Dolphin centre, Dorset's biggest mall, to get £26m upgrade

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 22, 2017

The Dolphin shopping centre in Poole, the largest covered mall in Dorset, will benefit from a £26 million upgrade spend after its owner and the local authority agreed a deal that will also add new retail stores and leisure facilities to the destination.

The announcement of a number of new retail tenants is believed to be imminent with the company having already confirmed that New Look will add to its existing space and Deichmann will open there.

The centre already has branches of Primark, M&S, Clarks, Accessorize, Sports Direct, Claire’s and Beale’s.
LGIM Real assets said it has signed an agreement with the Borough of Poole that simplifies and extends the lease terms and allows it to bright forward an 18-month upgrade plan that will see “significant” improvements made to the entrances and interior. There will also be work done to boost the mall’s open air public spaces in Falkland Square and Kingland Crescent. The council will also spend £1.5 million improving the multi-storey car park.

The council said that it sees the development as an important part of its plans to boost Poole as a destination for leisure as well as boosting shopping facilities.

And that aim makes sense given recent statistics that showed coastal destinations have benefited from the tourist shopping boom driven the weak pound as much as urban centres such as London.

In May, specialist footfall tracker Springboard said visitor traffic rose 5.1% in coastal towns as both international and UK shoppers boosted their spending there.