The Gyle Shopping Centre
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| Location | Edinburgh, Scotland, UK |
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| Address | South Gyle Broadway |
| Opening date | 1993 1994 (food court) |
| No. of anchor tenants | 2 |
| Total retail floor area | 9,290 m2 |
| Public transit access |  Edinburgh Gateway Gyle Centre |
| Website | www |
The Gyle Shopping Centre is located in the South Gyle area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The main centre has two anchor tenants, Marks & Spencer and Morrisons (formerly Safeway), at opposite ends of the shopping centre.
Construction[edit]
A new district shopping centre for West Edinburgh was proposed by a public inquiry in 1987. The findings of the West Edinburgh Inquiry of 1989 were approved by the then Secretary of State for Scotland. The floor space in the shopping centre, which was originally called Maybury Park, was later scaled down to 9,290 m2 (100,000 sq ft) to protect nearby retail areas, such as Wester Hailes and Corstorphine.[1]
The management contractor, Wimpey Construction, began work on The Gyle in April 1992, and it opened in October 1993.[2] A food court was later added in the beginning of 1994, by the Catering Development.[3]
Expansion[edit]
The food court was added shortly after opening. Marks and Spencers have since added more shop space of their own and took the opportunity to change their floor layout adding a larger foodhall during the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020/2021.
USS applied for planning permission to expand the food hall and add a cinema in 2000. However this was a poorly thought out scheme which moved the bus stance away from the front of the centre and made it even harder for pedestrians and cyclists to access the centre. It was ultimately rejected.[4]
Ownership of the centre then changed and the new owners started looking at grand plans to change the nature of the shopping centre to closer resemble a local town centre rather than an out of town shopping centre.[5]
Ownership[edit]
Gyle Shopping Centre opened in October 1993. The centre began as a joint development between Edinburgh Council, Marks and Spencer and Asda, although by the time of opening, Asda was replaced by Safeway. In 1997, Gyle was purchased outright by Marks and Spencer, who then sold the centre to USS in March 2000.[6]
Ownership of the centre changed again in later 2020 or early 2021 after a failed planning application to expand the food court and add a cinema the centre[7][8]
Current stores[edit]
The Gyle has many stores, including WHSmith, Next, Virgin Media, The Disney Store, Boots, Bank of Scotland, Marks & Spencer, Pandora, JD Sports, Holland & Barrett, Schuh and River Island. The food court was refurbished in 2005, and contains five outlets,[9] including restaurants Burger King and Pizza Hut.
Transport[edit]
The Gyle Centre is served by its own dedicated tram stop. The Gyle Centre is also served by Lothian Buses, and is close to the A720 Edinburgh City Bypass road. It is also linked under an underpass to Edinburgh Gateway station.
| Preceding station | Edinburgh Trams | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh Park Central towards York Place |
Edinburgh Trams Line 1 |
Edinburgh Gateway station towards Edinburgh Airport |
References[edit]
- ^ The Gyle Impact Study - Research Findings Archived 11 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bovis and Wimpey hand over £68m Gyle Shopping Centre Construction News, 14 October 1993
- ^ Catering Development Archived 4 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine page 17
- ^ "Plans to extend the Gyle refused".
- ^ "Gyle Shopping Centre set to transform".
- ^ "History of Gyle Shopping Centre". The Gyle Shopping Centre.
- ^ "Plans to extend the Gyle refused".
- ^ "Gyle Shopping Centre set to transform".
- ^ Gyle Shopping Centre, Edinburgh|Shop 'til You Drop At Edinburgh's Premier Shopping Centre