Coordinates: 51°26′23″N 0°16′17″E / 51.439639, 0.271239 Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

Bluewater interior

Bluewater is a super-regional shopping centre, opened on 16 March 1999. It is located in Greenhithe in the borough of Dartford, just outside the M25 motorway in Northwest Kent, England. It is jointly owned by four major UK institutions, Prudential plc (35%), Lend Lease Europe Ltd (30%), the Lend Lease Retail Partnership (25%) and Hermes (10%) ^[2]. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 859 KB) Bluewater Shopping Centre From http://www. ... Greenhithe is a village in Dartford District of Kent, England. ... The Kent coat of arms For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto)1 Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Lend-Lease This article is about the World War II program. ... Prudential plc (LSE: PRU, NYSE: PUK) is a United Kingdom-based financial services company. ... Gross leasable area (GLA) in the retail development industry is a term applied to shopping malls, lifestyle centers, outlet malls and other retail centers to indicate the amount of floor space available to be rented. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (800x640, 115 KB) Bluewater Shopping Centre From http://www. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (800x640, 115 KB) Bluewater Shopping Centre From http://www. ... Bluewater is a census-designated place located in San Bernardino County, California. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... March 16 is the 75th day of the year (76th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... Greenhithe is a village in Dartford District of Kent, England. ... Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. ... The M25 motorway looking south between junctions 14 and 15, near Heathrow Airport. ... The Kent coat of arms For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto)1 Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total... Prudential plc (LSE: PRU, NYSE: PUK) is a United Kingdom-based financial services company. ...

The centre is in the middle of a 240-acre (97 ha) lot and has a sales floor area of 154,000 m² (1,600,000 ft²) in two levels, making it one of the largest shopping centres in the UK. The floor plan is a triangular shape with 330 stores, including 3 anchors, 40 cafés and restaurants, and a 13-screen cinema. The centre employs 7,000 and serves over 27 million visitors a year. In retail, an anchor store, or draw tenant, is one of the larger stores in a shopping mall, usually a department store in a major retail chain, such as Macys or JCPenney. ...

Bluewater is in competition with Lakeside Shopping Centre in Thurrock which is a short distance across the river Thames in Essex (via the Dartford Crossing). The Lakeside Shopping Centre is a large out-of-town shopping centre located in West Thurrock, in the borough of Thurrock, Essex just beyond the eastern boundary of Greater London. ... Thurrock is a unitary authority with borough status in the East of England. ... Essex is a county in the East of England. ... The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge The Dartford Crossing joins Dartford and Thurrock across the River Thames and effectively forms part of Londons orbital M25 motorway. ...

Description

The centre's architecture is based on Kentish life, with influences from oast houses and the nearby River Thames. The concept architect was Eric Kuhne, and the implementation architect was Benoy. The Kent coat of arms For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... Oast House in Tudeley, Kent, now in residential use An oast house is an example of vernacular architecture in England, especially Kent and Sussex. ... An architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect is a person who is involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction. ...

On each corner of the triangle is a deparment store: John Lewis, House of Fraser and Marks and Spencer. The centre has a mix of designer and High Street stores. John Lewis can refer to the following people: John L. Lewis (mayor of New Orleans) (1800–1886), mayor of New Orleans 1854–1856 John F. Lewis (1818–1895), United States Senator from Virginia John Lewis (1848–1972), English football player, administrator and referee John Lewis (department store founder) (died 1928... House of Fraser is a British department store group with around 60 stores across the country, at one time including Harrods of London. ... Marks and Spencer plc (known also as M&S and sometimes colloquially as Marks and Sparks) is the largest retailer in the United Kingdom by sales. ...

In addition, there are many boutiques, either exclusive to Bluewater or complementary shops to their London branches. There are 9 car parks with space for 13,000 cars. Look up boutique in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The centre comprises of 3 malls, each with different style and theme: Thames Walk is aimed at young people, complemented by The Water Circus with a 13 screen cinema and catering outlets, The Guild Hall is aimed at the designer goods market, and gives access to The Village, which has higher-end catering and outside dining areas, and The Rose Gallery has shops and food outlets more typical of a High Street.

In addition to its large retail area, Bluewater offers recreational facilities including a climbing wall, a discovery trail, fishing, cycling, boating, miniature golf and ice skating.

The Mall has facilities including concierge service, Childrens play area, creche, baby changing and feeding rooms, Parent & Child Toilets, post box service and shopmobility.

Regular buses to and from local towns serve the Centre, via its own Bus Station. Greenhithe railway station is connected by shuttle bus to the Centre's bus station. All trains running between Gravesend and Dartford now stop at Greenhithe, which had previously been served infrequently. Greenhithe railway station serves the town of Greenhithe in North Kent and Bluewater shopping centre. ... Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. ... Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. ...

The A2 runs nearby and is the primary route to the centre, which is accessed via the Bean interchange. Not to be confused with A2 road (Northern Ireland). ...

History

There had been plans as early as the mid-to-late eighties to build a shopping centre in the former chalk quarry. Two companies, Shearwater and Blue Circle, had joined forces to create a shopping centre to be called Bluewater Park (a combination of the names of the two companies). The recession of the late 1980s and early 1990s, however, left only Blue Circle in the project. Planning permission was granted in 1990 for the shopping centre but the project was left undeveloped. A dimension stone quarry. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ...

