The Malls are unwrapped ready for Christmas shopping!
The new look for The Malls will be unveiled with a long weekend of glitz and glamour from Friday 18 November to Sunday 20 November.
Neighbouring Festival Place has jointly organised the weekend of festive activities with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to kick-off seasonal celebrations across the two centres. The weekend of fun starts with both centres switching on their Christmas lights on Friday evening (18 November).
On Saturday the programme of activities includes catwalk fashion shows, mini makeovers, music, competitions and prizes. On Sunday, celebrity dancer and TV personality Camilla Dallerup will officially launch The Malls’ new look at 1pm with a spectacular dance display. During the day Camilla and her husband Kevin Sacre will be offering mini makeovers, courtesy of The Malls retailers, to give shoppers their own new look.
The Malls has been given a major facelift with the council investing over £5 million in refurbishment works which included installing a clear roof canopy to give shoppers some protection from bad weather while also allowing in natural light and keeping the ‘open air’ feel of The Malls. The heavyweight overhanging concrete canopies have been removed, the façades given a modern covering and new lighting installed. There are new public lavatories, new lifts extended to The Anvil’s entrance level and an impressive new archway at the entrance from Basingstoke railway station.
Cabinet Member for Finance and Property Cllr Ranil Jayawardena said: “We’ve invested in The Malls’ improvements to make it a modern and pleasant place to shop - with a ‘high street’ character that complements the neighbouring Festival Place. This helps ensure the town centre’s vitality, protects jobs and provides a much better welcome to the town centre for local residents and visitors alike. This is an exciting time for The Malls and for the borough as a whole. We look forward to welcoming residents to the switching on of the Christmas lights so they can start their Christmas shopping in the Malls.”
The Malls’ new identity revealed as shopping centre gears up for official launch
The finishing touches are being made to The Malls’ refurbishment as the new signs and logo go up to complete the shopping centre’s new look.
The Christmas tree and decorations are also being put up this week in preparation for The Mall’s official relaunch on Sunday (November 20) with a dance display by TV personality Camilla Dallerup at 1pm. This will be part of a weekend of glamorous activities shared with neighbouring Festival Place, which will also feature catwalk shows and mini makeovers by Camilla and her husband Kevin Sacre, well-known to fans of Hollyoaks.
The new logo for The Malls features three blue circles, signifying the three malls and the town centre’s three parts - together with Festival Place and the Top of Town - and, suggesting ‘bubbles’, they reflect the fresh modern ‘open air’ look that has breathed new life into the centre. Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council invested over £5 million in the major facelift of The Malls, installing a clear roof canopy, removing heavy overhanging concrete canopies, giving the façades a modern covering and installing new lower energy lighting.
Each of the main entrances to The Malls from the St John’s Walk, the Anvil and the railway will all feature the shopping centre’s name and updated identity. The borough council’s Cabinet Member for Finance and Property Cllr Ranil Jayawardena visited the centre to see the first of the new signs to be installed.
Cllr Jayawardena said: “This has been a complex project, especially as the shopping centre has remained open throughout its transformation. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the retailers, shoppers and people who work here for bearing with any inconvenience during this major transformation. Seeing The Malls now and thinking back to what it was like before, I hope everyone will agree it was well worth it. It is a great place to shop now and is already attracting new lettings. The Malls and the new main entrance are now a much more fitting welcome to our town centre and will help to ensure its continued success.”
New facilities, including public lavatories and lifts extended to The Anvil’s entrance level are set to open soon.
