Tesco Metro, Clayton Street (30 Jan 2010)

Heavy overnight snow provided a good excuse to take a walk into Newcastle today, rather than trying to drive anywhere further afield. It was also an opportunity to see what was happening with Newcastle’s two new city centre Tescos.

The internal fit-out of the Tesco Metro in Clayton Street – part of the St Andrew’s Way extension of Eldon Square – looks to be progressing well, ahead of it’s scheduled opening in a couple of weeks’ time. The hoardings have now been taken down, and it’s possible to see inside, with the signage, shelves and checkouts all in place.

View inside Tesco Metro, Clayton Street (30 Jan 2010)

In contrast, work seems to have barely started on the Tesco Express at Eldon Garden, in the former Sony Centre unit facing Percy Street, though there is a poster up advertising its impending arrival.

Tesco Express, Eldon Garden (30 Jan 2010)

Taking the escalator that runs from ground level in Percy Street (in front of the new Tesco) to the side entrance of Lakeland within Eldon Garden shopping centre, I was again puzzled by the empty mezzanine floor that sits above the new Tesco, and underneath Lakeland. It was built as part of the extension to Eldon Garden a few years ago, and is only really visible from the escalator.

It has quite a large floor area but has never been used – perhaps because there doesn’t seem to be any way of actually getting into it, other than if it were made accessible from one of the retail units above or below. If anyone can shed any light on why the shopping centre extension was designed this way, and what the mezzanine floor is supposed to be for, I’d be interested to hear!

Debenhams, Eldon Square South

A few interesting titbits of Newcastle retail news ahead of the opening of Eldon Square South – St Andrew’s Way – on 16 February. Anchored by a new Debenhams store, Eldon Square South is of interest beyond Tyneside as one of only a handful of major retail developments to be opening in the UK during 2010. 

I recently blogged about Abercrombie & Fitch’s sister brand Hollister having Meadowhall and the Trafford Centre as its “most northerly outposts”. Now it seems that we’re going to be getting our own Hollister in Eldon Square, meaning that the shopping centre’s extension will – impressively – be fully let when it opens next month. 

In an earlier post about Eldon Square’s extension, I noted that “the real test… will be ensuring that the large and prominent units being vacated by New Look, River Island, Topshop, et al do not stay empty for long”. The word at SkyscraperCity is that Next is going to be taking over the soon-to-be-former Topshop/Topman site, though it’s not yet clear whether this will be in addition or instead of the retailer’s existing Northumberland Street store. The existing Next store is very cramped, but given that it had an interior makeover not too long ago my guess is that it will be retained alongside the new store. Either way, I hope something will be done to improve the current Topshop/Topman unit’s ugly brick walls, which present such a blank and unappealing face onto Blackett and Newgate Streets.

Existing Topshop, Newcastle

We’ve known for some time that Tesco Metro is coming to the Eldon Square extension; now it seems that a Tesco Express is opening up at nearby Eldon Garden as well. That begins to explain the Sony Centre’s move into one floor of the former Pier store, freeing up the prominent unit facing Percy Street for Tesco. It still seems curious, however, that having had no city centre Tesco store until now, there will soon be two within a few hundred metres of each other.

Equally, with M&S, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s Local, Tesco Metro, Tesco Express and The Co-operative Food all operating in the Percy Street / Newgate Street area, it will be interesting to see whether all of them are able to thrive. When I walked by last week, ‘Store Closed’ signs in the windows indicated that the Food Co supermarket in the soon-to-be-redeveloped Newgate Centre had already succumbed.

Food Co, Newgate Street, Newcastle (11 Jan 2010)

Expect more musical shops over the coming months as, with the opening of Eldon Square South, Newcastle city centre adapts to the biggest geographical shift in its retail focus for more than thirty years. Interesting times!

Just the fourth in a history of Middlesbrough's Woolies

I’m always delighted when people comment on my blog posts, and a recent contribution from Gareth Hill has proved particularly interesting in shedding light on the history of Woolworths’ presence in Middlesbrough, following on from my visit to the town back in September. Gareth wrote:

In Middlesbrough the former Woolworths in the Hill Street centre was actually Woolworths’ fourth store in Middlesbrough.

The first was on Linthorpe Road, opposite the Sony Centre. In the 1950s they moved a few doors up Linthorpe Road to a new Department Store, just before Binns corner. This was one of the many larger stores which had large food halls which closed in the early 80s when the British arm of the business was sold. This building was split into three separate units.

For a few years there was no Woolworths presence in Middlesbrough. Then in about 1990 there was a short-lived Woolworths Music & Video store in a corner unit diagonally opposite the store you visited. You may therefore have visited a further three former Woolworths.

Needless to say, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to do a bit of digging around into what Gareth had told me. A bit of Googling later, I’d come across this great Evening Gazette blog post about the history of Woolworths in Middlesbrough, including a fabulous photo (below) of the Mark II Linthorpe Road store – known as Central Buildings – on its opening day of 3 September 1958.

Woolworths in Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough on its opening day of 3 September 1958. Photograph courtesy of Evening Gazette

Passing along Linthorpe Road today, I was determined to see if I could spot the building in question. In fact, it wasn’t very difficult at all, given that surprisingly little seems to have changed (apart from The Mall’s annoying canopy, which rather got in the way of me replicating the original view):

Former Woolworths in Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough (4 Jan 2010)

Here’s a clearer view, taken from the opposite direction:

Former Woolworths in Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough (4 Jan 2010)

In comparison, locating the original Linthorpe Road Woolworths has proved much more of a challenge – and even now I’m not sure that I’ve managed to identify the right building. Gareth had referred to it being “a few doors” from the 1950s Woolworths and “opposite the Sony Centre”, but the only Sony Centre that I could find details of prior to my visit was the one in Captain Cook Square – well away from any Linthorpe Road frontage. I had some vague recollection, however, of reading something a few years ago about the Middlesbrough Sony Centre having moved location. Perhaps Gareth was referring to where it used to be?

With this in mind, and using a process of elimination, I took a photo of one of the few remaining old (i.e. pre-1950s), suitable looking buildings, in roughly the right location along Linthorpe Road:

Is this Middlesbrough's original Woolies?

Perhaps someone in the know can reveal whether or not I’ve correctly identified Middlesbrough’s original Woolworths? Following my visit, a bit more digging suggests that I can’t be too far off the mark – it looks like the Sony Centre did used to be in Linthorpe Road (#98), in a unit that now appears to be occupied by Carphone Warehouse, and that is more or less opposite the building that I photographed.

So, some one out there had better put me out of my misery! Am I right, or am I wrong???!!

[UPDATE: It appears I'm right... :) ]