Merseyway Shopping Centre

Merseyway Shopping Centre is a large Shopping Centre in Stockport, England, forming the basis of the town's shopping area. It was opened in 1965 and extensively refurbished in 1995. It consists mainly of a large pedestrianised street, where at one point there are two levels of walkways for shoppers, and there is access to both the first and ground floor of many shops. There is a small area of covered mall at the western edge of the centre, constructed in 1995 housing retailers such as Waterstones and Sports Direct. The developer was Hammerson and they owned the centre until 2003 when they sold the leasehold to a private property company (Stockport Holdings Ltd) for the Jersey-based Halabi family trust. This was until 2009 when the centre was placed into the hands of receivers. It hosts around 95 retailers. Shops located within the centre include Debenhams and Marks & Spencer. More retail property surrounds the south and east of the centre including The Peel Centre and the towns' historic Market. It is open 9:00am – 5:30pm Monday to Saturday and 10:00am – 4:00pm on Sunday, however some outlets opening hours may vary. This is unlike other shopping destinations in Greater Manchester, such as the Trafford Centre, which are often open till late (8pm or 10pm) on a weekday. However in the run up to Christmas the centre opens till 8pm on a Wednesday evening.

The centre and Stockport's shopping area attract about 14 million visitors per year, making it a popular shopping destination in the Greater Manchester Urban Area. Its catchment covers much of the affluent areas of North Cheshire and South Manchester, competing with other major retail destinations in the area such as Manchester City Centre, Ashton-under-Lyne and the Trafford Centre. The centre also hosts numerous events throughout the year, with a particular focus around Christmas to attract shoppers, every year the centre welcomes Santa and his reindeer and shoppers can watch the reindeer being fed with entertainment from Santa and music from various organisations.

The centre's name Merseyway comes from the fact that the centre is built on giant stilts above the River Mersey and the river runs for the entire length of the centre. In 2001 there were plans to fit glass panels to the pavements within the centre to reveal the River Mersey underneath, this was a plan to try to boost tourism in the town as the river is entirely covered and hidden while it runs under the centre. However there has been no development of these plans.