Westfield Stratford City | Olympic Gateway for London

Westfield Shopping Mall

The city of London has seen some extensive property and infrastructure developments ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games, the latest of which is a £1.4bn mall. Westfield Stratford City, situated adjacent to the Olympic Park, is the largest urban shopping centre in Europe, and will serve as a gateway to the Olympic Games next year.

The Westfield Stratford City development is 1.9 million square feet of retail and leisure paradise that will see an estimated 70% of Olympic visitors pass through its doors en route to the Olympic Park. Needless to say, there is a massive amount of potential to boost business in the retail sector during this time, and at Westfield Stratford City consumers will be able to buy just about anything their hearts desire.

What's Inside the Olympic Mall? 

Those estate agents Bayswater who have done their research will already have a detailed knowledge of the luxury shopping centre’s facilities, but for Londoners in search of further details on Westfield Stratford City, here is a list of what shoppers can expect to find in the Olympic mall:

• 300 shops selling the latest fashion and lifestyle brands
• 70 restaurants from fast food outlets to fine dining establishments
• A 14-screen cinema
• A bowling alley
• The UK’s largest casino
• A fresh food market 

The complex, which is part of the Westfield Group’s mixed-use Stratford City development, also includes three hotels, 1.1 million square feet of office space, and residential properties. To accommodate the high volumes of traffic to Westfield Stratford City, there will be 58 trains per hour connecting the shopping centre to central London, and the mall itself will offer 5000 car parking spaces on site. It is estimated that the London shopping centre will provide up to 8500 permanent jobs in retail.

The Grand Opening

The official opening of Westfield Stratford City took place on September 13th, and the star-studded event was hosted by Pixie Lott and Nick Grmishaw, with a performance by Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls. Mayor Boris Johnson has hailed the Westfield Stratford City development as “one of the most important legacies of the 2012 Olympics", and central London estate agents will doubtless agree with the mayor as the project creates thousands of jobs and strengthens business in London’s retail sector.

Sally Roberts is a keen writer looking to share and discuss the latest property news from estate agents Bayswater and the latest London business developments.