Fosse Park, one of the UK’s largest and busiest out-of-town retail centres, is undergoing an expansion to enhance the shopping experience for visitors.
The shopping centre is jointly owned by The Crown Estate and Chinese state-backed firm Gingko Tree Investment. The partners acquired the property in a deal worth £345.5m ($578.97m) in 2014.
Construction of the Fosse Park extension started in April 2019 and is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2020. The £168m ($212m) project involves the redevelopment of the neighbouring Castle Acres site to deliver a new retail extension and food court.
The Fosse Park retail centre attracts 11 million visitors annually. The expansion will allow the shopping centre to boost its position as one of the leading shopping centres in the UK.
Fosse Park Shopping centre location
The shopping centre is located in Blaby district on the southern edge of Leicester. The mall is located just off the A5460 and less than 1km away from junction 21 of the M1.
The facility can be accessed by a regularly scheduled bus service from the centre of Leicester and suburbs.
Fosse Park shopping centre expansion design and construction details
Built by Bowmer + Kirkland nearly 30 years ago, the mall features more than 25 stores and occupies an area of 580,000ft². The redevelopment project will add 140,000ft² of new retail and restaurant space. The Fosse Park West development on the adjacent Castle Acres project site (former Everards Brewery site) will include two anchor units, an A1 retail terrace, two A3 pod units, a customer car park, and public realm improvements.
The second part of the redevelopment, the Food Central will involve the redevelopment of the existing food court. The building is being demolished to be replaced with a new, part single-storey and part two-storey building that will house four retail units and 15 food retail units including casual dining, fast food and restaurant formats.
The Food Central will provide on-foot access between the Fosse Park West extension and Fosse Park North. The retail park is anticipated to be completed in October 2020, while the redeveloped food court will be completed in November 2020.
Phase A of the car park improvements at Fosse Park North was completed in September 2019, followed by the completion of Phase B improvements in December 2019. The shopping centre now includes an improved car park and new facades outside Clarks and Carphone Warehouse outlets.
The extension also involves the creation of new communal areas and event spaces, with improved landscaping and accessibility.
Retail and F&B offerings at Fosse Park shopping centre
The retail outlets at the northern side of the mall include Clarks, JD Sports, SportsDirect, Footasylum, M&S, and Boots, while the food outlets include McDonald’s and M&S Café. The retailers at the south side include Argos, NextHome, Oak Furnitureland, ScS superstore, Sofology and Currys PC World megastore.
Greggs, EE, Nando’s and KFC signed up in July 2019 to occupy units at the redeveloped food court (Food Central). Next, Clarks and TK Maxx also agreed to take units at the extended space. The shopping facility has 2,000 car parking spaces.
Contractors involved
Bowmer + Kirkland is responsible to deliver the expansion project, while Fox Lloyd Jones is the project manager.
Faircloth Construction won a contract to upgrade store facades and deliver car park enhancements. Caxton Builders is working with Bowmer + Kirkland in the expansion project.
Mellor Bromley was awarded a contract by Bowmer + Kirkland to provide mechanical services such as air-conditioning, water services, ventilation, sanitaryware, sprinkler system, and above ground drainage.
The project team also includes Dunnett Craven Architects, Corstorphine & Wright Architects, T.I. Dynamic Facades, and alinea consulting.
