Gloucester Quays (also known as Gloucester Quays Designer Outlet Centre) is an outlet

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 ...

on St Ann Way, Gloucester, in the area of the city formerly known as

High Orchard High Orchard was an industrial area of the city of Gloucester in England that was developed in the 19th century on the former orchard of the Priory of Llanthony Secunda (1136). The area was closely associated with Gloucester Docks immediately ...

. The outlet is situated close to

Gloucester Docks Gloucester Docks is an historic area of the city of Gloucester. The docks are located at the northern junction of the River Severn with the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. They are Britain's most inland port. The docks include fifteen Victoria ...

, a historic area of the city.

Construction of Gloucester Quays

The outlet centre was built on the former site of Fielding & Platt engineering works which opened in 1866, specialising in

hydraulic machinery Hydraulic machines use liquid fluid power to perform work. Heavy construction vehicles are a common example. In this type of machine, hydraulic fluid is pumped to various hydraulic motors and hydraulic cylinders throughout the machine and b ...

and

hydraulic press A hydraulic press is a machine press using a hydraulic cylinder to generate a compressive force. It uses the hydraulic equivalent of a mechanical lever, and was also known as a Bramah press after the inventor, Joseph Bramah, of England. He inven ...

es. By the 1980s the business declined, in the 1990s it was taken over by Motherwell Bridge Ltd and shortly afterwards closed down. In May 2007, preparation of the site was started. Unwanted buildings were demolished but the former Matthews furniture factory was left intact and is now part of the outlet centre. By October 2007,construction had started and three cranes were erected on the site by November 2007. The upper level of the centre was started on 6 May 2008, it was designed with a distinctive gull-wing shaped steel and glass roof over the central

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

which was installed around the end of August 2008. In February 2009, the interior of the Outlet centre was well under way. On 1 July 2009, the south-east side of the outlet centre was opened up as a 96-room

Travelodge Travelodge (formerly TraveLodge) refers to several hotel chains around the world. Current operations include: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and several countries in Asia. However, many of t ...

. In November 2011 as part of Phase 2, a planning development was granted to convert the first floor and roof to a 10-screen cinema. Permission was also granted to convert blocks L, M, N and P of the ground floor to restaurants and take-aways. In April 2017, the £141 million development of Bakers Quay began. The development, by Rokeby Merchant Developments (Gloucester) Limited, will take place in 2 phases. Phase one will consist of 47 apartments, a 104 bedroom

Premier Inn Premier Inn is a British limited service hotel chain and the UK's largest hotel brand, with more than 72,000 rooms and 800 hotels. It operates hotels in a variety of locations including city centres, suburbs and airports competing with the like ...

Brewers Fayre Brewers Fayre is a licensed pub restaurant chain, with 161 locations across the UK as of August 2018. Owned by Whitbread, Brewers Fayre restaurants are known for serving traditional British pub food and for their Sunday Carvery. History The f ...

restaurant, a drive-through

Costa Coffee Costa Coffee is a British coffeehouse chain with headquarters in Dunstable, England. Costa Coffee was founded in London in 1971 by Sergio Costa as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. ...

and 4 three bedroom houses. Phase 2 will consist of another 73 apartments. The first phase was completed in August 2018 and the second phase should be completed by December 2019.

History

On 30 May 2009, Gloucester Quays was opened by

Gok Wan Kowkhyn Wan (; born 9 September 1974), known as Gok Wan, is a British Wardrobe stylist, fashion consultant, author, television presenter, actor, DJ, chef and event manager. Initially training in the performing arts at the Central School of Sp ...

