Southside Wandsworth

Southside Wandsworth is a shopping centre in Wandsworth, London, England. When it was built it was the largest indoor shopping centre in Europe.

Overview

Southside opened in 1971 as the Wandsworth Arndale Centre, and was the largest of the UK-wide chain of Arndale Centres. It occupies much of the centre of Wandsworth, with several blocks of flats and extensive car parking on the roof, and the River Wandle running in a tunnel underneath. It initially included a mix of shops, offices and restaurants, as well as a large hall for market traders, although the latter has since been redeveloped. At one point it also housed a large nightclub, which has also been redeveloped. The centre suffered a notable decline in the 1980s and 1990s, before being extensively redeveloped and relaunched with a significantly more upmarket mix of shops.

The shopping centre is anchored by a Waitrose supermarket (and, arguably, by a large adjacent branch of Sainsbury's - although this is not technically part of the centre). Clothing retailers include Primark, Uniqlo, Burtons, Next, River Island, H&M, JD Sports, Gap and (opening in summer 2010) Republic. Other retailers include Game, HMV, Boots, Argos, Mothercare, Oliver Bonas, The Body Shop, Tiger, Punkyfish and Waterstone's. An escalator leads to a higher floor containing restaurants, in particular fast food, and a 14-screen Cineworld cinema. There is also a Virgin Active gym.

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