Mon - Sat
9.00AM - 5.30PM
Sun
10.00AM - 4.00PM
Bank Holidays
10.00AM - 4.00PM


BIG BRAND NAMES ARE BUYING INTO WASHINGTON

The Prudential Assurance Company Ltd, owner of the Galleries Shopping Centre in Washington, is preparing to welcome a host of exciting brands to their new retail park.

The 95,000 ft retail park is due to open late 2008 and will house big brand names such as Next, Arcadia, New Look, Clarks, Peacocks, Pets at Home, Brantano and Home Bargains and Texstyle World. The overall development will also include a KFC and a Pizza Hut.

Construction of the £20million retail park is well underway and will complement the existing retail park that currently includes Matalan, Au Naturale and Aldi.

Galleries Centre Manager, Juliette Coard, said; “We are delighted to welcome these exciting brands to the Galleries. This new development will significantly improve Washington as a shopping and leisure destination and will provide our customers with even more choice. We particularly targeted the quality fashion brands which will improve the overall appeal of Washington as a retail centre.”

There will also be enhanced public access to the retail park from the existing centre, as well as improved transport routes and additional free car parking spaces, making the Galleries an even better place to visit and to shop.

The investment also includes a newly designed bus station which will be completed to coincide with the opening of the new retail park. The new bus station has been designed in association with Nexus, to meet the current and foreseeable requirements of the Galleries Shopping Centre and the town centre. The combination of materials and architectural form is designed to provide a durable, attractive, high quality environment for the operation of a modern bus system.

With over 1100 buses travelling to the Galleries each day, the new bus station is long awaited and eagerly anticipated. The fully enclosed, contemporary bus station holds 6 stands and includes lifts and escalators enabling easy access to the shopping centre.

Juliette added; “We are all very excited about the construction of this new high quality bus station. It is something that has been recognised and acknowledged as a main issue to our customers and we are delighted that we will soon have a purpose built facility. Almost one third of our valued customers use our bus station, so it is essential that we provide them with a first class facility”.

The Galleries Shopping Centre is already a highly popular and successful retail venue attracting over 13 million shoppers last year.


Work is due to commence on The Galleries Shopping Centre’s new bus station.

From Monday 28th January there will be a temporary bus station for customers which is situated alongside the existing bus station.

The temporary bus station is accessible from the Argos/Martin’s entrance via a temporary foot bridge and specially constructed access for disabled customers.

There are directional posters situated throughout the Galleries along with leaflets available from the customer service desk which will keep customers up to date with all of the developments.

The original footbridge leading from the ASDA entrance is accessible to pedestrians and to those accessing the car parks however there will be no access to the bus station from this footbridge.

Speaking about the temporary bus station the Galleries Centre Manager Juliette Coard said:

“The temporary bus station has been erected whilst we demolish the existing one and begin work on the new structure. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause, I’m sure customers will agree that this temporary arrangement will be worthwhile as we work towards building our long awaited new bus station.”

For those customers who are travelling to the Galleries by car the car park access remains unaffected.

With over 1100 buses travelling through the Galleries each day the new bus station is scheduled to open in autumn 2008.

In a bid to secure a stress free shopping experience for all customers, the Galleries Shopping Centre in Washington are launching a new car parking system.

Over the past 12 months the Galleries have been monitoring the car parking and it has been noted that despite requests from the Galleries staff, customers are continuing to park in spaces allocated for disabled and family parking.

The Galleries have now decided that from Monday 3rd December they will operate a firmer approach to car parking.

Vehicles of motorists who illegally park will automatically be clamped and if causing an obstruction will be towed away. There will then be a fee to release the vehicle.

The Galleries Centre Manager, Juliette Coard is confident the new system will benefit shoppers, she said;

“We have over three thousand free customer parking spaces available for our customers. Having received customer complaints regarding the unfair usage of Disabled and Parent and Toddler spaces we decided to operate a zero tolerance approach".

Juliette added;

"Our new monitoring system will ensure that the Disabled car parking and Parent and Toddler spaces are available for those who really need them.”

Shoppers will be made aware of the new car parking rules with clear signage throughout the centre and across all of the car parks.

The enforcement will be carried out by North East company Hadrian Traffic Management who are a member of the British Parking Association and are licensed by the Security Authority which is a legal requirement.

Enjoy Smoke Free Shopping

In line with the recent smoking ban, The Galleries Shopping Centre is a no smoking centre.

The law came into force on July 1st 2007, and was introduced to make virtually all enclosed public places and workplaces in England smokefree.

Floor markings around the centre clearly outline the perimeter of the Galleries to show people the point at which the centre becomes a no smoking area.

A smokefree England ensures a healthier environment, so everyone can socialise, relax, travel, shop and work free from the dangers of secondhand smoke.

The local Health Action Zone can give advice to anyone wishing to give up smoking. Details of branches are:

NHS STOP SMOKING SERVICES IN THE NORTH EAST

Sunderland: 0191 565 6256

Newcastle &North Tyneside: 0191 219 5111

Durham and Chester –le-Street: 0191 301 1304

 

If you’re looking for the ideal gift then how about the galleries gift cheques?

Now available with a newly designed gift cheque wallet there are five different designs to choose from.

Click here to find out more.