The new Westfield shopping centre has opened in Stratford. It is the 3rd largest shopping centre in the UK and one of the largest urban shopping centres in Europe. One of the highlights of the opening day was a performance from Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls.
It has 300 shops and 70 cafes and restaurants along with an assortment of other services including banks, opticians, hairdressers, and pharmacies. It is owned by the same group who built Westfield London in 2008. It cost around £1.4 billion to build and covers 1,883,700 square feet.
There is also a Premier Inn hotel on site with 267 rooms, plus another hotel with 350 rooms. The John Lewis department store is the focus point of the shopping centre and there are also Marks and Spencer and Waitrose stores.
There is also a Foyles book shop and HMV which are two areas of the retail industry that have been struggling in recent years due to increased competition from the Internet.
Although Stratford is now officially a part of London many people across Essex will be making the most of this new retail paradise. It’s main advantages over Lakeside and Bluewater is that it is on the main railway line so is likely to be very popular amongst those that do not own cars.
The main shops at Westfield in Stratford
- Adidas
- Aldo
- Apple Store
- Bershka
- Boots
- Bose
- Build-A-Bear Workshop
- Clinton Cards
- Dermalogica
- Dorothy Perkins
- Dr Martens
- Dwell
- Esprit
- Forever 21
- Gant
- Gap
- Goldsmiths Boutique
- H&M
- HMV
- Holland & Barrett
- Hollister Co.
- Hugo Boss
- Lacoste
- Monsoon
- Mothercare
- Mulberry
- New Look
- Next
- Nike
- Pandora
- Paperchase
- Primark
- Pull & Bear
- Reiss
- Republic
- River Island
- Schuh
- Superdry
- Swatch
- Tag Heuer
- The Sting
- Timberland
- Toni & Guy
- Topshop/Topman
- Uniqlo
- West Ham United
- Zara
How to get to Westfield Stratford
- Westfield Stratford City
- Montfichet Road, Olympic Park
- London
- E20
Westfield has 5,000 parking spaces and is just up the A12 with easy access also from the A13 and A11. It is free to park for up to 2 hours at the moment but parking prices do get more expensive for longer visits.
The mainline to London stops at Stratford and is the easiest way to get there from Essex. There are laso buses from surrounding boroughs and the DLR links up at the Stratford Regional Station and Stratford International Station. It is possible the most accessible shopping centre in the UK.