EXETER'S still glittering Princesshay shopping centre is celebrating its fifth anniversary of opening.
It seems even longer ago that the whole project was the subject of considerable discussion with strong views for and against, inevitable because of its proximity to the Cathedral Close and Southernhay and the design which integrated mixed housing into the Exeter retail zone, and resisted the late twentieth century drive towards bland malls.
Despite criticism, the site was developed by Land Securities in partnership with The Crown Estate into 530,000 sq ft of retail space accommodating more than 60 stores.
The £225m result won the British Council of Shopping Centres Supreme Gold Award, Retail Week's Shopping location of the year in 2008, and the International Council of Shopping Centers Best Medium Sized Shopping Centre in Europe.
In 2011 it had an annual footfall of 9.5 million which attracted a potential spending of more than £730m.
And it is still growing.
