Highcross Leicester
The Shires is a shopping centre in Leicester, England. It was opened in 1991 to supplement the ageing and run-down Haymarket Centre. It was built on a central location within the city centre on Eastgates and High Street. Frontages of buildings that were demolished were retained and new external construction was in a mock-olde style.
An extension opened in 1994, with a frontage onto Church Gate, and another extension (called 'Shires West') is under construction which will nearly double the retail space available. This extension will be between the existing centre and the inner ring-road. The extension will include a John Lewis department store, who do not have a branch in Leicester at the moment, a Vue Cinema, and a new bowling area as the old one was knocked down two new public squares, residential apartments, a bus interchange and further car parking areas.
Recently it has been announced that when the newly extended Shires is to open in 2008, it will be renamed as the Highcross Quarter, relating to Highcross Street which runs across one end of the new development[1].