Closing-down poster at Newgate Street Co-op, Newcastle (2 Dec 2011)

Newcastle city centre’s Co-op supermarket is to close down this month, bringing to an end nearly a century-and-a-half of Co-operative presence in Newgate Street. Posters in the windows and instore – which I spotted while passing by yesterday – reveal that the store will ‘cease trading as a Co-operative’ at 6pm on New Year’s Eve (31 December).

Former Co-op department store, Newgate Street (16 Feb 2010)

The food hall is the last remaining part of the former Co-op department store, which closed in 2007, and there has been speculation about its long-term future ever since – both in terms of its competitive position and the expected redevelopment of the building in which it sits.

For many years, the Co-op was one of a handful of supermarkets in Newcastle city centre – alongside Marks & Spencer’s food hall and the now-demolished Safeway (previously Presto) in Clayton Street – and had the advantage of the biggest range and longest opening hours of the lot.

Sainsbury's Local, Gallowgate, Newcastle (10 May 2011)

More recently, however, competition has intensified, with Waitrose opening in nearby Eldon Square and Tesco Metro taking a unit roughly where Safeway used to be in the redeveloped Eldon Square South. Reflecting the national trend of big grocers moving into convenience, the city has also seen a proliferation of smaller supermarkets, including two Sainsbury’s Locals (in nearby Gallowgate and at Central Station) and a Tesco Express (Eldon Garden), as well as a recently opened Londis Metro in Grainger Street.

While the environment around it has shifted, the Newgate Street Co-op has failed to keep up. Even two years ago, I described the rump supermarket as feeling “unloved and behind the times”, noting the “bored-looking staff, long queues (as usual), and numerous broken light fittings that create an overall feeling of gloom.”

Old 'Food Hall' signage, Co-op, Newgate St, Newcastle (9 Nov 2009)

Despite the apparent lack of investment or attention to detail inside the store, last year’s replacement of the old ‘Food Hall’ signs with ones bearing the new ‘Co-operative Food’ identity suggested that the Co-op might, in fact, be planning on staying around for a while. Indeed, even when long-awaited plans for the building’s re-use for retail, hotel and leisure were approved earlier this month, it was stated that the Co-op’s food store would be retained as part of the scheme, despite plans for a new (but much smaller) Co-operative Food store, in the old Envy unit in Market Street, having come to light a week earlier.

New Co-operative Food signage (20 May 2010)

Nevertheless, the Co-op food hall’s surprise closure in Newgate Street is likely to facilitate the Redbox-designed plans to revamp the iconic building that it occupies. The shop’s strange position within the property – largely the result of having to screen it off from the abandoned department store and stair towers – would always have necessitated some reconfiguration and resulting disruption to business.

So, what of the redevelopment itself? First of all, it’s important to appreciate the extent and interest of the existing property. While the Grade II-Listed Art Deco section facing Newgate Street – built from 1931-32 to replace the original 1870s premises, and extended by three bays in 1959 – is the most familiar part of the old Co-op department store, there are also some noteworthy Grade II-Listed buildings around the corner in St Andrew’s Street.

St Andrew's Street buildings, former Co-op, Newcastle (9 Nov 2009)

As David Lovie notes in his useful (but now quite old) ‘The Buildings of Grainger Town’ book, these were built in 1902 as an extension to the original 1870s Co-op store, so are the oldest surviving part of the property. Happily, these will be given a new purpose as the entrance to the 231-bedroom Travelodge that is set to occupy the upper-floor space within the 150,000 sq ft scheme.

St Andrew's Street buildings, former Co-op, Newcastle (9 Nov 2009)

According to the useful project update on the architects’ website, a gym is expected to occupy the basement, while the ground floor will house six retail or restaurant units. Interestingly, the piece – which also assumed, at the time, that the Co-op supermarket would remain in place – states that “all tenants but one have already committed to the scheme”, which will no doubt prompt all sorts of speculation about who might occupy the space.

The property’s location next to The Gate leisure complex means that restaurants or bars are an obvious choice, but its position in relation to recently opened big-name stores - opposite Debenhams and New Look, and close to Next – makes fashion retail a possibility.

All in all, then, it’s difficult not to be positive about the plans for the property. A historic building is going to be brought back into use after five years of near-vacancy, while the promised ground-floor uses should help generate street-level activity and footfall in Newgate Street. Meanwhile, any loyal Co-op shoppers look set to be catered for by a small store elsewhere in the city centre.

