Happy Birthday Trafford Centre ……... well almost

The Trafford Centre opened its doors in September 1994, making it almost its birthday, and almost marking a quarter of a century of retail fun.

A wall of wool, 2023

My Wikipedia tells me that “it is a large indoor shopping centre and entertainment complex in Urmston, Greater Manchester, England. It opened in 1998 and is third largest in the United Kingdom by retail space.

Clourful and enticing, 2023

Originally developed by the Peel Group, the Trafford Centre was sold to Capital Shopping Centres, later to become Intu, in 2011 for £1.65 billion setting a record as the costliest single property sale in British history.

The battle to obtain permission to build the centre was amongst the longest and most expensive in United Kingdom planning history. As of 2011 the Trafford Centre had Europe's largest food court and the UK's busiest cinema”.*

Adverts and shadows, 2023

So, there you are.

On any one day it will have heaps of people drawn from across the region.

Yellow day at Trafford Centre, 2023

Some have just popped in for one item, taking advantage of the free car parking, while others make a day of it.

I prefer the city centre, but then I am not a great fan of shopping as a recreation and prefer to wander the city with a camera.

But on a wet day and factoring in car parking charges I can see the attraction of the centre.

We were there on an indifferent Saturday when the rain threatened, and the sun struggled to break through the grey clouds.

Tina and her mum shopped, and I sat and took pictures.

A fair exchange.

Conversations among the potted plants, 2003

Location; Trafford Centre

Odd shapes, 2023

Pictures; shopping and people watching, 2023,A wall of wool, and Odd shapes in John Lewis, all  from the collection of Andrew Simpson

The Long View, 2023

*Trafford Centre, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trafford_Centre