Silverburn Shopping Centre

Not to be confused with Silverburn, Midlothian.

Silverburn (also known as Pollok Town Centre or The Centre) is an out-of-town shopping centre located on Barrhead Road in Pollok, Glasgow, Scotland. The development replaces the 75-acre (30-hectare) Pollok centre with a brand new 1,500,000-square-foot (140,000-square-metre) shopping centre, anchored by Tesco, Next, Marks & Spencer and previously Debenhams before it closed in 2021.

Silverburn

Location	Pollok, Glasgow, Scotland
Coordinates	55°49′19″N 4°20′20″W / 55.822°N 4.339°W / 55.822; -4.339
Opening date	25 October 2007 (Some stores later)/ Restaurant Complex March 2008. Tesco store opened in July 2006.
Developer	Retail Property Holding Ltd
No. of stores and services	109
No. of anchor tenants	4
Total retail floor area	1,500,000 sq ft (140,000 m^2)
No. of floors	Single Floored Mall. Certain Stores are two storey.
Parking	4000 approx.
Website	shopsilverburn.com

History

Built on land that was previously the Pollok Centre dating from the late 1970s,^[1] which itself replaced an unsuccessful development of tenement housing from the 1940s^[2] the completed Silverburn opened for the first time on Thursday 25 October 2007, designed by BDP (architects), Stuart McTaggart (civil and structural engineers), Henderson Warnock (MEP & Utility Consultants) and constructed by Bovis Lend Lease.^[3][4][5] The largest Scottish Tesco Extra had opened on 10 July 2006 at the site, replacing the Tesco store in the old Pollok Centre. It was the 1st naturally ventilated shopping mall in Scotland using a combination of wind catchers and underfloor heating to maintain comfort for shoppers. It has been said that the name "Silverburn" evolved from a local consultation, as the Brock Burn which lies west of the site (with footbridges connecting to the Househillwood and Priesthill neighbourhoods) was famous for containing large quantities of shopping trolleys from the previous Tesco store and this is where the 'silver glint' came from;^[6] the practice of abandoning trollies has continued.^[7]

Developed by Retail Property Holdings Ltd (RPH) to house 95 shopping units and 14 restaurants and cafes, it is one of the largest shopping centres in the UK. It includes one million square feet (90,000 square metres) of retail and leisure space, 2000 parking spaces in a multi-storey car park, and 2500 spaces on the ground.^[8] In 2009, the centre was sold to Hammerson for £300 million.^[9]

Silverburn is Glasgow's fifth out-of-town shopping centre. Being located right next to the M77 motorway it is easily accessible to people coming from Paisley or East Renfrewshire.

It was named the "UK's best shopping centre" in 2019,^[10] the latest of several awards since its opening.^[11]

Expansion

In 2013, a programme of expansion of the centre was begun, to include a Cineworld cinema and nine new restaurants,^[12][13] completed in stages between late 2014 and mid 2015.^[14][15][16]

After a proposal in 2014 to extend the centre over its current car parking area,^[17] further plans for expansion were proposed in October 2015, with the intention to expand over the other side of the M77 with further shopping and leisure features, a hotel, and a community centre.^[18]

A Silverburn mascot, a fox named Silvia, was introduced in 2018 following a competition between local primary school children.^[19]

Incidents

^{[7][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]}

References

1. Modern Times: 1950s to The Present Day: Neighbourhoods: Pollok, 1979), The Glasgow Story
2. Bridgend Road (Glasgow City Archives, Department of Architectural and Civic Design, 1949), the Glasgow Story
3. Scotland's Biggest Shopping Centre Opens Its Doors, Daily Record, 25 October 2007
4. "Silverburn shopping centre in Glasgow opens". Retail Week. 30 October 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
5. "Inside Story - How Silverburn was born". The Drum. 16 November 2007.
6. Pollok.Priesthill.Nitshill.The Bundy.Gowanbank.Silverburn.Schools, Memories, and Pubs, Alex and Bob's Blue Sky Scotland, 21 January 2014
7. Mall shoppers dump 200 trolleys in burn, Evening Times, 16 June 2014
8. "Silverburn - Shopping Centre". RIAS. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
9. Silverburn shopping centre bought for £300m, BBC News,
10. Glasgow’s Silverburn named UK’s best shopping centre, Retail Gazette, 28 May 2019
11. More about Silverburn, Silverburn Centre
12. Hammerson confirms Silverburn cinema, EGI, 31 July 2013
13. Silverburn extension breaks ground, Urban Realm, 27 November 2013
14. TGI Friday’s opens Mackintosh-inspired restaurant at Silverburn, Hospitality and Catering News, 28 October 2014
15. Silverburn extension completes, Urban Realm, 4 January 2015
16. Final phase of Silverburn complete, BDP, 19 August 2015
17. Silverburn master plan details town centre vision, Urban Realm, 25 July 2014
18. "Expansion plans for Silverburn shopping centre clear first hurdle". Evening Times. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
19. Meet Silvia the Fox – Silverburn’s first mascot, Glasgow South and Eastwood Extra, 6 September 2018
20. Police called to Black Friday scuffles at Tesco stores, BBC News, 28 November 2014
21. "No-one hurt in fire at Silverburn Shopping Centre". BBC. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
22. "Glasgow's Silverburn shopping centre evacuated amid reports of a fire". GlasgowLive. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
23. "Silverburn shopping centre evacuated in fire alarm drama". Daily Record. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
24. "Paranormal investigators probe ghost reports at Silverburn shopping centre". The Scotsman. 7 June 2016.
25. "Did shopping centre work disturb ghost? Terrified customers report seeing spook inside". Daily Express. 8 June 2016.
26. . Twitter. Silverburn. Archived from the original on 22 August 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
27. Russell, Jennifer (22 August 2018). "Silverburn shopping centre evacuated over 'chemical spill'". glasgowlive. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
28. "Shoppers ill after Silverburn fumes alert". BBC News. 22 August 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
29. Warning to shoppers after thieves steal handbags at Silverburn Tesco over Christmas, East Kilbride Connect, 4 January 2019

 

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