For all that the present Co-op supermarket is unlikely to be widely missed, I hope that the rather clinical head-office posters announcing the store’s closure will be replaced in due course by something more bespoke. After all, when a business has traded from the same site since the 1870s – supported by generations of Newcastle families – shoppers surely deserve a warmer expression of gratitude than a passing ’Thank you for your custom’.

Former Woolworths (now HMV), 150 Oxford Street (6 Apr 2011)

While in London last week, High Holborn (store #173) and Tottenham Court Road (#175) weren’t the only two ex-Woolworths I managed to work into my travels.

Back in November, you might recall that I photographed the former Woolworths flagship store (#161) at 311 Oxford Street, below, which opened in 1924 and was sold off in the early 1980s. Since November 2007, the property has housed a 25,000 sq ft ‘global flagship store’ for the Japanese fashion retailer Uniqlo, but it’s had a succession of previous occupants since Woolies’ departure, including Burton, Tesco Metro and (fairly briefly, from 2004) Waterstone’s.

Former Woolworths (now Uniqlo), 311 Oxford Street (24 Nov 2010)

In my blog at the time, I made reference to Woolworths’ second Oxford Street store – #463 – which opened in 1932 and was sold off at the same time as its near-neighbour. At that point, however, I wasn’t clear where the store had been, or what it was now. However, the ever-reliable John Rogers was able to fill in the details, pinpointing the location to 150 Oxford Street and the present-day HMV. So, being in central London, I took the opportunity to check it out.

Former Woolworths (now HMV), 150 Oxford Street (6 Apr 2011)

Situated towards the slightly less glamorous eastern end of Oxford Street, the building is nevertheless rather glorious, and was apparently purpose-built for Woolworths on the site of what had been the Royal Princess’s Theatre, shown in the 1880s print below.

1880s print of Royal Princess's Theatre, Oxford Street

Interestingly, the building to the right of HMV that now houses the upmarket footwear retailer Aldo appears to be the same one as in the drawing above – compare the two and note the upper floor windows with their distinctive pilasters.

Former Woolworths (now HMV), 150 Oxford Street (6 Apr 2011)

Following Woolies’ closure, I understand that the building became a shopping centre, called Oxford Walk, prior to HMV moving in later in the 1980s.

With its symmetry and lovely Art Deco detail by the architects Charles Ernest Elcock and Frederick Sutcliffe, the property retains some of the theatricality of the building that it replaced, and the second and third floor windows – spanning almost the full height and width of the façade – are particularly delightful.

Façade of former Woolworths (now HMV), 150 Oxford Street (6 Apr 2011)

To be honest, the frontage could use some TLC, and hopefully this might be forthcoming as part of the ‘major refurbishment’ that’s planned for the store later this year – assuming, of course, that the increasingly beleaguered HMV manages to last that long. At the end of last year, HMV generated £13.7m from selling its nearby store at 360 Oxford Street to the American fashion retailer Forever 21, and has promised that at least some of this will be reinvested in improvements to other central London stores.

Adam & Eve Court sign at Eastcastle Street end (6 Apr 2011)

While on site, I also managed to locate the back entrance of the old Woolies, mentioned in an earlier Flickr discussion and situated in the appealingly named Adam & Eve Court. From Oxford Street, the Court is accessed via a narrow alleyway between American Apparel and Esprit – a couple of doors along from HMV – and is easy to miss behind the Oxford Street crowds and the clutter of a market stall.

Entrance to Adam & Eve Court, Oxford Street (6 Apr 2011)

In fact, I did miss it at my first attempt, managing instead to locate the Court’s more prominent access from Eastcastle Street, the thoroughfare running parallel to Oxford Street at the back of HMV.

Adam & Eve Court's Eastcastle Street entrance (6 Apr 2011)

Once in the Court, I was able to spot the old rear entrance to Woolworths – still used as HMV’s staff and visitor entrance – as well as a reincarnated version of the Adam & Eve tavern after which the street apparently took its name. The fact that the HMV building must dogleg behind Aldo and American Apparel in order to have an entrance in Adam & Eve Court gives a sense of the property’s extent.

