‘BRING BACK THE FOOD COURT!’
Customers urge managers of shopping centre to make big changes during revamp
THE return of the food court is high on the list of priorities for Sentinel
readers after management of the Potteries shopping centre changed.
The Sentinel reported last week that London property management firm MAPP has been brought in by intu administrators KPMG to assist the current team. Investment manager APAM will take on the asset management responsibilities.
The Hanley centre – home to more than 80 stores and restaurants – will continue to operate under the intu brand until a revamp later this year.
Now Sentinel readers have revealed what they would like the new management team to do at the shopping centre, above right.
Stephen Hurst said: “Bring back the food court giving local people first choice to offer good locally supplied produce where possible and a variety of foods.
“Hanley, in the main, is not good for value lunches”.
David Bradbury-cobden said: “Bring back the Disney Store, a Lego shop and some other major brands. This is what’s needed. Less pound shops, coffee shops and mobile phone stores.”
Sue Davies said: “Lower priced car parking, less cheap shops, more unique shops, more benches and the old food court back”.
Abhro Ghosal said: “Bring the old food court back, make parking free, add more toilets and improve disabled access to Primark from inside the shopping centre.”
Caroline Main, client director at MAPP, said: “We need to make the centres attractive and increase customer engagement and we’re certainly going to be doing this at the Potteries.
“We want to turn the centre into more locally-focused community initiatives and events, bring footfall in and reduce the service charge for the tenants to make the vacant units more attractive to incoming tenants.”