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Lakeside
Lakeside logo
Mall facts and statistics
Location	Thurrock, UK
Opening date	25th October 1990
Developer	?
Management	?
Owner	Capital
No. of stores and services	280
No. of anchor tenants	3
Total retail floor area	1,403,000 ft² (130,339 m²)
Parking	13,000 spaces
No. of floors	3
Website	www.lakeside.uk.com

The Lakeside Shopping Centre is a large out-of-town shopping centre located in West Thurrock, in the borough of Thurrock, Essex just beyond the eastern boundary of Greater London. It opened on 25th October 1990.

The shopping centre, in addition to the retail parks, forms one of the largest shopping areas in a single location within Europe, with almost 2.6 million square feet of retail space on a 200-acre site. The community of Chafford Hundred has grown to the east of the centre since its opening.

The shopping centre is one of the largest in Europe with 123,644 m² (1,330,936 ft²) available as retail floorspace although the MetroCentre in Gateshead, after its expansion in 2004, is larger. There are 280 shops, 3 department stores, 30 cafes and restaurants and a 26-acre lake named Alexandra Lake with a PADI certified diving school complex. Lakeside has on average 500,000 visitors per week.

It is currently open on weekdays from 10 am to 10 pm, Saturday from 9 am to 7:30 pm and Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm. The centre's car parks have capacity for 13,000 cars.

The centre has a direct link to Chafford Hundred railway station and is connected to the M25 motorway which is London's outermost ring road. It is connected to the London Bus network by London Buses route 372 with other operators also providing bus services to the centre.

Shops at Lakeside Shopping Centre include:

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A rendering of the new area under development to replace the existing Lakeside Pavilion market area due to open in Summer 2007

'The Boardwalk' under construction in early September 2006, showing the new bridge to the main shopping centre and the old 'Lakeside Pavilion' building.

Construction on the new decking for 'The Boardwalk'.

To ensure the centre maintains its competition with the somewhat more upmarket Bluewater shopping centre, which lies just over the Thames in Greenhithe, Lakeside has recently undergone major refurbishment at a cost of £30 million. This included new Italian porcelain flooring, new lighting, a new ceiling and new glass roofs which allow much more natural light into the shopping centre. There are now also new, faster elevators, and 4 more escalators along with automatic entrance doors. A non-smoking policy across the whole shopping centre was also introduced in January 2004. The refurbishment has also encouraged refitting of many shops so that they complement the new surroundings. In September 2005, Next opened an 18,600 sq.ft. extension to their store.

The Lakeside Pavilion is an area adjoined to the main shopping centre via a covered bridge which has a 7 screen multiplex cinema owned by Vue. The cinema closed on the 11th January 2007 for a six month refurbishment and will reopen with 9 screens and stadium seating. The Pavilion had a market area where various stalls sold novelty gifts, paintings and collector items adjacent to a small food court. By the beginning of 2006 this had been closed and partly removed for the construction of a new entertainment area named 'The Boardwalk'.

When it is complete in June 2007, The Boardwalk will provide an additional 59,000 sq.ft. of retail space for 10 new restaurants along with more retail and leisure space, as well as a 10 metre boardwalk, offering external seating which overlooks Alexandra Lake. As well as a newly refurbished Old Orleans 'paddle boat' style restaurant and bar and Vue Cinema, new units are due to include:

• Bella Italia
• Cafe Rouge
• Giraffe
• Gourmet Burger Kitchen
• Hannah Banana
• La Tasca
• Nandos
• Spur Steak & Grill
• Strada
• Wagamama

There are also two retail parks nearby called the Lakeside Retail Park and The Junction. Lakeside Retail Park has a number of stores such as:

The Junction has shops such as:

• American Golf Discount
• Asda Living
• Comet
• Decathlon Sports
• Halfords
• Natuzzo
• Odeon Cinema
• TK Maxx

In 1998, Lakesiders was a BBC docusoap narrated by Pauline Quirke following the activities of management, shopkeepers and staff of the shopping centre. A breakfast-show DJ called Martin Day from a local radio station also featured, plugging a song from a rising band. The theme music was by Simon May.

• Official site