Braehead ( sco, Braeheid,
Gaelic: ''Ceann a' Bhruthaich'') is a commercial development located at the former site of Braehead Power Station in
Renfrew
Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire (historic), Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the House of Stewart, Royal Stewarts" ...
on the south bank of the
River Clyde
The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...
in Renfrew,
Renfrewshire. It is particularly notable for its large
shopping centre
A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof.
The first known collec ...
,
arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...
and leisure facilities.
The shopping centre was
rebranded as Intu Braehead in 2013 and carried that name until 2020. The rebranding was done as part of a corporate rebranding exercise by Capital Shopping Centres plc, which itself was renamed as
Intu Properties PLC
Intu Properties plc was a British real estate investment trust (REIT), largely focused on shopping centre management and development. Originally named Liberty International plc, it changed its name in May 2010 to Capital Shopping Centres Group p ...
.
King's Inch
Until at least the 18th century, the site was an island in the River Clyde, called
King's Inch
King's Inch and the much smaller Sand Inch were islands lying in the estuarine waters of the River Clyde close to Renfrew in Renfrewshire, Scotland. Due to dredging and a change of the course of the main current of the River Clyde, silting, etc. ...
(a name that is preserved in the name of the road that bisects the site).
The original castle at Renfrew was built on King's Inch in the 12th century by
Walter Fitz-Alan,
High Steward of Scotland
The title of High Steward or Great Steward is that of an officer who controls the domestic affairs of a royal household. In the 12th century King David I of Scotland gave the title to Walter fitz Alan, a nobleman from Brittany, whose descenda ...
. It was abandoned in the 13th century and replaced by a stone castle in what is now the centre of Renfrew. In the latter half of the 15th century, Sir John Ross was granted the lands of Inch with the ruins of this castle, upon which he built a three-storey castle known as the Inch Castle.
In 1769, the King's Inch was purchased by Glasgow
tobacco merchant Alexander Speirs, who demolished Inch Castle in order to build a country mansion, Elderslie House. Completed in 1782 (demolished in 1924), Elderslie House was designed by
Robert Adam
Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...
.
Braehead power station
The power station was built after
World War II. It remained operational into the 1980s and was demolished in the 1990s.
The Braehead explosion
On 4 January 1977, a serious fire and explosion occurred at a warehouse in the Braehead Container Clearance Depot, adjacent to the Power Station. The fire was started accidentally by three boys who had lit a fire to warm themselves at a den that they had made, during the New Year holiday, from cardboard cartons stacked beside the warehouse. The fire detonated 70 tonnes of
Sodium Chlorate
Sodium chlorate is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Na ClO3. It is a white crystalline powder that is readily soluble in water. It is hygroscopic. It decomposes above 300 °C to release oxygen and leaves sodium chloride. Sev ...
weedkiller stored in the warehouse, producing a blast estimated by HM Inspectorate of Explosives as being equivalent to up to 820 kg of TNT.
The explosion was heard across the whole Greater Glasgow area, sent flying debris up to 2.8 km away, shattered windows in about 200 shops and houses in Renfrew and Clydebank, and caused an estimated £6 million of damage. In large part due to the National Bank Holiday in observance of
Hogmanay celebrations, there were no deaths. Twelve people required treatment for shock and minor injuries.
Renfrew Riverside redevelopment
Braehead forms part of the Renfrew Riverside redevelopment area, a part of the wider
Clyde Waterfront Regeneration
Clyde Waterfront is a 20 km stretch of the River Clyde, Scotland, running east–west from Glasgow Green in the heart of Glasgow, to Dumbarton on the Firth of Clyde. With over 200 projects on both sides of the Clyde, this is one of Britain' ...
project. The Braehead area includes:
*an indoor
shopping centre
A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof.
The first known collec ...
;
*
ice skating
Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be perf ...
/
curling facilities;
*
Krispy Kreme doughnuts;
*The
Braehead Arena
The Braehead Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The arena was built in 1999, and is located within the Braehead Complex. The arena was formerly the home of the Scottish Eagles ice hockey club and is now the home to the e ...
