Designer Outlet West Midlands

The Designer Outlet West Midlands is an outlet shopping centre near Cannock, Staffordshire, England.

Designer Outlet West Midlands
Coordinates52.6885°N 02.0143°W / 52.6885; -02.0143
AddressEastern Way, Cannock WS11 7JZ, Staffordshire, England
Opening dateApril 2021
No. of stores and servicesApprox. 63
Total retail floor area26,477 m2 (285,000 sq ft)
Websitehttps://www.mcarthurglen.com/outlets/en/uk/designer-outlet-west-midlands/

It is owned by McArhurGlen Group and is the company's 7th designer outlet in the UK.[1]

Permission was granted for the construction of the shopping centre in 2016 and work began in 2017.[2] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the opening of the centre was delayed from Autumn 2020 to early 2021.[3]

The centre officially opened to customers on Monday 12 April 2021.[4]

Stores

The outlet consists of a range of designer brand stores offering clothing, beauty, homeware, gifts, and accessories at discounted prices. In January 2021 the centre was stated to be built and opened in two phases, with the first phase seeing the opening of around 80 stores along with a number of restaurants and cafes, and the second phase - to begin on or shortly after completion of the first - increasing the number of stores to around 130.[5]

As of August 2023, there were around 63 stores and 8 restaurants listed on the official website.

Controversy

Sign

After completion of the buildings and car park. A sign was erected at the shopping outlet centre. However the sign was measured at being 50 ft tall and as a result. It dominates the skyline of Cannock and can be seen from further away. There have been many residents who have voiced their anger at the sign and one Councillor at Cannock Chase Council has started a petition to have the sign either taken down or reduced in size[6][7] However, McArthurGlen who own the outlet have said they have legal permission to keep the sign in place as it was part of their original plans.[8] Many locals have praised the style of the outlet, but have felt the sign is not in keeping with the local landscape and even exaggerated that it belongs in Las Vegas.[9]

Name

There has been some criticism of the shopping centre's name, "Designer Outlet West Midlands," as opposed to naming it after Cannock or the county of Staffordshire.[10]

The shopping centre sits close to Cannock station on the Chase Line with services to Birmingham International, Birmingham New Street, Walsall and Rugeley Trent Valley on the West Coast Main Line as well as occasional services to Wolverhampton.

There are also regular buses which call into the three bus stops within the centre grounds, and two at the side entrance by Mill Farm PH. These run services to Burntwood, Lichfield, Cannock, Great Wyrley, Brownhills, Norton Canes, Walsall and Birmingham. Service X51 (Cannock-Birmingham) is one of the few services which operate in Staffordshire on Sundays. Live departure screens are in situ at each stop for passenger information.

The nearest airport is Birmingham International and further ones include Manchester Airport and East Midlands Airport.

References
  1. Jahshan, Elias. "McArthurGlen opens brand new West Midlands outlet centre". Retailgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  2. "McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Cannock - U+I". www.uandiplc.com. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  3. Reynolds, Jordan. "£160 million Cannock designer outlet opening delayed until 2021". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  4. Reynolds, Jordan. "Opening date confirmed for Cannock McArthurGlen designer outlet". Expressandstar. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  5. Ashmore, Kelly (2 January 2021). "All the shops opening at Cannock McArthurGlen Designer Outlet". Birminghammail.co.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  6. Flash, Oprah (19 September 2020). "'Thought it was an alien!' Fury at 50ft sign for designer village". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  7. Reynolds, Jordan. "Petition launched to remove 30m sign outside new Cannock designer outlet". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  8. Parker, Hayley (26 September 2020). "Giant 100ft sign goes up at Staffordshire's £160m designer outlet village". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  9. "Cannock McArthurGlen Designer Outlet erects 'hideous, Las-Vegas style' sign". www.msn.com. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  10. Reynolds, Jordan. "Upset as £160m designer outlet name fails to reflect Cannock home". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
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