![]() | |
![]() | |
![]() | |
Location | Thurrock, Essex, England |
---|---|
Coordinates | 51°29′N 0°17′E / 51.483°N 0.283°E |
Opening date | 25 October 1990 |
Owner | Global Mutual |
Architect | Chapman Taylor |
No. of stores and services | 245 |
No. of anchor tenants | 2 (+2 closed) |
Total retail floor area | 1,434,000 sq ft (133,200 m2) |
No. of floors | 3 |
Parking | 11,857 spaces |
Public transit access | Chafford Hundred station |
Website | www.lakeside-shopping.com |
Lakeside Shopping Centre (commonly referred to as Lakeside) is a large out-of-town shopping centre located in West Thurrock, Essex just beyond the eastern boundary of Greater London. It was constructed on the site of a former chalk quarry.[1] The first tenants moved into the complex in 1988 and it was completed in 1990, being opened on 25 October of that year by Princess Alexandra of Kent, Marcus Bradford and Angus Ogilvy. New spaces in the red car park were added as recently as October 2019.
The shopping centre, in addition to the retail parks, forms one of the largest shopping areas in a single location within Europe, with almost 2,600,000 square feet (240,000 m2) of retail space on a site of 200 acres (0.81 km2). The community of Chafford Hundred has grown to the east of the centre since its opening. Its main rival is the Bluewater Shopping Centre in Greenhithe, Kent, just across the River Thames.
The centre was rebranded as Intu Lakeside in 2013, following the renaming of parent Capital Shopping Centres as Intu.[2]
The centre was sold in 2020, after Intu went into administration. In November 2020, Lakeside was taken over by Savills and was renamed Lakeside Shopping Centre.
Lakeside has been described as being Thurrock's "de facto town centre".[3] Thurrock Council wants to make it a "regional town centre", with plans to build new shops, facilities and 3,000 homes. A road linking it to the nearby Lakeside Basin will also be built.[4][5] On the 7th of July 2024, a fire occurred there. [6]