Meadowhall (shopping centre) facts for kids
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Aerial view of Meadowhall
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| Location | Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England |
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| Coordinates | 53°24′52″N 1°24′39″W / 53.414430°N 1.410949°W |
| Opening date | 4 September 1990 |
| Owner | Norges Bank Investment Management |
| No. of stores and services | 269 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 10 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,500,000 sq ft (139,355 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Parking | 12,000 spaces |
| Public transit access | Meadowhall Interchange |
Meadowhall is a huge indoor shopping centre located in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It's about 3 kilometres (2 miles) north-east of Sheffield city centre. It's also about 2 kilometres (1 mile) from Rotherham town centre.
Meadowhall is the biggest shopping centre in Yorkshire. It's currently the twelfth-largest in the whole United Kingdom. There are plans to make it even bigger in the future. If these plans go ahead, it could become the 11th largest shopping centre in the UK! The design of Meadowhall was inspired by a shopping centre in Canada called Place d'Orléans.
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History of Meadowhall
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Meadowhall was built by a company called Bovis. It was built on land that used to be a steelworks factory. The shopping centre first opened its doors on 4 September 1990.
When it first opened, Meadowhall was the second-largest shopping centre in the UK. It has a massive floor area of about 139,355 square metres (1.5 million square feet). Meadowhall has over 280 stores! It attracts around 30 million visitors every year.
Over the years, some shops have changed. For example, a big Sainsbury's supermarket closed in 2005. It was replaced by popular stores like Next and Primark. Meadowhall also had one of the first Apple Stores in the UK.
In 2012, a company called Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) bought half of Meadowhall. They paid about £348 million for their share. Later, in 2024, NBIM bought the other half of Meadowhall. This means they now own the entire shopping centre.
Modern Makeover (2015–2017)
In 2015, Meadowhall celebrated its 25th birthday! To mark this, it got a huge £60 million makeover inside. This big update made the centre look more modern. It also allowed some shops to have taller, more impressive fronts.
The makeover was done in two main parts, finishing in 2017. Most of the work happened at night so shoppers weren't disturbed. After the makeover, Meadowhall felt more "upmarket." New and updated stores like Flannels, Hugo Boss, and River Island Children opened.
A fun fact: parts of the music video for the song "Fun For Me" by the band Moloko were filmed in Meadowhall's food court!
Future Plans
There have been plans to make Meadowhall even bigger. In 2012, there was a plan for a new retail area. However, this plan didn't go ahead. Instead, a new Next home store and a Costa Coffee drive-thru opened on that land. A new IKEA store also opened there in 2017.
In 2016, there were plans for a huge £300 million leisure extension. This would have included a new cinema, a bowling alley, a trampoline park, and more restaurants. However, these plans were put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Newer plans might still happen, but they might be a bit different.
Dealing with Floods
Meadowhall is located near the River Don. In June 2007, the river flooded, and water entered parts of the shopping centre. Some areas had water as high as 1.8 metres (6 feet)! Meadowhall closed for six days for a big cleanup. Many ground floor shops had to be completely refitted.
Since then, Meadowhall has installed special flood gates. These gates help protect the centre from future floods. In November 2019, there were more floods in the area. Meadowhall's new flood defences worked, and the inside of the shopping centre stayed dry. However, the annual Christmas Light Switch-on event had to be cancelled. Many people got stuck at Meadowhall because public transport was stopped.
Exploring Meadowhall's Sections
Meadowhall is divided into different areas, each with its own style of shops:
- High Street: This area has discount shops, banks, and places to exchange money.
- The Arcade: You'll find more fancy shops here. It's in the middle of the shopping centre.
- Park Lane: This area has boutique and more expensive shops. It was renamed "The Avenue" in 2023.
- The Gallery: This section has five of the centre's biggest clothing stores.
- The Oasis: This is the main food and fun area.
- The Lanes: Next to The Oasis, this small area has about 20 unique, smaller shops.
The Oasis Dining Quarter
The Oasis Dining Quarter is Meadowhall's big food court. It has lots of food places and seating on two floors. The ground floor mostly has fast food, while the upper floor has more restaurants and a cinema. In 2011, The Oasis had a £7 million makeover. It was renamed from 'Oasis Food Court' to 'Oasis Dining Quarter', and more restaurants were added.
The dining quarter also has an eleven-screen cinema. It opened in 1993 and is now a Vue cinema. It was also updated after the 2007 floods.
Getting to Meadowhall
Meadowhall is easy to get to! It's right next to Junction 34 of the M1 motorway.
Meadowhall Interchange
Meadowhall has a special transport hub called Meadowhall Interchange. It's the only place in the UK where you can find a bus, train, and tram station all serving a shopping centre!
The Sheffield Supertram has two stops for Meadowhall. The Yellow Line tram stops at Meadowhall Interchange. There's also another stop called Tinsley / Meadowhall South. Trams from Meadowhall can take you to places like the Sheffield Arena and Ice Sheffield.
The interchange also has a large bus station. Buses go to many places across South Yorkshire, especially Sheffield and Rotherham. There's also a train station at Meadowhall. You can catch frequent trains to and from Doncaster, Sheffield, Leeds, and Manchester.
Awards and Recognition
Meadowhall has won several awards over the years. These include awards for its creative events and for how it works with retailers. It also won awards for making the shopping experience better for customers.
Caring for the Environment
Meadowhall is very focused on being environmentally friendly. It recycles 97% of all waste from its shops and customers! The remaining 3% is used to create energy, so no waste goes to landfill.
Meadowhall was the first shopping centre in the UK to have its own recycling facility. This centre, opened in 2006, uses a conveyor belt to sort different types of waste, like paper, plastic, and cans.
Since 2006, Meadowhall has also been collecting rainwater. Four large tanks collect rainwater and water from air conditioning. This water is then used for cleaning, flushing toilets, and watering plants outside. Each tank can hold a huge amount of water.
In 2008, Meadowhall drilled a bore hole to collect water from underground. This water is also used for toilets and cleaning. This means that 90-95% of all water used for flushing toilets comes from recycled rainwater or bore hole water!
Images for kids
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Meadowhall logo
