Stratford Centre

Not to be confused with Westfield Stratford City or Stratford City.

Stratford Centre is a Shopping mall and indoor market in Stratford town centre in east London. It is situated east of the busy Stratford Regional station, separated only by the Stratford bus station, collectively contributing to the high footfall through Stratford Centre, which stood at 21 million visitors in a 2010 report,^[1] as many people use it as a cut-through between the stations and Stratford Broadway. Stratford Centre is adjacent to the Westfield Stratford City shopping complex and the sports facilities of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, further contributing to Stratford town centre being east London's primary retail, cultural and leisure centre.

Stratford Centre

The Stratford Centre in 2012, with the "Stratford Shoal" sculpture
Location	Stratford, London
Address	Stratford Centre, 54a Broadway, Stratford, London E15 1NG
Opening date	1974; 50 years ago (1974)
Owner	Catalyst European Property Fund LP
No. of stores and services	62
Total retail floor area	330,000 sq. ft.
No. of floors	1
Parking	Yes
Public transit access	Stratford railway station, Stratford bus station
Website	stratfordshopping.co.uk

Stratford Centre has 60 retail units, internally and externally, plus, off the East Mall is the Market Village, which contains many small independent traders, and in the West Mall is a market that trades Monday to Saturday.

History

It was built by Ravenseft Properties, and opened in 1974. Refurbished and partially extended in 1998, it comprises 320,000 sq. ft. on a single level. It was sold by Land Securities to Catalyst Capital's European Property Fund LP in 2010.^[1]

In 2013, Catalyst Capital tabled a concept to re-develop the site, including a 26-story residential building focused on students, as laid out by architectural firm Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, and to include additional parking and shops in the shopping centre.^[2] The concept did not move forward.^[3]

A section of the Stratford Centre is open 24 hours a day, as a public throughway. This open status has turned the Stratford Centre into a de facto homeless shelter,^[4] while also attracting an overnight subculture of skateboarders.^[5] This has contributed to incidents of violence and open drug use.^[4]

In September 2017, an acid attack involving a noxious substance took place at the centre, injuring six people.^[6] In January 2018, another evening attack with a noxious substance took place in the plaza at the entrance of Stratford Centre, during an altercation between youths and homeless people; five victims were treated on site and three others were transported to hospital.^[7][clarify]

During 2018, the Stratford Centre was closed after 50 shops were flooded by a burst water main on Stratford Broadway, where the flood water was a depth of around eight inches.^[8]

Stores

Stores include: Barclays, Boots, Burger King, Iceland (supernarket), British Heart Foundation, Card Factory, , CeX, C. & J. Clark, Costa Coffee, EE, , Greggs, , Halifax, Holland & Barrett, HSBC, KFC, McDonald's, O2 Store, Poundland, PureGym, Sainsbury's, Shoe Zone, Specsavers, Starbucks, Subway, Superdrug, Taco Bell, The Body Shop, The Perfume Shop, Wendy's, The Works, and Warren James Jewellers.

Access

To the north of the site lies Stratford station which is served by: London Underground's Central and Jubilee lines; Greater Anglia; Elizabeth line; London Overground; Docklands Light Railway; and a number of c2c services.^{[9][failed verification]}

Stratford Centre's central thoroughfare, called the West Mall, is an indoor car-free street market between Stratford Broadway and Great Eastern Street. It is classed as a public highway and by law is kept open 24 hours a day, though most of the shops along the West Mall close at night. There is also a multi-storey car park which is open 24 hours a day and linked via lifts and stairwell in the West Mall.

References

1. "Land Securities Confirms the Sale of the Stratford Centre to Catalyst European Property Fund for £91.5M" (Press release). Land Securities. 31 August 2010. Archived from the original on 6 September 2010. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
2. Stratford Centre: Development Accessed 31 December 2013^{[permanent dead link‍]}
3. "Stratford Centre London". Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. 11 June 2013. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023. Status: Vision [as of October 2023] Architect: Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
4. Wilding, Mark (2 July 2018). "London's Housing Crisis Has Turned the Stratford Centre into a Homeless Shelter". Vice. Archived from the original on 21 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
5. Burrows, Tim (26 November 2014). "A Shopping Mall Has Become a Weird 24-Hour Haven for London's Skate Subculture". Vice UK. Archived from the original on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
6. "Six injured in east London 'acid attack'". BBC News. 24 September 2017. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2023. A man who gave his name as Hossen, an assistant manager at Burger King, said a victim had run into the fast food chain to "wash acid off his face". The 28-year-old added: "There were cuts around his eyes and he was trying to chuck water into them."
7. Collier, Hatty (22 January 2018). "Stratford 'acid attack': Six injured after noxious substance sprayed over crowd near shopping centre". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023. A man who gave his name as Hossen, 28, a Burger King assistant manager, said he saw a victim and his friend, a known local homeless man, run into the fast food outlet bathroom "to wash acid off his face". He said: "There were cuts around his eyes and he was trying to chuck water into them."
8. Wills, Ella (29 July 2018). "Stratford Shopping Centre closed as 50 shops flooded by burst water main". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
9. "Contact – Stratford Centre". 12 June 2015.

External links

• Official website

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