Parkgate Shopping
- Property overview
Parkgate Shopping is located near Rotherham and has been in the British Land portfolio since 2005. The Park is home to 42 shops, attracting 5.5 million visitors a year and bringing 2,000 jobs to the area at peak times. It is managed by an on-site team, with Savills acting as managing agents.
- Our customers and us
In March 2009, TK Maxx and Subway at Parkgate sponsored a series of fundraising events for Comic Relief. Activities included an afternoon with the local football team, Rotherham United. Dozens of fans turned up to meet their heroes and get their shirts, programmes and footballs signed. They were also able to challenge the players to a game of table football. TK Maxx Store Manager, Steve Tidmarsh, said: "It was great to see so many people enjoying themselves, meet their heroes at the same time and contribute to our appeal, so it was wins all round." On Comic Relief day, the Parkgate team volunteered with staff from TK Maxx and Subway, donning red noses and greeting shoppers with jokes and an invitation to donate loose change.
This year, Parkgate was a founding member of the Rotherham Business Against Crime Partnership. Addressing crime and anti-social behaviour is important for Parkgate retailers, as well as for local people and other local businesses. Parkgate Manager, Denis Copeland, who is also Vice-Chairman of the Partnership Board, explained: "We have developed, with all our partners, an intelligence-led proactive approach to crime reduction." In November, the local police force handed out thousands of purse bells to shoppers at Parkgate, on behalf of the Partnership. The use of purse bells has been proven to prevent pickpockets from taking purses without the owner noticing.
- Our communities and us
Parkgate supported several local charities, raising over £28,000 for Guide Dogs for the Blind, Bluebell Wood Children's Home and Safe@Last. The Park is well regarded for its commitment to community life and causes. In October, over 200 people spent the night sleeping out at Parkgate to raise money for Safe@Last, a Yorkshire charity for children who have run away from home. In December, the Park also hosted a charity Christmas Carol Concert for Safe@Last, with singers accompanied by the Bramley Brass Band. Shoppers also donated 700 bags of goods during the monthly collections for Bluebell Wood Children's Home. These have sold for over £5,000 in their charity shops.
Parkgate Shopping won an award for Business Contribution to Sport at the Rotherham Sports Awards 2008 for its positive involvement with several local sports initiatives. Parkgate continued to support Rotherham United Football Club, as well as sponsoring a community football tournament as part of National Kick Racism Out of Football Action Week. It also sponsored Studio Dance, a local street dancing group for young people. This enabled the group to represent the UK in international championships, coming top of their category at the European Dance Grand Prix and coming ninth in the World Hip Hop Dance Championships.
12 pupils from Wingfield School visited Parkgate as part of the Working Heroes campaign by North West Rotherham Action Zone. This aims to raise the aspirations of a target group of boys and their families, making them aware of job opportunities in Rotherham and providing them with role models, as well as improving their writing skills. The group, who were accompanied by Yorkshire writer, Craig Bradley, learned about security, health and safety, retail and park management and marketing. They then worked with Craig to write about their experience.
The boys were very interested in what they saw and heard, and got a real buzz from the attention that was paid to them by the Parkgate staff.
Parkgate worked in partnership with Rotherham Ready, enabling children at Catcliffe Junior and Infant School to participate in the Make £5 Blossom scheme. Parkgate gave the children £5 each and teachers encouraged them to think of enterprising ways to make a profit. The children came up with a Flowerpot Kids plant business and in June they visited Homebase at Parkgate to see how others do it. Team Leader at Homebase, Mark Mold, took the children behind the scenes and gave them some sales and marketing tips. Parkgate also sponsored Rotherham Young Achievers.
Although we have some good ideas already, this visit has spurred us on to even greater effort, and we cannot thank Mark enough for the advice and encouragement he gave us.
Hundreds of people attended the National Carers' Week event at Parkgate. The event was designed to recognise the contribution made by the 30,000 people in Rotherham who care for partners, relatives or friends. Local organisations were there to raise awareness of the support that is available to carers. These included the Mental Health Team and Rothercare Foundation Trust. The event was officially opened by the Mayor and Mayoress of Rotherham, Councillor Ann Russell and Councillor Patricia Russell. Parkgate is also working with Rotherham NHS Primary Care Trust to develop a new health magazine for local people.
Events planned for next year include a midnight midsummer walk in aid of Rotherham Hospice, a charity bike ride to raise money for Cancer Care and a weekend music festival in aid of Safe@Last.
Volunteers at Parkgate raised £5,000 to fund a puppy for Guide Dogs for the Blind. Six of the team raised money by walking the 40 miles from Birstall Shopping Park to Parkgate, calling at various British Land retail parks on the way. The puppy is called Billy after Parkgate's Operations Manager, Billy Smith, who led the fundraising efforts. The team is now on its way to funding a second puppy.
British Land 2009. All Rights Reserved.
For our full Corporate Responsibility Report: britishland.com/crReport/2009