Former Woolworths rear entrance, on left (6 Apr 2011)

For all that Oxford Street is the UK’s busiest shopping thoroughfare, I suspect that not many people have stopped to look up at the decorative detail of the former Woolworths building. I’d imagine, however, that even fewer have ever ventured into Adam & Eve Court – a little oasis of calm from the bustle of Oxford Street, with a splash of Woolies history thrown in.

Debenhams, Eldon Square (16 Feb 2010). Photograph by Peter (aka 'Newcastle Historian')

I might have been busy at work at 10:30 a.m this morning, but many thousands of others evidently weren’t, judging from the crowds that attended the grand opening of St Andrew’s Way! Such was the excitement, Eldon Square was once again a trending topic on Twitter for much of today, while even the editor of industry bible Retail Week was there to see things first hand.

New Look, Eldon Square (16 Feb 2010)

Debenhams, Eldon Square (16 Feb 2010)

By the time I popped in to the new mall just after 5, things had calmed down somewhat, but there were still plenty of people having a good look around. I was able to get some better photos of the street frontages (using a proper camera this time), but thought better of getting any interior shots, given how many police officers were wandering about. However, Peter – aka ‘Newcastle Historian’ from the SkyscraperCity forums – has kindly let me plunder some of his own pics from inside the mall.

St Andrew's Way, Eldon Square (16 Feb 2010). Photograph by Peter (aka 'Newcastle Historian')

Clayton Street frontage, Eldon Square (16 Feb 2010)

First impressions are really positive – the inside of the mall is wide and bright, and the double height means that most of the retailers have created truly dramatic frontages. Debenhams’ looks great, Republic’s is as impressive as promised, and Apple’s is the bold statement that you would expect.

Best of the lot though must be Hollister. The store’s not yet open (and won’t be until April, apparently), but its shopfront is pure MetroCentre Mediterranean Village, circa 1986 – striking, kitschy, but totally on brand. It does mean that with most of the shop frontages being so flamboyant, Schuh’s – which would look very nice anywhere else – feels rather tame.

Apple Store, Eldon Square (16 Feb 2010). Photograph by Peter (aka 'Newcastle Historian')

Debenhams, Eldon Square (16 Feb 2010)

Tesco Metro, Eldon Square (16 Feb 2010)

Clayton Street frontage to Eldon Square (16 Feb 2010)

Poundland, Eldon Square (16 Feb 2010)

As I’ve remarked before, a successful Tesco store probably does not bode well for the nearby Co-op food hall. However, there can surely be no better opportunity than now for the whole of the former Co-op department store building to be brought back into use. Just looking at all the people busying around in Newgate Street this evening, it really is now a great pitch, directly opposite Debenhams. If Harvey Nichols ever made up its mind to come to Newcastle, it need surely look no further for a stunning landmark property in a fantastic, prime location.

Former Co-op department store, Newgate Street (16 Feb 2010)

I also had a look around the older parts of Eldon Square, where there are now various voids from retailers moving into the new part of the shopping centre. However, these vacated units have all been screened off already – complete with ‘exciting new retailer coming soon’ banners – so merely look blank and dark rather than obviously empty. On the other hand, the existing Poundland in the old post office premises and the current All Saints in Market Street were both still happily trading when I walked past this evening, suggesting that those stores will be retained alongside their brand new Eldon Square siblings.

All Saints, Eldon Square (16 Feb 2010). Photograph by Peter (aka 'Newcastle Historian')

I read this morning that five of the six now-empty sites in Eldon Square have new occupants lined up, which is very good news if true. Certainly, the banner at the former Arcadia site promises a ‘new flagship retailer’ soon – almost certainly Next. Meanwhile, at least part of the site of the former Republic store is going to be Foot Locker, presumably moving from its existing Northumberland Street site. So, tick this off as yet another seemingly un-Woolies-related blog post that in fact has a faintly obscure Woolworths link…

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!

Former Woolworths in Houghton-le-Spring

Though I can’t claim to make a habit of visiting six old Woolies stores in the same day (including Houghton-le-Spring, above), I have managed to build up a pretty good collection of former Woolworths pics over the last year or so – snapping them as I spot them, and, it must be admitted, making the occasional detour expressly to get another one.

