Just one month after the official opening of Bradley Stoke’s new town centre, construction of phase 2 of the development is now well under way.
The main component of the second phase is the so-called Retail Terrace, a row of larger non-food retail units tailored to suit the needs of major national retailers.
Unit one, on the corner of the Town Square, has a floor space of 5,000 sq ft on a single level, while the other units are sized at up to 10,000 sq ft at ground level plus a further 7,500 sq ft at first floor (mezannine) level. Each of the larger units is capable of being sub-divided into two separate stores.
The latest plans (below), revealed in September at a meeting of the Bradley Stoke Safer & Stronger Community Group, show the Terrace consisting of six units of varying sizes. One unit is designated for occupation by Brantano (shoes & accessories), while a second is shown as being “under offer”.
The steel framework of over half of the new Retail Terrace is now in place (photo, above), but work is constrained by part of the site being used as a temporary car park until demolition of the old Tesco store is complete.
Phase 2 also incorporates construction of a third side to the Town Square, which will add two further retail outlets currently designated for Westworld (mobility & lifestyle) and Ladbrokes (betting).
Willow Brook Centre manager Scott Lahive told The Journal that the new Town Square units will be handed over by the construction team in early January [2009] and are expected to be operational by late February/early March. Handover of the Retail Terrace is planned for May/June and it is hoped that these units will be trading by June/July.
It is understood that the Retail Terrace units are being targeted at major fashion outlets such as Next, New Look and H&M, who are thought to be keen on supplementing their relatively small outlets at The Mall, Cribbs Causeway.
Official confirmation of tenants is not expected until January at the earliest.
