Moving To The UK’s Home of Retail Therapy

The city of Leeds is widely seen as one of the best city centres in the UK, outside of London, for shopping. Over recent years, other cities including Manchester, Sheffield and Newcastle have invested in out of town shopping centres to ease the strain on their city centres. Leeds did the same but has also focussed its energy on reinventing the city centre as a national renowned hub for shopping.

Here at Britannia Turnbull’s we are celebrating our 150 years of serving Leeds as a removals company by providing in-depth research for those thinking of moving to or across Leeds.

High Street Shopping

The Leeds “High Street” has changed dramatically in the last few years. The city centre was already well stocked with shops and eateries lining the city’s most famous roads – Briggate and The Headrow. This changed when the Trinity Leeds Shopping Centre replaced some of the city’s more run down shopping centres and arcades and acted as the city’s core for shopping, eating and drinking. Opening in 2013 and named after the 18^th century Holy Trinity Church on Boar Lane, its opening lifted Leeds towards the top of the Uk’s retail rankings.

Leeds continued its city centre retail development in 2016 with the opening of Victoria Gate which replaced a derelict area of the city centre with a modern shopping facility. The shopping centre included a John Lewis department store and a number of shops opening outside of London for the first time. Victoria Gate has since been named as the best shopping centre in the world.

Out of Town

Away from the city centre was where Leeds’ initial retail investment was focussed. The White Rose Shopping Centre which opened in the south of the city in 1997 was the focal point of this and has been popular ever since.

Crown Point Shopping Park is an outdoor shopping area that is at the south of the city as you exit the city centre. It is very popular and caters to shoppers away from fashion and the high street by featuring shops for IT-ware, homeware and children.

Alternative Areas

Two of the most alternative areas for shopping in Leeds can be found in two of the city’s most distinctive and historic buildings. The first being the Leeds Corn Exchange which is a superb circular building filled with independent shops and cafes on two levels. This is all beneath a magnificent dome roof which provides a stunning setting for some shopping with a difference.

There are plenty of markets across the city but the most well-known is the Kirkgate Market which is in the city centre. This is recognised as one of Europe’s largest indoor markets and is still fully functional within a superb building. Its stalls for independent traders offering food, drink, fabric and many other items inside a classic market building are a world away from the modern shopping centres that are only across the road.

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