged refitting of many shops so that they complement the new surroundings.
The Lakeside Pavilion is an area adjoined to the main shopping centre via a covered bridge which has a 7 screen multiplex cinema owned by
Vue . The Pavilion had a market area where various stalls sold novelty gifts, paintings and collector items adjacent to a small food court. By the beginning of 2006 this had been closed and partly removed for the construction of a new entertainment area named 'The Boardwalk'.
When it is complete in Spring 2007, The Boardwalk will have 9 new restaurants and cafes, 4 additional shops and a children's leisure area and restaurant.
Shops at Lakeside include:
In
1998 , '' was a
BBC Docusoap narrated by
Pauline Quirke following the activities of management, shopkeepers and staff of the shopping centre. A breakfast-show DJ called Martin from a local radio station also featured, plugging a song from a rising band. The theme music was by
Simon May .
