Introduction
Norwich is a unique shopping destination with its large pedestrian areas, quirky, independent shops, an open air market, spacious modern shopping malls and out of town Retail parks. Range, quality and that element of surprise are all part of the Norwich shopping experience. The city’s “High Street” includes St Stephen’s and pedestrianised thoroughfares like Gentlemans Walk and London Street. The Mall Norwich and Chapelfield shopping centre have over 150 stores between them and, together with the city centre, Norwich has all the UK’s leading department stores (Anchor stores), including John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, House of Fraser, Bhs and Debenhams. Norwich was the eighth most prosperous shopping destination in the UK in 2006. Norwich has an ancient market place, established by the Normans between 1071 and 1074, which is today the largest six-days-a-week open-air market in England. The Mall Norwich (Castle Mall until 2007), a shopping mall designed by local practice Lambert, Scott & Innes and opened in 1993, presents an ingenious solution to the problem of sensitively accommodating new retail space in a historic city-centre environment - the building is largely concealed underground and built into the side of a hill, with a public park created on its roof in the area south of the Castle. The new Chapelfield shopping mall has been built on the site where the Caleys (later Rowntree Mackintosh and Nestlé) chocolate factory once stood. Chapelfield opened in September 2005, and is described as ''a major new shopping experience'', featuring a new flagship department store House of Fraser. In August 2006 it was reported by the Javelin Group that Norwich was one of the top five retail destinations in the UK, and in October 2006 the city centre was voted the best in the UK, in a shopping satisfaction survey run by Goldfish Credit Card.
Transport links to the City
Park and Ride
As of 2005, Norwich had the biggest Park and Ride operation in the UK. Run...