- along with extensive covered and open-air car parking);
*A Xsite (formerly
Xscape and Soar) adventure complex;
*A small business park.
Braehead shopping centre
The shopping centre opened in September 1999 and comprises of retail and leisure floorspace. The centre has 110 shops in the main covered mall, and a further 10 in a retail park of larger stores. Braehead is also home to Renfrew's
IKEA
IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been ...
store, which opened in September 2001
and sits near the
King George V Dock. At ,
it is the largest IKEA store in Scotland and at the time of opening was the largest in the United Kingdom. Since opening, the centre has proved popular with consumers, and it has even been blamed for a downturn in the fortunes of shops in nearby
Paisley,
Govan
Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south b ...
and
Renfrew
Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire (historic), Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the House of Stewart, Royal Stewarts" ...
.
Sited within the same building as the shopping centre is the
Braehead Arena
The Braehead Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The arena was built in 1999, and is located within the Braehead Complex. The arena was formerly the home of the Scottish Eagles ice hockey club and is now the home to the e ...
and other facilities including an ice rink. In 2000, its
curling facilities hosted the World Championships, and in 2005 they were used as training facilities when the Women's World Championships were being held in
Paisley.
On 7 October 2011, a father was stopped by security and questioned by police under anti-terror legislation after photographing his daughter at an ice-cream stall. This resulted in a social media backlash and statements from both Braehead's management and Strathclyde Police.
As of January 2013, a planning application was submitted to Renfrewshire Council for 'permission in principle' to build a new mixed-use development at the centre.
In 2018 Braehead was named the top Scottish shopping centre in a
GlobalData report.
Following Intu Properties plc entering administration in June 2020, a subsidiary of the company called Intu SGS received funding to take full control of the centre along with Lakeside, Victoria Centre and Intu Watford. The transfer from Intu to Intu SGS is expected to take place by the end of 2020, and will involve Global Mutual becoming asset manager of the centres and
Savills
Savills plc is a British real estate services company based in London. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History
The business was established by Alfred Savill (1829–1905) in 1855 in London. ...
serving as property manager.
In 2020 it was reported that Braehead Shopping Centre was trialling the use of full-body security scanners at the entrance.
Clydebuilt, Braehead
From September 1999 to October 2010, the
Scottish Maritime Museum
The Scottish Maritime Museum is an industrial museum with a Collection Recognised as Nationally Significant to Scotland. It is located at two sites in the West of Scotland in Irvine and Dumbarton, with a focus on Scotland's shipbuilding heritage ...
operated Clydebuilt at Braehead, a museum which explored the history of the Clyde shipbuilding industry and the industrial development of Glasgow and the River Clyde.
The museum had been built by and was subsidised by the owners of the shopping centre, but after they withdrew support the museum became financially unviable and Scottish Maritime Museum were forced to close it and transfer its exhibits to their other sites at Irvine and Dumbarton.
The building is now occupied by Krispy Kreme.
Xsite Braehead
Xsite Braehead (formerly known as
Intu Braehead Soar and
Xscape Braehead) () began construction in November 2004 and was opened in March 2006 with its main use to teach people how to ski or snowboard. The building has a conventional shape, with the ski slope accommodated by a sloped cuboid structure projecting out the roof. The complex features a variety of entertainment activities, including an indoor
ski slope
A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...
,
rock climbing, an
Odeon,
bowling
Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), thoug ...
,
RoboCoaster,
mini golf
Miniature golf, also known as minigolf, mini-putt, crazy golf, or putt-putt, is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest number of points. It is played ...
and
laser tag
Laser tag is a recreational shooting sport where participants use infrared-emitting light guns to tag designated targets. Infrared-sensitive signaling devices are commonly worn by each player to register hits and are sometimes integrated with ...
, as well as a variety of shops, restaurants, and bars.
