Lakeside Shopping Centre - New Developments

New Developments

To ensure the centre maintains its competition with the newer (and what is perceived by some as 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 lifts, and four more escalators, along with automatic entrance doors. 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 (1,730 m2). extension to their store.

The Lakeside Pavilion, a market area adjoined to the main shopping centre via a covered bridge was closed in 2006, refurbished, and re-opened in June 2007 as 'The Boardwalk'.

The Boardwalk provides an additional 59,000 sq ft (5,500 m2). of retail space for eleven new restaurants along with more retail and leisure space, as well as a 10 metre boardwalk, offering external seating which overlooks Alexandra Lake. The Old Orleans bar and restaurant boat was also refurbished and re-opened on the same day, with new features including a rooftop bar.

Vue cinema formed part of the old Lakeside Pavilion, with a seven screen cinema. This closed on 11 January 2007 to be refurbished, and was re-opened on Friday 15 June 2007; the refurbishment resulted in nine state-of-the-art screens with stadium seating. 'Gold Class', a premium screen that housed luxury seating, has since been abandoned in favour of VIP seating sections in every screen. The 'Evolution Screen', with a combination of giant bean bag chairs amongst VIP seating, was the first of its kind in the UK.

Apple opened its tenth UK store at Lakeside Shopping Centre.

Marks & Spencer, one of the centre's four anchor stores, applied for planning permission in July 2008 to allow construction of a 23,970 sq ft (2,230 m2) third storey extension to their store, in addition to an extensive refurbishment of the store layout and customer facilities. The application was approved at the end of October 2008 although no construction has taken place as of July 2011.

Supergroup, owners of the Cult and Superdry brands opened its largest-ever store at the centre in July 2010, in the unit previously occupied by Woolworths. Ed's Easy Diner also opened their fifth restaurant in the centre's food court in July 2010.

Taco Bell re-entered the UK market in June 2010 with the opening of its first stores at Lakeside.

US fashion giant Forever 21 has announced it will open a new 35,000 sq ft (3,300 m2) flagship store at Lakeside by Christmas 2013, in a three-floor unit comprising the soon to be vacant Topshop/Topman store and two new additional roofbox levels.

Lakeside was granted permission in 2012 to extend to include 30-40 new stores, a new footbridge across the Alexandra Lake to the Lakeside Retail Park, an new leisure area, a new 80 bed Travelodge hotel overlooking the river and a brand new transport hub where the current railway station bridge is to allow easier interchange. Lakeside hopes to have these improvements completed by 2016 and estimates the improvements will cost £180 million.