In 1994, Blue Circle approached Australian mall developer Lend Lease to form a partnership. Instead, Lend Lease bought the land and the project from Blue Circle, and gathered a group of major investors, which included: Prudential, Barclays Mercantile, Hermes (acting for Britel), Lloyds Leasing, and Royal Bank Leasing. Lend Lease also formed a pool of minor investors, called the Lend Lease Retail Partnership, with 18 institutions and corporations. Lend Lease Corporation Limited is an Australian-based multinational property management and investment company. ... Prudential plc (LSE: PRU, NYSE: PUK) is a United Kingdom-based financial services company. ... Big Building One Churchill Place, Canary Wharf Barclays PLC (LSE: BARC, NYSE: BCS, TYO: 8642 ) is a global financial services provider operating in the UK, Europe, United States, Middle East, Latin America, Australasia, Asia and Africa. ... Lloyds TSB Group plc is a group of financial services companies, based in the United Kingdom, which was created in 1995 following the merger of the TSB Group and the Lloyds Bank Group. ... The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: [1]) is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, which together with NatWest, provides branch banking facilities in the UK. Royal Bank of Scotland has around 700 branches, mainly in Scotland though there are branches in...

With the Bluewater project finally underway, it was time to sign up the tenants, beginning with the major ones. John Lewis was the first in February 1995, albeit with major concessions, such as the offer of 300,000 ft², one-fifth of the entire floor space, on three levels. Still, this gave Bluewater the credibility it needed to sign more names, including the two other anchor stores. House of Fraser was next and in June 1996 Marks & Spencer signed too. By March 1998, 90% of the retail space was committed. One of John Lewis flagship branches in Glasgows Buchanan Galleries mall The John Lewis Partnership is a major United Kingdom retailer, operating department stores and, through its Waitrose subsidiary, upmarket supermarkets. ... In retail, an anchor store, or draw tenant, is one of the larger stores in a shopping mall, usually a department store in a major retail chain, such as Macys or JCPenney. ... House of Fraser is a British department store group with around 60 stores across the country, at one time including Harrods of London. ... Marks & Spencer plc (sometimes colloquially known also as M&S, Marks and Sparks, Marks, Marksies or Markss) is a British retailer, with 760 stores in more than 30 countries around the world. ...

Construction started on May 1, 1996. At its peak, the construction site employed 2,500 workers simultaneously. In all, 20,000 people worked 11.5 million hours on the construction of Bluewater. At the planned opening date, March 16, 1999, Bluewater was inaugurated with 99% of the shops open for business. The total cost of construction was around GBP £400 million.^{[citation needed]} is the 121st day of the year (122nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... March 16 is the 75th day of the year (76th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... GBP may be: short for Game Boy Player the ISO currency code for the British Pound Sterling. ...

In May 2005, Bluewater introduced a code of conduct to ban swearing, clothing that obscures the face (including hoods and baseball caps), and groups of more than five without the intention to shop[1]. This policy has divided opinion, with high-profile figures such as Tony Blair showing his support[2], but has been criticised in the liberal press and those working with young people locally. A hoody (sometimes also spelled hoodie) is a pullover sweatshirt with a hood. ... A baseball cap worn with the bill at the front, shading the eyes A baseball cap is a type of soft cap with a long, stiffened and curved peak and it is worn by men, women and children. ... For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born May 6, 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the Labour Party, and Member of Parliament for the constituency...

In late 2006 Dartford Borough Council granted planning permission for Bluewater to build an events venue^{[citation needed]} of 5000 sq.m, and extend the south side of the centre; construction is predicted to start in June or July 2007.

Trivia

• The full name of the shopping centre is just Bluewater.
• Bluewater was once the largest shopping centre in Europe, until the crown was reclaimed by the MetroCentre, Gateshead in 2004.
• A 224-page coffee-table book was published by Lend Lease in 1999. It contains the full history and details prior to the opening. As of 2005 it was still available at Bluewater's Welcome Halls. The book is called Vision to Reality
• Over 400 CCTV cameras monitor the centre. Security for the centre is provided by a deployment of Kent Police officers.
• Bluewater used to host a Land Rover trial track, but this closed to make space for a bus route.
• There was a multi-faith chapel/relaxation area, but this space was reassigned.
• Footballers Wives filmed scenes in Bluewater during Series 3, during one of which the character Amber went shopping, and fell asleep in a bed in the window of House of Fraser.
• The Bollywood film Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham was partly filmed in Bluewater.
• The Sims 2: Open For Business, an expansion pack to the popular computer game The Sims 2 contains a default shopping district dubbed "Bluewater Village".

MetroCentre is the largest shopping and leisure centre in the UK. It has been cited as the largest centre in Europe but the Cevahir Shopping centre in Turkey is now the largest in Europe Worlds 20 Largest shopping Centres. ... Gateshead is a town in North-East England on the southern bank of the River Tyne, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, which covers the north bank. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Surveillance cameras. ... Kent Police is the police force covering Kent in England, including the unitary authority of Medway. ... Land Rover was the name of one of the first British civilian all-terrain utility vehicles, first produced by Rover in 1947. ... Footballers Wives is a British television drama surrounding the private lives of a group of professional footballers. ... Bollywood (Hindi: , Urdu: ) is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai-based Hindi language film industry in India. ... Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (Devanagari : कभी खुभी कभी ग़म - Sometimes Laughter, Sometimes Tears) is a Bollywood film released in India and countries with large NRI populations on December 14, 2001. ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... [1][2] The Sims 2 is a strategic life simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. ...

References

• Emma Dorreen, editor/project manager; Michael Evamy, writer (1999). Vision to Reality. London: Lend Lease. ISBN 0-9537054-0-4.

1. ^ http://www.bluewater.co.uk/bottom-navigation/corporate
2. ^ http://www.bluewater.co.uk/bottom-navigation/corporate

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Bluewater Shopping Centre

• Official website
• Mall bans shoppers' hooded tops

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...

See also

• London Buses route 96
• London Buses route 492
• Greenhithe railway station