Silverlink Shopping Park

The Silverlink Shopping Park is a retail park in North Tyneside, England containing more than 20 stores with retail accommodation of 208,000 square feet (19,300 m2).[2] It was developed by the Crown Estate, has 927 car parking spaces, and has an annual footfall of 7.2 million.[1]

Silverlink Shopping Park
Silverlink Shopping Park as it appeared in 2009
Map
LocationWallsend, Tyne and Wear
Coordinates55°00′43″N 1°29′42″W / 55.0120°N 1.4949°W / 55.0120; -1.4949
Opening datec. early 1990s
Previous namesSilverlink Retail Park
DeveloperCrown Estate[1]
No. of stores and services20+[1]
No. of anchor tenants2 (M&S, Next)[2]
Parking927 spaces[1]
Websitewww.silverlinkshoppingpark.co.uk

History edit

It was initially known as Tyneside Retail Park[3] before becoming Silverlink Retail Park in the mid-1990s, taking the same name as the neighbouring Silverlink Industrial Estate.[4] The Silverlink name is derived from the Silver Link locomotive that was once housed at the nearby North Tyneside Steam Railway museum.[5][6][a]

The 9-screen multiplex Odeon cinema on the site opened in 1999, was upgraded in 2015,[7] and has an IMAX screen and uses RealD 3D technology.[8]

A £30 million extension was added to the shopping park in the late 2010s adding 4 additional retailers.[9] That extension location had previously been a Travelodge hotel (formerly known as Europa Lodge and Moat House Hotel),[10] who relocated to Cobalt Park.[11]

Retailers edit

Retailers on the park include Argos, Bensons for Beds, Boots, Currys, Halfords, Hobbycraft, H&M, JD Sports, Marks & Spencer, New Look, Next Home & Garden, OneBelow, River Island, ScS, Sports Direct, Sofology and Wren Kitchens. Most recently, EE working alongside BT have opened a store at the centre of the main parking area.[2] There is a cinema operated by Odeon to the north of the park. Restaurants currently on the park include Bella Italia, Costa Coffee, Frankie & Benny's, McDonald's, Nando's and Pizza Hut.[2]

Previous tenants have also included Comet, Wilko, Northern Electric,[12] Outfit and Poundworld.[13]

Location edit

The adjacent roundabout linking the A19 and A1058 roads was upgraded using a triple-decker construction in the late 2010s at a cost of £75 million.[14] The retail park is located to the south of Cobalt Business Park and North Tyneside Steam Railway. Buses run regularly from Newcastle upon Tyne and the surrounding areas. The shopping park is located between the two east–west lines of Tyne and Wear Metro's Yellow Line coastal loop and as such the park has been a candidate location for extending the rail line to serve.[15]

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ Although this was actually the preserved Bittern of the same class in the Silver Link livery as Silver Link had been scrapped in the 1960s

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Regional Retail Brochure" (PDF). Crown Estate. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Stores". Silverlink Shopping Park. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Currys New Superstore, Tyneside Retail Park, Coast Road". Newcastle Evening Chronicle. 20 December 1990.
  4. ^ "Big new supermarket plan looks set to fail". Newcastle Journal. 10 March 1992.
  5. ^ "Silverlink is attracting more new companies". Newcastle Journal. 5 February 1992. The park derives its name from a locomotive in the nearby North Shields Railway Museum
  6. ^ "Silverlink Park attracts insurance and design pair". Newcastle Journal. 4 September 1991.
  7. ^ Jeffery, Sarah (8 October 2015). "Odeon Silverlink is celebrating 16th birthday by offering discounted tickets for one day only". The Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Silverlink". Odeon Cinemas. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  9. ^ Ford, Coreena (15 July 2016). "300 new jobs to be created by retailers at £30m Silverlink shopping park extension". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  10. ^ Sharma, Sonia (14 September 2015). "Former Travelodge near Silverlink Shopping Park demolished to make way for new retail space". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  11. ^ Sharma, Sonia (12 April 2021). "Work starts on new £3.6m Travelodge hotel at business park". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  12. ^ "Northern Electric Superstore". Newcastle Evening Chronicle. 26 May 1994.
  13. ^ "New discount store One Below opens at former Poundworld site at Silverlink Shopping Park". The Evening Chronicle. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Silverlink roundabout to become 'triple decker'". ITV News. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  15. ^ Meechan, Simon (14 July 2016). "Plans for Metro upgrade revealed – and it could be expanding". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 20 June 2021.

External links edit