Bluewater Shopping Centre
Bluewater Shopping Centre (commonly referred to as Bluewater) is an out-of-town shopping centre in Stone (postally Greenhithe), Kent, England, just outside the M25 motorway ring, 17.8 miles (28.6 km) east south east of London's centre. Opened on 16 March 1999 in a former chalk quarry after ten years of building works, the site (including car parks) occupies 240 acres (97 ha) and has a sales floor area of 154,000 m2 (1,600,000 ft2) over three levels, making it the fifth-largest shopping centre in the UK (after Westfield London, MetroCentre, Trafford Centre and Westfield Stratford City). Elsewhere in Europe only Istanbul's Cevahir Mall and Vienna's (Vösendorf) Shopping City Süd are bigger. The floor plan is a triangular shape with 210 stores, including 3 anchors, 50 cafés and restaurants, and a 17-screen cinema. The centre employs 7,000 people and serves over 27 million visitors a year. A main rival is the Lakeside Shopping Centre and its two retail parks in West Thurrock, Essex, just across the River Thames, 8 miles (13 km) away by road or 3.2 miles (5.1 km) as the crow flies.
| Location | Stone, Greenhithe, Kent, England |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51.4396°N 0.2712°E |
| Address | Bluewater, Greenhithe |
| Opening date | 16 March 1999 |
| Developer | Lendlease |
| Owner | Landsec (55%) Prudential (35%) Hermes (10%) |
| Architect | Eric Kuhne |
| No. of stores and services | 260 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 3 (Marks & Spencer, House of Fraser & John Lewis) |
| Total retail floor area | 1,675,955 square feet (155,701.3 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 (3 in parts) |
| Parking | 13,000 cars, 50 coaches |
| Public transit access | Bluewater bus stop (see below) |
| Website | bluewater |
It is owned by three major UK institutions: Landsec (55%), Prudential and PRUPIM (35%) and Hermes (10%).