Ashford Designer Outlet
McArthur Glen Designer Outlet | |
---|---|
Richard Rogers Partnership | |
Structural engineer | Buro Happold |
Civil engineer | Buro Happold / Arup |
Quantity surveyor | Davis Langdon & Everest |
The Ashford Designer Outlet is a
.The
On 15 November 2013, the Ashford Designer Outlet confirmed plans to almost double in size.[1] In early 2018, extensive work began to allow new establishments,[2] which was completed in November 2019.[3] In 2020 the biggest European green wall (a wall covered in plants and vegetation) was added to the designer outlet, as part of an overall £90 million expansion to add 100,000 additional square feet of retail space.[4]
History
In July 1991, the name Ashford Meadows Leisure Park was for a planning document submitted to the Ashford borough council.
By around 2001, BBC presenter Charlie Dimmock cut the ribbon on the property and it opened to visitors. There was discussion of almost doubling the original 185,000 square feet of retail space in 2013. In September 2015, councilors on the council "voted overwhelmingly" in favor of a planning application to expand the property. Construction began in late 2017. According to KentOnline, the construction shut down Newtown Road for several months, resulting in "controversy," as well as the closure of the original food court.[5]
In May 2019, a new £400,000 playground was opened at the mall, with space for up to 200 children, as part of an overall £90 million expansion to add 100,000 additional square feet of retail space.[4] The full extension opened in November 2019, with new stores including Coach, Sandro, Maje and Karl Lagerfeld. Among various art features, it added a "living wall" installation with plants vertically growing across 25,000 square feet of walls, which the store called the "largest" such wall in Europe.[6]
Non-essential stores re-opened in April 2021. Reported KentOnline, the mall ordinarily saw 10,000 visitors each day, but had been empty for some time due to the coronavirus lockdown.[7]
In February 2021, there was some controversy when
References
- Kent Online. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
- ^ Curtis, Kristina (4 January 2018). "Expansion work set to begin at shopping centre". Kent Online. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
- ^ "McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Ashford celebrates the opening of its £90 million expansion". www.mcarthurglen.com. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
- ^ a b Williams, Sam (23 May 2019), Ashford Designer Outlet opens playground, KentOnline
- ^ a b c d Wright, Dan (18 February 2021), Opening hours at Ashford Designer Outlet could be extended but County Square and Elwick Place bosses raise concerns, Kent Online
- ^ Wightman-Stone, Danielle (11 November 2019), Ashford Designer Outlet opens 90 million pound extension, Fashion United
- ^ Harman, Charlie (12 April 2021), Ashford Designer Outlet attracts huge crowds as shops reopen after lockdown, KentOnline
External links
- Ashford Designer Outlet
- Media related to Ashford Designer Outlet at Wikimedia Commons