Future bright for West Bromwich's New Square shopping centre, says boss

Centre manager Steve Burr spoke of his joy at how the centre has turned into a major retail and leisure complex ahead of its third anniversary.

"West Bromwich has evolved as a retail destination as before shoppers were exported elsewhere," Mr Burr said.

"Over the past three years we have over achieved what we set out to do.

"We opened this centre on the back of the biggest economic downfall and it took 15 years to get it from an idea to actually open.

"Our visitor figures continue to grow – just in December gone we had more than 900,000 people here and we expect to hit a million for this December too."

Mr Burr also spoke of how the night life is something they want to invest more into the coming years.

"Our restaurants and Odeon cinema have boosted the night-time economy and there is potential to come.

"We have a great local network and infrastructure and it gives people the chance to shop local in their community.

"We never expected to compete with Merry Hill but we have given that extra choice with brands that had previously left West Bromwich."

Visitor numbers to the shopping centre shot up by 25 per cent between January and September last year.

Last summer was the centre's busiest too – seeing a total of 650,000 shoppers flock to the complex each month in June, July and August – 12.5 per cent up on 2014.

The arrival of shops such as Specsavers, Thomson, Funky Monkeys and The Interceptor pub have also added to the complex over the past year.

Mr Burr continued: "Since 2013 one of our main highlights has been working alongside Sandwell Hospital's children's wards and raising money for them from our various events.

"Bringing Primark here was a main anchor too, especially with car parking right next to it. To get the right mix of fashion, food, value and entertainment was what we wanted.

"We want to see continued investment and growth in the town as well as New Square too.

"We want to continue to work with Sandwell Council and look forward to a further two to three years of continual growth.

"The future looks bright for us."

The 473,000 square foot leisure destination recently won an award for its security team too.

They were awarded the prestigious British Security Industry Association (BSIA) Regional Security Personnel Award for 'Best Team' in the Midlands round of judging.

The 15-strong team all work for VSG under New Square and were recognised for their 'consistently high standards of performance'.

Barry Dawson, managing director for VSG, said: "It is a great achievement to have won numerous regional British Security Industry Association Awards. We are extremely passionate about providing a great service and are very proud of the work our officers and teams do in their day-to-day jobs. These awards are a reflection of the great talents we have at VSG and we are thrilled to have our team recognised for their hard work." The New Square security team leader added: "The VSG team here embody the VSG values of respect, integrity, passion excellence and teamwork.

"Our team are overwhelmed that we have won this award."

The team will now be put forward to the national judging phase of the awards.

If they are successful in the second round of judging they will be invited to attend the BSIA's Annual Lunch on July 12 as a reward for their hard work.

New Square, anchored by a 139,000 sq ft Tesco Extra store, has already attracted other key retailers, including Next, JD Sports, Bank and Outfit.