The Bridges is a shopping centre based in the city centre of Sunderland, England.
The shopping centre in Sunderland contains over 100 stores,[1] which include; Boots, Burton, HMV, Debenhams, Disney, H&M, Starbucks, Lush, USC, Next, TK Maxx, Schuh, Waterstones, New Look, Topshop, River Island, Monsoon, Ernest Jones, La Senza, Beaverbrooks, Republic, Blue inc, Modelzone, Costa Coffee and many more. The centre also hosts two small supermarkets - Iceland and Tesco Metro. The centre receives over 26 million shopping visits every year.[2]
The Bridges has two cafeteria seating areas: a large Greggs food court and a smaller area operated by Esquires Coffee, both of which are located in the Market Square Mall.
The centre also has three car parks integrated into the centre, namely the Bridges (Debenhams) Car Park, the Central Multi-Storey, and the Rooftop.
The Bridges provides over 2,000 jobs to the people of Sunderland.[3]
The Bridges was opened in 1988 by The Princess Royal, as shown on a plaque opposite Thorntons, and is currently owned by Land Securities Group after they purchased the site in 1990.
In the year 2000 the centre was almost doubled in size, when the former Central Bus Station was demolished in favour of more shops. The city's main bus station moved to the Park Lane Interchange.
Land Securities were reported to be in talks with Sunderland City Council about the acquisition of the Crowtree Leisure Centre site once it closes, with the land being used to expand The Bridges or Marks and Spencer. Recent reports suggest that this deal looks unlikely for the foreseeable future after the Council decided to keep the Crowtree Centre open.
In September 2011 building work will begin on a new three storey Primark store as an extension to the centre.
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