Kingdom Shopping Centre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Kingdom Shopping Centre | |
 Unicorn Way, Kingdom Centre |
|
| Facts and statistics | |
|---|---|
| Location | Glenrothes, Fife, Scotland |
| Address | Glenrothes Town Centre |
| Opening date | 1963 |
| Developer | Neale House/ GDC |
| Owner | CIS |
| No. of stores and services | 110 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 2 |
| Total retail floor area | 40,000 square metres (430,000 square feet) |
| Parking | 1,500 |
| Website | www.kingdomshoppingcentre.co.uk |
The Kingdom Centre forms the main shopping element of Glenrothes town centre. It is the largest indoor shopping centre in Fife and is one of the largest single-level indoor shopping centres in Scotland with around 40,000 sq m (430,000 sq ft) of (gross) floorspace. [1] [2] [3]
The centre is popular locally and has some of the highest levels of footfall in Fife. [4] The centre currently contains over 100 shops as well as a variety of cafes, the town's central library, the Rothes Halls- the town's theatre and a ten pin bowling alley. The town's main bus station is located next to the southeast end of the centre.
Key stores in the Kingdom Centre include Dunnes, Co-op, Woolworths, JJB Sports and New Look.
Contents |
[edit] History
The shopping centre opened in 1963 and has developed with the growth of the town, being built in four main phases:
- Phase 1- Lyon Square 1963
- Phase 2- Falkland Square 1976
- Phase 3- Unicorn Square 1982
- Phase 4- Rothes Square 1993
[edit] 1960's
The town centre was originally to be built on the same principles of the English new towns such as Stevenage and Bracknell. The centre would comprise a series of shopping streets and squares separated from traffic. The first phase of the Kingdom Centre was built as large modern pedestrian square. A large glazed roof and a modern fountain were incorporated as features in the design. The Golden Acorn Hotel, the town's Post Office and a bus turning circle were all included as part of the development. A Co-Op Department store opened in 1964 at the eastern entrance to the square and a town clock was built as a feature adjacent to the store.[5] [6] [7]
[edit] 1970's
The design of the first phase had a number of problems and in 1976 a decision was taken to remove the glazed roof and the fountain and roof over the square at shop fascia height. The shopping centre was extended west to the point where Falkland Square is now. A Woolworths store was built to anchor the west end of the centre. A Presto supermarket (now Dunnes Stores) and the New Glenrothes House office block were built as later additions to the second phase.[5][6]
[edit] 1980's
In 1982 a third phase was built extending the centre further west. The domed Unicorn Square was the principle feature of the third phase and Unicorn House, an office block with distinctive reflective glass, was built to the north of the development. A Gateway supermarket (now New Look, JJB Sports & Peacocks) anchored the third phase of the shopping centre when it opened.[5][6]
[edit] 1990's
In 1993, with the winding up of the Glenrothes Development Corporation (GDC) on the horizon, a fourth phase was built. This was partially funded with a central government grant to aid in providing any last major projects for the new town. The fourth phase incorporated the Rothes Halls, a multi-purpose community facility with a cafe, theatre, library and conference facilities. [5][6][7]
A major feature of the fourth phase was the high-roofed and glazed Rothes Square complete with a hanging triangle clock, circular feature floor design and an alfresco cafe. A Somerfield supermarket (now Co-Op) anchored the fourth phase of the centre when it first opened. [5][6][7]
[edit] Future Proposals
Shopping in Glenrothes is to be majorly enhanced with proposals to expand the Kingdom Centre. A Sainsbury's superstore (one of the largest stores proposed in Scotland) along with a parade of shops and a new multi-storey car park are proposed as part of the development at North Street. [8] [9] [10] Proposals have also been put forward to regenerate older phases of the centre at Albany Gate. [11] [12][13]
[edit] References & Notes
- ^ Kingdom Shopping Centre website- Agent Zone [1]
- ^ Fife Council (2006) Glenrothes Town Centre Profile [2]
- ^ Fife Council (2006) Fife Town Centre Audit [3]
- ^ Fife Council (2006) Fife Town Centres Footfall Study [4]
- ^ a b c d e Ferguson, Keith (1982). A History of Glenrothes.
- ^ a b c d e Ferguson, Keith (1996). A New Town's Heritage, Glenrothes 1948-1995.
- ^ a b c Cowling, David (1997). An Essay for Today- The Scottish New Towns 1947-1997.
- ^ Clarke, Debbie (2007) £35m Glenrothes shops plan go-ahead Glenrothes Gazette 2007-12-13. Retrieved on December 21, 2007
- ^ Warrender, Claire (2007) Glenrothes town centre plan backedThe Courier, 2007-12-10. Retrieved on December 10, 2007
- ^ Purnell, Fiona (2007) Shops plan - first look Glenrothes Gazette, 2007-07-25. Retrieved on July 31, 2007
- ^ Elliott, Claire (2007) Kingdom Centre, Glenrothes Shopping-centre.co.uk, 2007-07-01. Retrieved on July 25, 2007
- ^ Kelly, Charlene (2007)Sainsbury’s Glenrothes plan comes step closerThe Courier, 2007-06-11. Retrieved on June 29, 2007
- ^ Kingdom Centre website, development plans [5]
[edit] External links
Official site [6]
