Fareham Shopping Centre
Fareham Shopping Centre is at the heart of the centre of the medium-sized Hampshire town of Fareham.[1] Built in two phases between 1975 and 1981, the centre contains many well known retailers and is quite large for a town of its size. The shopping centre is part of a wider scheme of buildings in the town centre that were constructed around the same time.
Neighbouring buildings[edit]
Neighbouring buildings include:
- A large multi-storey car park (soon to be demolished[2])
- A health centre
- A large library
- Ferneham Hall - concert hall currently under renovation[3]
- A tower containing the civic offices
Shops[edit]
The shopping centre was originally anchored by a Sainsbury's supermarket, Woolworths, Boots and Marks & Spencer. The 1981 Eastern extension added a new anchor store - BHS and another multistorey car park, as well as numerous other shops. Sainsbury's moved out in the mid 1990s as the store was small by modern standards and Woolworths closed during the 2008/9 Christmas period because the retailer had gone into administration. During the mid 2000s, Portsmouth FC briefly rented a retail store at 46 Westbury Square within the shopping centre.[4] Recent retailers to move into Fareham Shopping centre include Next (opened September 2010) and HMV (opened November 2010 - Closed in February 2011, clearly on a short term contract for the festive season) and Debenhams which opened in Summer 2011.
| Name | Opened | Closed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sainsbury's | 1976 | mid 1990s | Left due to store being small by modern standards. |
| Marks & Spencer | 1976 | 2018 | Will be sub-leased by chain until 2100 when lease agreement expires.[5] |
| Woolworths | 1976 | 2008 | Company went into administration. |
| British Home Stores | 1984 | 2016 | Company went into administration[6] |
| Mothercare | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Gamleys | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Halfords | 1960s | 1960s | Exact years of trading unknown |
| B&M | 2017 | Present | Occupies former British Home Stores unit[7] |
| Bakers + Baristas | Unknown | Present | Occupies centre of Westbury Square rather than a traditional unit. |
| Bhavi Beauty | 2014-2015 estimated | Present | |
| Bonmarché | At least before 2011 | Present | Planned to close multiple times in administration |
| Boots | 1976 | Present | Original occupant |
| Cafe Giardino | Unknown | Present | Occupies raised section of square |
| Card Factory | Present | ||
| Claire's | Present | ||
| Clarks | 2023 | Closure on 5 August 2023.[8] | |
| Clintons | Present | ||
| Costa Coffee | Present | ||
| David Christopher | Present | ||
| EE | Present | ||
| Ernest Jones | Present | ||
| Eurochange | Present | ||
| Fone World | Present | ||
| GAME | Present | ||
| Grape Tree | Present | ||
| H. Samuel | Present | ||
| Holland & Barrett | Present | ||
| HSBC | Present | Has an entrance in shopping centre and on West Street | |
| Just4Sofas | Present | ||
| Krewskandy | 2012 (assumed) | Present | Traded under the Hilbornes Group until October 2022.[9] |
| Leightons Opticians and Hearing Care | 2001 | Present | Moved from Fareham High Street Store[10] |
| Made in Italy | Unknown | Present | |
| Meridian Beds | 2023 | Present | |
| Michael Matthews | Present | ||
| Millets | Unknown | Present | |
| New Look | Unknown | Present | |
| Next | Unknown | Present | |
| O2 | Unknown | Present | |
| Photo-Me | Unknown | Present | |
| Roman | Unknown | Present | |
| Savers | Unknown | Present | |
| Shakeaway | Unknown | Present | |
| Shoe Zone | Unknown | Present | |
| Sky | Unknown | Present | |
| Stop and Store | Unknown | Present | |
| Superdrug | Unknown | Present | |
| The Body Shop | Unknown | Present | |
| The Canvas Printing Company | Unknown | Present | |
| The Fragrance Shop | Unknown | Present | |
| The Works (retailer) | Unknown | Present | |
| Three | Unknown | Present | |
| Timpson (retailer) | Unknown | Present | |
| Utopia | Unknown | Present | |
| Vision Express | Unknown | Present | |
| Vodafone UK | Unknown | Present | |
| Warren James | Unknown | Present | |
| Waterstones | Unknown | Present | |
| Yours | Unknown | Present |
Refurbishment[edit]
The shopping centre had a typical 1970s dark interior until the late 1990s when it was refurbished to become much more bright and airy. The old interior featured a trail on the floor which if followed, led in a complete circle around all parts of the centre.
Atriums[edit]
It features four atriums which all have names:
- Thackeray Square - The Northern atrium. The Boots store opens up off this square which also has Cafe Giardino in the middle.
- Delme Square - The Western atrium featuring Marks and Spencers and (formerly) Woolworths. This has a Costa Coffee in the centre
- Westbury Square - The South-Central square which connects to all the other malls in the centre. The square also has a BB's cafe in the middle.
- Osborn Square - part of the 1981 extension, this square was dominated by BHS until its closure in 2016. Has since been replaced by B&M.
References[edit]
- ^ "Fareham Shopping Centre – Gosport & Whiteley Shopping". Fareham Shopping Centre.
- ^ Paine, Toby. "Fareham multi-story car park to be replaced after plans were approved". The News.
- ^ Mackinlay, Catherine (7 January 2023). "All that's left of beloved Hants hall as demolition work continues". hampshirelive. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ "Portsmouth FC Store - Fareham, Hampshire". Yelp.
- ^ "Marks & Spencer confirms closure of town centre store". Daily Echo. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ Andersen, Chris (23 December 2016). "88 Year Old Retailer BHS goes into Company Liquidation - Company Debt". Company Debt Ltd. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ "Jobs boost as Fareham shopping centre reveals new anchor retailer". Daily Echo. 1 November 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ "Clarks store to permanently close its doors next month". Daily Echo. 30 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ "Sweet Shop | Krews Kandy | Osborn". Krewskandy. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
- ^ "Fareham". Leightons Opticians & Hearing Care. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
50°51′13″N 1°10′39″W / 50.8536°N 1.1774°W