Derbion (formerly Intu Derby, Westfield Derby and the Eagle Centre)[1][2] is a large indoor shopping centre in Derby, England. It is the largest shopping centre in the East Midlands and the 15th largest in the United Kingdom.
Overview
Derbion may contain up to 200 shops,[3] a supermarket, a cinema and many eateries. Anchor tenants include Next, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's. There is also a cinema, named the Showcase Cinema de Lux, in the centre as well as a bowling arcade named Hollywood Bowl Group and an adventure golf site named ‘Paradise Island’. It has three car parks and is a few minutes walk away from both Derby's bus and railway stations.
The UK's largest, but mainly unoccupied, indoor market, the Eagle Market, adjoins the centre. The market and Derby Theatre, which is accessed through the market, were considered to be part of the centre until 2007, when the centre was known as The Eagle Centre. When the centre was expanded and renamed (see below), the market, owned by the Westfield Group and Hermès, but operated by Derby City Council, did not take on the Westfield name; it slightly changed its name from the Eagle Centre Market to simply the Eagle Market and introduced its own branding, separate from both the former Eagle Centre's and Westfield's), making itself distinct from the shopping centre for the first time.[4]
A much smaller indoor shopping precinct, St Peter's Way, is also physically connected to Derbion. Customers can walk seamlessly between the two.[5]
The market is now closed and is due to be demolished along with the theatre and the multi storey Riverside carpark and other buildings owned by Derbion.
The space created is earmarked for construction of several high rise blocks of flats which will change the skyline of the city..
History
The centre opened as The Eagle Centre on 20 November 1975, at a cost of £7 million. Several streets of pre-1950s terraced housing were demolished to make way for the new centre, including a street called Eagle Street, which gave the name of the new development.[6][7]
Construction work on the site in 2005
The centre's market was rebuilt in 1990, and the entire centre was refurbished in 1999. A £340m extension to the Eagle Centre was opened on 9 October 2007 by TV celebrity Tess Daly. The extension sits on the site of the former Castlefields Main Centre, a dilapidated outdoor shopping centre already owned by the Westfield Group. It doubled the size of the centre,[8] from 51,559 m2 (554,980 sq ft) to 106,130 m2 (1,142,400 sq ft).[9]
As well as adding many new retailers, the extension also houses an 800-seat foodcourt including a KFC outlet,[10] a £30m twelve-screen Cinema de Lux and even more car parking facilities.
Many retailers, including Marks & Spencer and the now defunct Republic and Debenhams, closed their existing Derby stores to move to bigger stores in the extension.[11] When the extension opened, the Eagle Centre was renamed Westfield Derby, in line with other Westfield shopping centres.[12]
On 3 December 2010 a fire, which started in the car park, caused thousands of shoppers to be evacuated from the building.[13]
In March 2014, it was announced that Intu was to acquire Westfield Derby.[14] On 1 May 2014, it was rebranded as Intu Derby.[15]
In April 2019, Intu sold 50% of the centre to Cale Street Investments, an investment firm backed by the Kuwait Investment Office.[16] On 9 September 2020, following Intu's administration, Cale Street purchased the remainder of Intu Derby. The centre was referred to as the Derby Centre while a new name was sought.[17]
The chosen name of Derbion was decided on and released to public in late January 2021,[18] taking effect on 1 March, with external signage changes planned for May.[2]
Naming timeline
Derbion has been given several different names throughout its history.
