The Bradley Stoke Journal

Former international referee Paul Durkin was in town today to promote the new Ladbrokes betting shop that opened earlier in the week at the Willow Brook Centre.

Football fans looking to place bets on today’s FA Cup Final match between Chelsea and Everton had the opportunity to chat with Mr Durkin about his experience of refereeing the Final back in 1998 when Arsenal and Newcastle United competed for the trophy.

Mr Durkin, who was England’s only referee at the 1998 FIFA World Cup Finals in France, retired in 2004 and now works as a referee assessor for the English FA.

The new Ladbrokes shop, which has a staff of five, opened its doors on Wednesday (27th May). Manager Lee Taylor says business has been brisk in the first few days, with opening promotions (including a free £2 bet) attracting plenty of punters.

Customers can also take part in a raffle for a football shirt signed by Ashley Cole, which is on display in the shop. The draw is expected to be made on Sunday evening and proceeds will go to a local charity.

The shop is open from 9am to 9:30pm Monday to Saturday and from 11am to 6pm on Sundays.

More Photos of Paul Durkin’s visit: album; slideshow.

Bradley Stoke’s first-ever betting shop is set to open its doors to the public this Wednesday at the town’s Willow Brook Centre.

Fitting-out of the interior of the new Ladbrokes store is now complete and the all-important satellite TV equipment has been installed. Twenty flat screen TVs will bring live odds and sporting action to the punters of Bradley Stoke.

A countdown poster in the window of the new store suggests an opening on Wednesday 27th May, although this has not yet been confirmed by official sources. The opening comes in good time for some major sporting events over the next few weeks including the Champions League Final (27th May), FA Cup Final (30th May) and The Derby (6th June).

Elsewhere in the Willow Brook Centre, there is confusion over anticipated tenants of the new Retail Terrace after signs were switched over on two of the units. ‘Under offer’ banners appeared four weeks ago on units 3 and 5 but now the signs have been switched to show units 2 and 5.

Marketing literature shows unit 2 as being under offer to Brantano and that company has recently advertised jobs for its new store. The only other company currently known to be currently recruiting is Pets at Home, leading to speculation that fashion group New Look (also shown in the marketing literature) may have pulled out.

Ladbrokes apart, the new retailers seem in no hurry to open their stores. The units remain as empty shells, no fitting-out having been started since building firm Bowmer and Kirkland completed construction at the end of April.

Shoe retailer Brantano has begun advertising shop assistant vacancies for its new store in Bradley Stoke, which The Journal understands will be sited in the new retail terrace at the Willow Brook Centre.

The company advertised management positions at the new store back in February. Now it is looking for part-time sales supervisors and part-time sales assistants via listings on the Jobcentre Plus website.

Animal superstore Pets at Home recently advertised for full-time and part-time team member positions at its “Bradley Stoke New Store”, which might also be located in the retail terrace.

Elsewhere in the Willow Brook Centre, fitting out of the new Ladbrokes betting shop is well advanced and a large “opening soon” banner has recently been erected in the Town Square.

The new Taylors Estate Agents office will open in the Town Square (between Greggs and KFC) on Monday 11th May, while Bradley Stoke’s first-ever NHS dental practice, run by Phoenix Dental, is set to open on Monday 18th May on the first floor of the main Willow Brook Centre building.

The full list of new tenants in phase 2 of the Willow Brook Centre is due to be revealed soon, after banners showing which units are “under offer” appeared last month. Four of those units are in the shopping mall, which also houses the giant Tesco Extra store.

Related Links:

• Bradley Stoke Jobs (The Journal)
• Willow Brook Centre Jobs (The Journal)

Bradley Stoke’s new town centre is a step closer to completion after hoardings around the site were removed this week.

The new ‘retail terrace’ of six large non-food outlets is now fully open to public view along with two smaller units on the north-western side of the Town Square, one of which is now decorated with the Ladbrokes logo.

The route of the new bus lane along the edge of the Town Square is now fully visible and a bus stop (with shelter) has been installed in the covered section just before the junction with the public access road.

Buses will enter the site via a barrier controlled slip road off Bradley Stoke Way and proceed along the side of the mall building before skirting the Town Square and then leaving the site with a left turn onto the public access road.

As predicted earlier this week, ‘under offer’ banners have appeared on various units around the site. In the retail terrace, two units (3 & 5) are shown as under offer, with a further four units (4, 6a, 6b and 10) in the mall.

The retail terrace assignments differ from information shown in the Alder King marketing brochure, where unit 2 is shown as being under offer to Brantano and unit 3 under offer to New Look, but it is unknown at this stage whether this means that Brantano has pulled out or just chosen another unit.

Of the units under offer in the mall, unit 4 is between Carphone Warehouse and O2, while units 6a and 6b (one of which is very small) are between the mall side entrance and O2. Unit 10 is the large one at the eastern end of the mall, which also has entrances from Bradley Stoke Way and the shoppers’ car park.

The Westworld mobility and lifestyle store shown in the marketing brochure as occupying Town Square unit 8 (next to Ladbrokes) is not one of those shown as being under offer.

The tenants of the ‘under offer’ units are expected to be officially named within the next two weeks.

Animal superstore Pets at Home could be among the names as the group has recently posted job advertisements for full-time and part-time positions at its “Bradley Stoke New Store”. There has also been speculation that a bike shop might take mall unit 10, which has been reconfigured since the initial opening of the Willow Brook Centre in October 2008.

See the latest Willow Brook photos on PicasaWeb: album; slideshow.

What do you think of the range of shops and services available at the Willow Brook Centre? Which stores would you like to see there? Are you disappointed that there aren’t more community services like a post office and council drop-in centre? Let us know using our comments facility.

The opening of Ladbrokes’ new betting office at Bradley Stoke’s Willow Brook Centre has moved a step closer with the submission of an application for a premises licence.

Representations about the application may be made to South Gloucestershire Council until 13th April, meaning that the office will not open in time for the Grand National betting frenzy (4th April), but should be trading by Derby Day (6th June).

The office will occupy ‘town square unit 9′, which is part of the phase 2 ‘retail terrace’ building and separated from the main body of the Town Square by a bus lane.

The neighbouring ‘unit 8′ is earmarked for a Westworld mobility and lifestyle store, although Willow Brook Centre Manager Scott Lahive cautioned recently that the group “has yet to cross the finish line” in its rental negotiations.

Elsewhere in the Town Square, signs have recently appeared in the windows of ‘unit 3′ (between Greggs and KFC) announcing the imminent arrival of Taylors Estate Agents.

The company is relocating from its current premises at Bradley Pavilions and says it will be opening a lettings department at the new office.

Betting chain Ladbrokes has submitted a planning application for signage at its new shop in the Town Square at Bradley Stoke’s Willow Brook Centre.

The shop will occupy ‘town centre unit 9′ (shown with a red outline in the plan above), which is part of the phase 2 ‘retail terrace’ building and separated from the main body of the Town Square by a bus lane.

Centre manager Scott Lahive recently told The Journal that he expects Ladbrokes to have access to the unit (for final fitting out) in March. The betting shop might then open some time in May, he added.

The Ladbrokes betting shop can be seen centre left in the above photo. The unit to the left will be occupied by Westworld (mobility and lifestyle) while that to the right (on the corner of the ‘retail terrace’) is as yet unlet.