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Whiteley (Hampshire) is a large new housing area built upon former farm land. In 1999 Whiteley village Outlet Shopping Centre was opened. It cost £60m. Unfortunately it suffered competition from the outlet shopping in Gunwharf Quays (Portsmouth) and did not prosper. Accordingly in 2011 it was decided to completely demolish all the shops and build a new shopping centre at a cost of £100m.

The new centre abandons the "outlet" role and is intended to be more of a local shopping place. According to architects Costorphine + Wright it "will provide over 240,000 sq.ft of top quality retail and restaurant space in an open 'high street' format. All units feature two-storey high structural glass facades based on a 12m structural width to minimise the number of columns in the front elevation and to give a slick contemporary feel to the retail frontage."

The site is owned by the Whiteley Co-ownership, a 50:50 partnership between British Land plc and the Universities Superannuation Scheme (a pension fund for people who work in universities). In March 2011 British Land listed the portfolio value of the outlet shopping centre as £24m with an annual rental income of £2m.

Virtual tour of new centre: Link
Architects: Link
Planning documents: Link
Daily Echo article Link
Portsmouth News article: Link