This is Nottingham -- CITY centre shoppers could enjoy a whole new retail and eating out experience with plans for a dozen upmarket chain restaurants at the Victoria Centre. Planning permission was granted for the £40m redevelopment of the shopping mall earlier in the autumn. Now more details have been revealed by the centre's general manager, Janine Bone, at a presentation to the City Centre Forum this week. Ms Bone remained tight-lipped on the names of the restaurants as negotiations are ongoing – but stressed they would be more high-end chains. She said: "This will give the intu centre a more upmarket offering than a food court and will be split over two levels." She said the intention was to make a trip to the mall a complete experience, with everything a customer needs under one roof, and offering restaurants not already represented in the city. "People don't just want to come to a shop – they can buy anything online – what they want is the whole package, a real leisure experience," she added. A recent poll of 2,000 East Midlands women found the formula for a perfect Nottingham shopping trip would involve a four-hour trawl of stores, one cup of posh coffee, and a £114.06 dent in the bank balance. The new restaurants plans form part of a larger redevelopment that would see a new glass entrance created for the centre and lighting to improve the view at night, as well as alterations to the columns to make them appear more streamline. Councillor Michael Edwards, who chaired the City Centre Forum meeting, said: "Nottingham already has a reputation for having one of the best ranges of any city centre, but anything new will attract people to come." He said the new entrance would give a more grand impression to shoppers visiting the city. "I've heard people say the entrance looks like patio doors," he added. "That is perhaps a bit unfair but I get a sense they are trying to embrace the clock tower and make it a centrepiece of the mall. "I think it will look quite dramatic."
Reported by This is 11 hours ago.
This is Nottingham -- CITY centre shoppers could enjoy a whole new retail and eating out experience with plans for a dozen upmarket chain restaurants at the Victoria Centre. Planning permission was granted for the £40m redevelopment of the shopping mall earlier in the autumn. Now more details have been revealed by the centre's general manager, Janine Bone, at a presentation to the City Centre Forum this week. Ms Bone remained tight-lipped on the names of the restaurants as negotiations are ongoing – but stressed they would be more high-end chains. She said: "This will give the intu centre a more upmarket offering than a food court and will be split over two levels." She said the intention was to make a trip to the mall a complete experience, with everything a customer needs under one roof, and offering restaurants not already represented in the city. "People don't just want to come to a shop – they can buy anything online – what they want is the whole package, a real leisure experience," she added. A recent poll of 2,000 East Midlands women found the formula for a perfect Nottingham shopping trip would involve a four-hour trawl of stores, one cup of posh coffee, and a £114.06 dent in the bank balance. The new restaurants plans form part of a larger redevelopment that would see a new glass entrance created for the centre and lighting to improve the view at night, as well as alterations to the columns to make them appear more streamline. Councillor Michael Edwards, who chaired the City Centre Forum meeting, said: "Nottingham already has a reputation for having one of the best ranges of any city centre, but anything new will attract people to come." He said the new entrance would give a more grand impression to shoppers visiting the city. "I've heard people say the entrance looks like patio doors," he added. "That is perhaps a bit unfair but I get a sense they are trying to embrace the clock tower and make it a centrepiece of the mall. "I think it will look quite dramatic."
Reported by This is 11 hours ago.