The Liberty facts for kids
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| Location | Romford, Greater London, England |
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| Opening date | 1968 |
| Owner | Cosgrave Property Group |
| No. of stores and services | 100 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 7 |
| Total retail floor area | 432,000 square feet (40,100 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 |
| Parking | 806 |
| Public transit access | Romford railway station |
| Website | www.theliberty.co.uk |
The Liberty Shopping Centre is a large indoor shopping mall located in Romford, a town in Greater London, England. It's the biggest shopping centre in Romford and also the largest in the entire London Borough of Havering.
This shopping centre first opened its doors in 1968. It got its name from an old area called the "Liberty of Havering." Today, the Cosgrave Property Group owns it.
The Liberty Shopping Centre has about 100 shops and covers a huge area of 432,000 square feet. Lots of people visit it every year – around 23 million! That's like 425,000 people visiting each week. You can even get to the nearby Mercury Shopping Centre through an underground walkway.
Contents
Exploring the Liberty Shopping Centre
The Liberty Shopping Centre is a great place to find all sorts of things. It has many different shops, from fashion to electronics. You can spend hours looking around and finding what you need.
What Can You Find Inside?
Inside the Liberty, you'll discover a wide range of stores. There are big-name shops like Next and H&M for clothes. You can also find health and beauty products at places like Boots. For books and stationery, there's W H Smith.
The centre is designed to be easy to walk around. It has a bright, covered roof that lets in natural light. This makes shopping a pleasant experience, no matter the weather outside.
The History of Liberty Shopping Centre
The Liberty Shopping Centre has been a part of Romford for a long time. It has changed quite a bit since it first opened. Learning about its past helps us understand how it became the modern shopping centre it is today.
How the Centre Began
The Liberty was first built in 1968. For many years, parts of the main shopping area were open to the sky. There were also covered walkways that connected it to other parts of Romford town centre.
In 1999, a company called Hammerson bought half of the centre. Then, in 2000, they bought the rest of the land it was on. Later, in 2006, an Irish company called The Cosgrave Property Group bought the centre. They are still the owners today.
Big Changes and Modern Updates
Around the year 2000, the shopping centre went through a huge makeover. This project took several years to complete. One of the biggest changes was adding a glass roof over the main part of the centre. This made it a fully indoor shopping experience.
New car parking areas were also built, making it easier for people to visit. Many existing shops, like Boots and W H Smith, were updated or moved to new spots. This big project helped make The Liberty Shopping Centre a modern and popular place for shopping. The main construction work finished in April 2003.
