Shoplife

I’m not normally one for watching BBC Three documentaries, but with a sister about to embark on a year placement at one of the largest retail brands in the UK, I was intrigued to watch Shoplife. Based in the Metrocentre in Gateshead, the documentary follows a group of young people working in the shops there. It was fascinating and got me thinking about the geography of such a retail centre. During my own studies at school we learnt about the regeneration of Reading and the new (at the time!) Oracle centre.

Despite shopping being at the heart of the urban model and urban change, out of town shopping centres, such as the Metrocentre, are not covered much in the settlement section. During KS3 it is covered under “Human Processes” and at A Level, shopping centres can be studied during the “Geographical Issue Evaluation” unit.

So, here I go, off on a tangent, to satisfy my curiosity for the geography behind this shopping centre. Here is what I found…

The Metrocentre (or intu Metrocentre as it is corporately known as), is the largest shopping centre in Britain - every day 70 000 shoppers venture through the centre’s doors. Prior to the development, the area was a power station’s waterlogged ash dump. In 1981, the area became one of the first enterprise zones set up by the UK Government. Enterprise Zones are areas which support both new and expanding businesses by offering incentives. This support meant the Metrocentre could be economically viable and so the plans were made; the aim was to provide a “shopping and leisure centre that combined the best of North American innovation with all the lessons learnt from centuries of European shopping tradition”.

Despite being an abandoned field with no access, the site did have one advantage - its location! The site is situated in the heart of Tyneside and as such, has a potential catchment of 1.5 million people within a 30 minute drive and 3 million people within one hour.

The centre itself comprises of 4 malls (red, green, blue and yellow), which together host over 340 stores and have over 50 places to eat. In 2007, the centre acquired the Metro Retail Park, which added 220,000 square foot of retail space just a short walk away from the main centre. During September 2012, the MetrOasis external catering development opened, which includes: Harvester, Toby Carvery, Starbucks and Krispy Kreme.

Regardless of being a massive development, the centre was built with people in mind. This can clearly be seen in the architecture, design and selection of materials, all of which work together to create a relaxing, safe and comfortable environment. The Metrocentre goes one leap further than just allowing natural light to flow through the building though - there are plenty of security and customer service staff on hand and even baby changing stations in the male as well as female toilets. On top of this, during school holidays the centre’s very own characters the ‘Metrognomes’ entertain children (and parents!) with free shows. They are on to a winner - after all, people are more likely to spend longer in the centre and as such, spend more money in their shops, if they feel safe, comfortable and happy in the environment.

This topic in teaching…

The large amount of information available on the Metrocentre’s website, which includes a ‘Student Information Pack’, provides an ideal opportunity for group or individual research project. Students could produce a fact file of information including things such as its history, Enterprise Zones, why it is economically viable and what the success the Metrocentre has provided to the local economy.

References

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b037wkw3

http://enterprisezones.communities.gov.uk/about-enterprise-zones/

http://www.intumetrocentre.co.uk/About-Us/General-Info

http://www.intumetrocentre.co.uk/Customer-Information#a578

http://www.intumetrocentre.co.uk/Upload/PageAttachments/page1981/files/MetroCentre%20Student%20Information%20Pack%20%20-%20February%202013.pdf