Coppergate Shopping Centre

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Facts and statistics
Coppergate Shopping Centre


Location	York, North Yorkshire, England
Opening date	1984^[1]
No. of stores and services	?
Website	York Tourism information on Coppergate

Coppergate Shopping Centre is a Shopping Centre in the centre of York in North Yorkshire, England.

1 History
2 Centre information
3 Transport links
4 Retailers
5 Failed redevelopment plan
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] History

Prior to the development of the shopping centre, archaeologists started digging on the site which had been old sweet factory and there they unearthed remains of 10th century Viking-age buildings that were surrounded by moist, spongy layers of earth similar to that of a peat bog. The damp conditions had helped to preserve everyday Viking items such as wood, leather, cloth, bugs and even a Viking toilet and its contents. A total of over 40,000 objects was uncovered by excavating 36,000 layers and sieving 8 tonnes of soil. Everything in Jorvik Viking Centre is based on archaeological evidence unearthed during the Coppergate excavations undertaken between 1979–81 by York Archaeological Trust.When the extent and importance of the discoveries at Coppergate was realised, plans were made to allow permanent display of the remains of Jorvik within the area which had been excavated.York Archaeological Trust created the Viking Centre which opened to the public in April 1984.^[2]

[edit] Centre information

The shopping centre houses many shops, cafe's and museums, including the Jorvik Viking Centre. Owned by La Salle Investment Management since February 2008,^[3] the centre is an open-air shopping promenade with covered walkways, and large public squares with fountains and planting beds, set with seats and coffee shops. Also included is St Mary's Church, which now displays modern art. This outdoor area is used to host brass bands, theatre productions and other events from York's many festivals.^[4]

[edit] Transport links

As the Coppergate Centre is in the middle of York, it is within in easy walking distance of public transport facilities, including York railway station. Many bus services are operated by First York and Park & Ride services are available. There is an on site multi-storey car park.

[edit] Retailers

There are many shops and cafes in the centre, including:

[edit] Failed redevelopment plan

In 2001 developers launched a £60m development scheme entitled 'Coppergate II' to redevelop the centre, including demolition of the existing centre and a new build project with shops either side of the River Foss. Retailers set to anchor the scheme included a new enlargened Debenhams and others. However the reaction from the public was negative and a petition was launched, this prompted a public inquiry and in September 2003 the scheme was turned down by the government^[5]. The level of opposition was due to some of parts of the shopping centre being in extremely close proximity to Clifford's Tower^[6]. Since then Debenhams have announced plans to open a second store at the Monks Cross Shopping Park in addition to their store in the city centre^[7]. It is widely expected that another redevelopment plan will be sought for the Coppergate Centre as the new owners appointed regeneration specialists Centros as development manager for the scheme,^[8] but details are yet to be released to the public.