Trago Mills

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Trago Mills is a chain of British department stores situated in the Westcountry towns Liskeard, Falmouth, and Newton Abbot. As large department stores are relatively sparse in the rural Westcountry, Trago is well known for its wide variety of stock and low-price image. The Newton Abbot site is the largest of the three and covers 100 acres of land and includes a family leisure park, including a miniature steam railway, Supa Karts and a model railway featured on Blue Peter. There is also a food corner with Fish & Chips, pasta, burger bars and Warrens Bakery for pasties. An indoor ice skating rink was added recently.

In October 2004 a large fire broke out in the main building of the Newton Abbot branch of Trago Mills.^[1] Thirty fire appliances and over 200 fire fighters tackled the blaze. The fire was the largest to occur in the county of Devon for several years. The building(s) involved are now completely rebuilt.

The chain is owned by local businessman Bruce Robertson. He has faced controversy for adverts which he took out in the local paper containing anti-homosexual views.^[2] Bruce is also a major supporter of UKIP, famously refusing to stop using imperial measures in his stores despite contravening European Union law. Despite his opposition to immigration from countries in Eastern Europe, Robertson was revealed in January 2007 to be employing around 30 migrants from Poland in his Newton Abbot store.^[3]