. But it opened up with only 40 stores with a further 16 being let in the upcoming weeks. Initially, between May 2009 and November 2010, the centre failed to meet expectations with fewer customers than predicted. This was due to the fact that it opened during the middle of an economic recession. However, despite the initial struggles the outlet centre continued to expand adding spaces for 37 new businesses. Gloucester Quays - geograph

On 5 December 2013, in a £60 million Quayside development, the nearby

Cineworld Cineworld Group plc is a British cinema operator headquartered in London, England. It is the world's second-largest cinema chain (after AMC Theatres), with 9,518 screens across 790 sites in 10 countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Irela ...

moved from the Peel Centre across the road into the Quays and was renamed Cineworld Gloucester Quays. It is a fully digitalised 10-screen cinema complex with a 1,600-seat capacity. Also at this time, another 11 new restaurants and bars were opened including

Zizzi Zizzi is a chain of Italian-inspired restaurants in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In February 2015, Bridgepoint Capital completed a £250 million acquisition of ''ASK Italian'' and ''Zizzi'', and subsequently bought by TowerBrook Capital Partne ...

's and

Chimichanga A chimichanga (; ) is a deep-fried burrito that is common in Tex-Mex and other Southwestern U.S. cuisine. The dish is typically prepared by filling a flour tortilla with various ingredients, most commonly rice, cheese, beans, and a meat such as ...

. Since January 2015, 14 more stores and restaurants have opened including

Clark Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...

Skechers Skechers USA, Inc. is an American multinational footwear company. Headquartered in Manhattan Beach, California, it was founded in 1992 and is now the third largest footwear brand in the United States. History Skechers was founded in 1992 by Ro ...

, Jaeger, Brewhouse & Kitchen,

Bella Italia Bella Italia (formerly known as Bella Pasta) is a chain of over 90 restaurants offering meals inspired by Italian cuisine in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The chain is part of The Big Table Group, which also owns Café Rouge and Las Iguanas. ...

and

Bill's Bill's is a British restaurant and bar chain, founded by Bill Collison in 2001 when he opened a small greengrocery in Lewes, East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel ...

. In November 2015,

Fat Face FatFace is a British lifestyle brand, based in Hampshire, which creates product ranges across women's, men's, kids, footwear and accessories. FatFace is a multichannel retailer, with an international digital business as well as over 180 store ...

, Bench, Tricker's shoes and

Carluccio's Carluccio's is an Italian restaurant chain founded in London in 1999. In 1991, Antonio Carluccio and his then wife opened an Italian food shop, named Carluccio's. In 1999, the first "Carluccio's Caffè" was opened in Market Place, London. Th ...

opened at the Quays. On 3 October 2015, a fire took place in the Provender Mill which was one of the most iconic buildings in Gloucester. Two teenagers were charged with

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

. The fire caused £2 million worth of damage and took 10 fire engines and 45 firefighters to put out. Between June and November 2017,

Ted Baker Ted Baker is a British high-street clothing retail company known for suits, shirts, and dresses. It was founded in 1988 in Glasgow, Scotland. The company is owned by Authentic Brands Group, after its £211 million acquisition in October 2022. T ...

Jack Wills Jack Wills is a British clothing brand founded in Salcombe, Devon, in 1999. History Peter Williams and Robert Shaw founded the brand in 1999. Williams was 23 when the first store opened at 22 Fore Street, Salcombe, and it was created with � ...

, Timberland and

Joules The joule ( , ; symbol: J) is the unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to the amount of work done when a force of 1 newton displaces a mass through a distance of 1 metre in the direction of the force applied. ...

opened at the centre. In December 2017,

Explore Learning ExploreLearning is a Charlottesville, Virginia-based company which operates a large library of interactive online simulations for mathematics and science education in grades 3–12 called 'Gizmos'. ExploreLearning also makes Reflex, an online ...

a children's tuition centre opened. It was also announced that

Cath Kidston Limited Cath Kidston Limited is a British international home furnishing retail company with headquarters in London, with a focus on handicraft and vintage themed items that embody a quintessentially British lifestyle. Designer Cath Kidston opened her f ...

would open in the New Year. The following month, it was confirmed they would be opening on 18 January 2018. In March 2018, it was announced that Peel Holdings would invest another £100 million into the Quays. The funds will be used to add a second floor to the shopping centre and revamp the surrounding outdoor squares.

Markets

Since the centre has opened, there have been annual food festivals and Victorian Christmas markets.

References

{{Buildings and structures in Gloucester Outlet malls in England Shopping malls established in 2009 Buildings and structures in Gloucester Shopping centres in Gloucestershire