The Snow Factor indoor snow slope features a 168 m main slope with an additional dedicated beginners' area for ski and snowboard lessons. On the main slope, two
Poma button lifts give a drag tow to the top and can be exited either at the halfway point on the slope or at the top. Rope tows are used on the beginners slope.
Skiers and boarders may hire equipment. Sledging and an ice slide are also provided.
Lessons can be booked for both boarding and skiing. Beginners start on the exclusive teaching slope before moving to the main slope, first using half its length and then advancing to using the full slope. Once passed at the ability to ski or board from the full length of the slope, the pupil is allowed full access.
Clothing can be hired for a nominal charge, but gloves must be purchased unless provided by the attendee. There are also helmets available for free use.
In March 2006, weeks before the complex was scheduled to open, the roof of screen seven of the Odeon fell in and required extensive re-building.
The mini-golf (which is housed below the cinema) opened in July 2006. The cinema opened on 19 October 2007, 18 months later than planned. "
Stardust" was the first film shown. The cinema is fitted with
Real D
RealD 3D is a digital stereoscopic projection technology made and sold by RealD. It is currently the most widely used technology for watching 3D films in theaters. Worldwide, RealD 3D is installed in more than 26,500 auditoriums by approximately 1, ...
(also known as
Disney Digital 3D
Disney Digital 3-D is a brand name used by The Walt Disney Company to describe three-dimensional films made and released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures mostly under the Walt Disney Pictures label and shown exclusively using digital proj ...
technology) in screen 7, and is also capable of showing
IMAX films. The cinema held the Scottish Pink Carpet Premiere of Universal Pictures film "
Wild Child" on 30 July 2008. Both stars of the film,
Emma Roberts
Emma Rose Roberts (born February 10, 1991 Additional on October 9, 2016) is an American actress. Known for her work in film and television projects of the horror and thriller genres, she has received various accolades, including a Young Ar ...
and
Alex Pettyfer
Alexander Richard Pettyfer (born 10 April 1990) is a British actor and model. He appeared in school plays and on television before being cast as Alex Rider, the main character in the 2006 film version of '' Stormbreaker''. Pettyfer was nominate ...
, attended.
In December 2011, SNO! Zone Braehead was acquired by the Ice Factor Group and renamed Snow Factor.
In March 2018, an 18 metre high slide, known as The Big Slide, opened to the general public. It is the tallest indoor slide in the UK
Further development
To the west of Braehead and adjacent to the town of Renfrew is the Renfrew Riverside area. Between the residential area and the shopping centre an
Xscape complex (now named Xsite), providing an
indoor ski slope and other entertainments and leisure facilities opened in early 2006.
To the south of the shopping centre is a small development called Braehead Business Park.
Transport
Braehead can be reached from Junctions 25a (westbound) and 26 (eastbound) of the
M8 motorway, and has extensive public transport connections including its own bus station. Buses run from many areas linking Braehead to Largs, Greenock, Paisley, Glasgow, Erskine and Johnstone. The ''
Pride of the Clyde'' ferry service ran from Glasgow City Centre to Braehead's pier down the River Clyde regularly until October 2007.
Boundary dispute
After opening in 1999, Braehead was the subject of a boundary dispute between the
Glasgow and
Renfrewshire council areas
For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" ( gd, comhairlean), which are all governed by single-tier authorities designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government (Ga ...
, as originally the council boundary line divided the shopping centre in two. In 2002, a
Local Government Boundary Commission ruling eventually redrew the boundary to include all of the centre in Renfrewshire, as this was the original ancient boundary. The boundary runs along Kings Inch Drive and is marked by a chain linked fence at this point.
References
External links
Intu BraeheadBraehead Business ParksClyde Waterfront
{{Scottish Energy
Shopping centres in Scotland
Buildings and structures in Renfrewshire
Shopping malls established in 1999
1999 establishments in Scotland
Tourist attractions in Renfrewshire
Buildings and structures in Glasgow
Indoor ski resorts
Ski areas and resorts in Scotland
Greater Glasgow
Renfrew