Preparing for riots

The countdown has begun to the opening of London’s first Westfield Shopping Mall. While the Westfield phenomenon is well established in Australia, this is a radical new shopping experience for inner London. Posters have gone up around the city announcing the opening of what they’re calling Europe’s largest inner city mall. All will be revealed on October 30.

The mall’s construction has also involved the completion of a new mainline train station and new tube station called Wood Lane. A second tube station has been closed for an extensive refurbishment. Wood Lane is located on the Hammersmith & City line, the same route I take each day to the office.

It’s been fascinating to watch a shiny new station emerge from scaffolding over recent months. Wood Lane finally opened for business last weekend. The new mainline station opened at the end of September. It was scheduled to open last year but, at the eleventh hour, safety experts ruled that one of the platforms was 18 inches too narrow. No doubt someone’s paid dearly for this mistake.

Garry and I are curious to see how this version of Westfield stacks up compared to Sydney. It is huge! The complex contains a retail floor area of 150,000m², housing more than 265 shops, a 14-screen cinema complex and dozens of restaurants. I can clearly see the scale of the construction site from my office window more than a mile away (that’s the view you can see above). At a cost of £1.6 billion I wonder if it’s been money well spent? Early reports promise a stunning interior.

No doubt the opening day will draw in the crowds. London lacks a large number of these convenient super-malls. As a result, such venues are often mobbed in their opening weeks. In the past the city has seen near riots at the opening of Ikea stores.