It's good progress

I haven't had much time to blog, but here are the latest pictures as of December 2012:

This is a view of the smaller shops with a lighting rig in the foreground

This is a view of the same smaller shop units, taken by the fitness centre

Finally, here is M&S pretty much complete.  Fencing up by the loading bay - a real wood theme going on here.   Not long to go now - we'll be drinking tea and coffee here by May I hope :-)

Progress

M&S looks great in the sunlight - love that oak cladding .  I notice that they are pouring concrete this week which I assume is the slab for the loading bay.

A transformer has now been installed for the power.

It is still very wet and muddy.  The latest opening date is May 2013 - assume the continual rain has put things back a bit.

M&S

It is cracking on with more oak being added day by day.  It looks attractive and expect that the colour will go off a silvery shade as time goes on.  Not long to wait now and we are happy to have some restaurants announced such as Prezzo.  Roll on Springtime!!!!!

Latest Progress

Marks and Spencer is getting the 'fixing rails' added to the outside to attach the wood cladding to.  Also, more windows.  It's the wettest summer for 100 years, but this hasn't dampened progress:

The glass looks great

The glass is being hung on the shops nearest to Tesco.  It looks really great and shows how light and airy the units will be.  Not long to go now; 7-8 months perhaps?

Progress Pictures - Drains

Much of the recent work has involved laying more drains around the site.  At least the weather has been ok-ish.  Work has also started on Whiteley way to put in paths and cycle tracks which is excellent news.

M&S is now clad but this will eventually be overlaid with wood.  Should look really nice.  I have also noticed solar panels being place on the roofs of many of the buildings plus some glazing is going up.

Lot of rain and plenty of progress

I have been away for a couple of weeks, but the site has come on a lot even though it looks very waterlogged.  Many of the units are getting their cladding and the part here which I think are going to be restaurants are taking shape really well.

Marks and Spencer is looking really good now with the loading bay area clad and the brickwork done.

I would love to get proper site access one day, but doubt that it is going to happen.  Never mind.

Great Progress

Yes, even though it still rains, there is great progress in the areas of roofing and internal walls.  Here is the great William O'Brien crane doing its thing:

This must be some kind of stock room for M&S since it is near the loading bay.  This must be where our future clothes and more importantly food gets delivered.  But I am guessing as usual.

And let's not forget those old Whiteley Village Outlet Shopping logos before all the signage goes:

Shops Confirmed

Here is some excellent news.  I couldn't take a picture of the complete hoarding, so in addition to these shops are M&S, Frankie and Bennies and a toy shop.  All looks great to me.  Now, let's see some restaurants please!

It's Been Raining

The last few weeks has been very rainy, in fact torrential.  So much so, that the water was running off the site onto the road.  Anyway, progress still seems good and I notice the internal clockwork going up in M&S and some of the brickwork is being put up at the rear of  some of the shops.

This photo with digger shows the progress near the Sports' Centre.  Think this area might be restaurants since fairly low rise.  Let's hope so.

Latest News

Well, the ground is drying out and it's crane heaven - counted 3 today.  Construction is really progressing great now and the whole site looks massive.  Great progress to the guys working on it - very impressive British Workmen at their best!!!!!

The Big Crane is Here!!!!!

The big crane has arrived!  It is being used to lift roofing material onto the roof of M&S.  It's very impressive indeed.  The rest of the build continues from the perimeter of the site moving inwards.  The site is very waterlogged due to lots of rain over the last month but it hasn't halted progress at all.

The area adjacent to Tesco is also coming on well and the buildings are considerably taller than Tesco.

Latest Progress

Here is a picture taken by the Sports Centre.  Most of the buildings here are low rise so I expect them to be smaller shops and, please, the new restaurants.  Can't wait for those.

The second picture shows the two cutouts in the floor in M&S presumably for escalators and emergency stairs.  There is also concrete being poured at the base which I think will be the loading bay.

Big Progress Despite the Rain

I have just come back from my two week holiday.  Marks and Spencer now has the mezzanine deck in it and they are putting the roof on.  Amazing the amount of steelwork there.

The second picture shows the progress towards the Sports Centre, building inwards from the Tesco side.  It all looks a lot bigger than I imagined.  Will get some more photos soon.

Latest update

The shops by Tesco really are taking shape now. Suspect the Steel Workers have been having a rough time since it has been very wet this week. You get an idea of the scale of the work considering the low rise nature of Tesco to the left. Really impressive! Just wish I knew which shops they will be. Boots, Next....?????

Weekly Update

Well, the builders have started at the North end towards Tesco. The construction is bigger than I thought - wonder which shops it could be?

M&S continues on - a lot of steel in there and a very large building. Can't wait to see it clad and fitted out. It now looks very prominent on the skyline.

M&S Surging On

This is my most recent picture. M&S is really surging on and is much bigger than we expected. Got to admire the crane operator and the cherry picker steel workers building this. Amazing!!!!

M&S Steelwork Starts

Well, this is my first up-to-date post. Here comes the steelwork for M&S. Notice the rebar in the foreground - a nice bit of concrete pour too. Amazing how quickly this is going up!

Old Whiteley Waterfalls

Once these were waterfalls, then they got planted. Now all that is left is a mess with just two 'E's left on the Whiteley letters. This will one day be bulldozed as has been the right hand version of this.

Sports Direct (Lillywhites) Demolition

Here is a picture from Autumn 2011 of Lillywhites and Clintons etc being demolished. Such a shame since they sold some real cheap gear in Lillywhites and Clinton's was very useful for cards.

The Last Days

Hello. Welcome to my blog on Whiteley new shops. it's a bit of a late start but I have plenty of photos from my collection so here is a reminder of the last days of Whiteley Shopping Village before its demolition. The date of these photos is June 2011.