I figured that it was therefore time to bring together all the photos of old Woolies that haven’t featured in Soult’s Retail View already, together with some of the ones that we’ve seen before. As you would expect it’s certainly an interesting mix, with some success stories but also plenty of properties that remain unoccupied nine months after Woolies’ demise.

Woolworths, Whitley Bay (26 Dec 2008)

To kick off, this photo of the store in Whitley Bay was taken on Boxing Day last year, a few days prior to closure. Sadly, I understand that the store is still empty, with little sign of anything happening. On the plus side, nothing seems to have come of the suggestion, from no less than the (now former) Elected Mayor, that the building should be turned into a new library; if Whitley Bay is to have any future as a retail centre, taking the town’s largest and most prominent shop unit out of retail use surely seems like a crazy idea.

Back in March I emailed the northern variety store retailer Boyes to suggest that Whitley Bay would be a perfect location for one of its shops. Whitley Bay, I argued, needed “a store like yours that sells a wide range of products at reasonable prices” – in my view, it’s this type of useful, everyday retailer that is most likely to get shoppers popping back into the town centre on a regular basis. Anyone who’s ever visited a Boyes store will appreciate that it’s the epitome of this kind of shop – truly a treasure trove of handy stuff such as homewares, toys, stationery, toiletries and clothing.

To Boyes’ great credit, I promptly got a personal email back from no less a figure than the company’s chairman, Andrew Boyes, confirming that the retailer was “interested in expansion into the [Tyne and Wear] area” and was “looking at opportunities”. So, though nothing has happened yet, the door for Boyes to pick up some old Woolies seemingly remains ajar.

Still in December last year, being in Chesterfield for my cousin’s wedding presented me with an opportunity to tick off another old Woolies that had closed down just three days earlier, in the town’s Vicar Lane Shopping Centre. Despite being a good-looking and well-located unit, the Vicar Lane store guide indicates that this store too remains empty almost ten months on.

Former Woolworths, Chesterfield (30 Dec 2008)

Moving north of the border, another vacant unit is the store in Perth, captured not long after closure in February. As far as I can gather, however, this store also remains unoccupied.

Former Woolworths, Perth (23 Feb 2009)

Some good news now, and the old Woolworths in Hexham, in Northumberland – one of the very first tranche of 51 Woolies stores to be acquired by Iceland, back in January. This shot was taken in August, a couple of weeks before the store opened.

Former Woolworths, Hexham (8 Aug 2009)

Iceland acquired another Northumberland store, in Morpeth, at the same time. This photo was also taken in August, with the supermarket already trading. To Iceland’s credit, it has done a good job in both Hexham and Morpeth of sprucing up two properties that were looking in need of some TLC while in Woolworths’ care.

Former Woolworths, Morpeth (15 Aug 2009)

I’ve already written, in some depth, about my recent visit to Durham. As I noted then, the new Tesco Metro in the former Market Place Woolworths seems to be nicely mopping up those city centre shoppers left adrift by last year’s departure of Waitrose.

Former Woolworths, Durham (11 Sep 2009)

There’s no need to repeat the photos that you’ve already seen of former Woolworths in Redcar, Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Hartlepool and Gateshead – all taken on 17 September – or the shot I used last week of the empty MetroCentre branch.

So let’s end, for the moment, with this shot of the recently opened Home Bargains in Tamworth, Staffordshire.

Former Woolworths, Tamworth (19 Sep 2009)

Tamworth and I go back a long way – it’s the place where I went to school, and is somewhere I still visit from time to time. So, I was pleased to see that Home Bargains had done such a good job of turning the slightly tired Woolworths premises in George Street into a really bright and modern store. Indeed, Home Bargains’ comprehensive refit of the unit, including a smart new shopfront, has successfully avoided the problem of the building still feeling like an old Woolworths (cf. Redcar or Middlesbrough).

It was also the first time I’d seen a tweaked Home Bargains fascia – in burgundy and grey, instead of the more garish red and bright blue – but it does work well in conveying a slightly more quality image for the retailer, as well as being more in keeping with the overall look of the street.

That’s all for now – but you can look forward to part 2 in due course which will feature a selection of Welsh former Woolworths stores – Holyhead, Porthmadog, Prestatyn, Rhyl, Colwyn Bay and Llandudno – as well as a few more local ones in Byker, Gosforth, Newcastle and Consett.

Time for a lie down, I think.