Opening date October 1990 No. of stores and services 50 (approx.) | Developer Slough Estates No. of anchor tenants 4 | |
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Location Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire Management Land Securities (1990-2009)
LaSalle (2009-Present) | ||
Background
The Howard Centre is a shopping centre in Welwyn Garden City. It is named after Sir Ebenezer Howard, founder of the garden city movement.
Contents
History & Ownership
It was built by Tarmac Construction and opened in October 1990. It was owned and managed by Land Securities from 1990 until its disposal in October 2009 to LaSalle who have owned and managed it since.
The centre provides 230,000 sq ft (21,000 m2). of space set across two levels; anchor tenants include Marks & Spencer, Boots, WHSmith, Next and Monsoon. The largest of these anchor stores is Marks & Spencer occupying 840,000 sq ft (78,000 m2) split across both floors at the centre's northern end.
Connections
The centre has direct access to Welwyn Garden City railway station, along with a ticket office within the centre itself, and is adjacent to the town's bus station. It is complemented by the older John Lewis store which is outside the centre but only a few minutes walk away, on Bridge Road.
Development
Between January and August 2014 work was undertaken to freshen up the appearance of the centre with new branding, lighting and signage being installed and unnecessary clutter removed.