The year's largest opening was Westfield Derby shopping centre, which opened its doors on October 9, six months ahead of schedule. The £340m scheme, which offers over a million sq ft of retail, food and lifestyle space, including two new department stores, 16 MSUs, including Next, Zara and River Island, and more than 100 local, regional and national stores, opened 98 per cent let with almost all stores trading.

The centre is estimated to transform the city into a principal retail and business destination in the East Midlands, but while the opening has revitalised Derby city centre, other towns and cities are also benefiting from an injection of funding from various developers.

Land Securities has had its work cut out opening two new developments in as many months. Princesshay opened in Exeter in September and marks a step change in the development of retail quarters in historical cities. The retail line-up will ensure the development is a success with an array of independents and mass market retailers, many new to Exeter and Devon, while the design of the scheme is complementary to the centre's surroundings. The development is another improvement on Land Securities' successful Whitefriar's opening in Canterbury and will be a leading example of architectural excellence within a sensitive environment.

Meanwhile, Willow Place - Land Securities' £35m retail development in Corby - will open its doors on October 26. The 175,000-sq ft scheme is set to transform Corby's retail offer with the introduction of 10 first-time retailers to the expanding East Midlands town. Comprising two anchor stores and 20 shop units arranged around an open single-level street, Willow Place is set to re-establish Corby as a prime shopping attraction in the region, repositioning its standing in the UK's hierarchy of retail destinations. According to research by The Retail Group (2005), Corby will rise 150 places, from 344 to around 200, in the UK's national rankings following the opening of Willow Place.

Jane Norman and River Island are the latest retailers to join the fashion line-up, both opening flagship stores of 3,890 sq ft and 9,000 sq ft respectively. They join a retailer line-up that includes TK Maxx, New Look, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Evans, Clarks, mkone, WH Smith, Superdrug, JD Sports, Costa Coffee, Game and Three.

Mark Rymell, development manager - retail at Land Securities, says: "The strength of the retail offer coming into Willow Place is a major endorsement of the scheme. Over half the retailers opening at Willow Place will be new to Corby, demonstrating its emerging importance as a key location for leading brands. The development is now 65 per cent let by floor space and we are in advanced negotiations with major retailers for the remaining six units. As a major growth area, there's a massive level of investment in new housing and infrastructure projects in and around Corby, which will position Willow Place as an important sub-regional retail centre."

Willow Place has been designed to form a vital link between the existing town centre and the adjoining new civic quarter of Parkland Gateway. The £60m civic centre will provide a range of cultural and leisure facilities, including a performing arts centre and an Olympic-size swimming pool. In addition, Land Securities is already preparing to submit plans for a second phase of development to further expand the town centre, which could potentially see an additional 300,000 sq ft of retail accommodation, incorporating an 80,000-sq ft anchor store and 20 shop units, as well as new leisure facilities.

The joint letting agents for Willow Place, Corby are Chase & Partners and Leslie Furness.

On September 20, ING Real Estate opened its new St Stephen's mixed-use scheme - a retail-led development in the largely derelict heart of Hull's city centre, which is being forward-funded by British Land.

The £200m development is adjacent to the Paragon railway station and bus station on a 29-acre site and will provide covered retail, leisure and residential space and a major new public transport interchange.

The 540,000-sq ft scheme provides units of up to 37,670 sq ft, with the average unit size estimated to be five times larger than the average floor space of existing retailers in the city. And the scheme provides some of the largest units available in a town centre anywhere in the UK.

St Stephen's is anchored by a 146,000-sq ft Tesco superstore and comprises 320,000 sq ft of retail, 150,000 sq ft of leisure, 220 homes, a hotel, 1,550 car park spaces and a new home for the acclaimed Hull Truck Theatre Company and the Albemarle Centre for children's music.

Over 80 per cent of the retail space has already been committed and the remaining units all have registered interest. The latest retailers to take space at St Stephen's are Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, La Senza, The Body Shop, Clarks, Select, Build-A-Bear, Starbucks, Reel and Express by Holiday Inn. They join Zara, Oasis, H&M, River Island, Next's first new format store, New Look, Sports World, Jane Norman, Tesco, TK Maxx, Orange, Carphone Warehouse and Gala, who have already signed up.

Many brands have also taken the opportunity to expand their offer in Hull, with new large-format stores including Topshop, River Island, New Look, Oasis and Dorothy Perkins all providing an extremely strong and attractive fashion offer. And most retailers feature impressive double-height shop fronts.

As an integral part of the project, the £18m redevelopment of Hull's Paragon Station also opened on the same day. The UK's first fully integrated transport interchange provides shared facilities for trains, buses and coaches and will deliver some 24,000 people to St Stephen's each day.

Siep Hoeksma, chief operating executive of ING Real Estate's development business in the UK, welcomed the lettings, adding: "St Stephen's is a stunning addition to Hull's retail and leisure offer. Not only will it breathe new life into this once run-down part of the city centre but it will also mean that Hull can fulfil its role as a major regional destination for its 850,000 catchment population. The large modern retail units linked to a strong leisure offer with an integrated public transport interchange make this a truly ground-breaking project."

Ownership will be transferred to British Land on completion. The letting agents for the scheme are Lunson Mitchenall and Smith Young.

In Glasgow, Retail Property Holdings is about to open its £350m Silverburn retail development in Pollok, south of the city.

The million-sq ft scheme has been successful in attracting major anchor stores such as M&S, Next and the largest Debenhams outside Glasgow city centre at 130,000 sq ft. Other retailers include LK Bennett, Hobbs, Phase Eight and Kurt Geiger, which will open its first Scottish store. Yo! Sushi, La Tasca, Wagamama and Prezzo - another first for Scotland - are also among the range of eateries at the scheme.

Ewan McKay, from letting agent SGM, says: "The lettings line-up is fantastic. We have a really, really strong line-up and we've managed to attract some great names not present anywhere else in Scotland, or as a retailer's first store in a shopping centre. You wouldn't find the likes of Parchment and Kurt Geiger in any run of the mill scheme. It's very much about having the best of the high street as well as funky niche brands which we've had great success in attracting. Our focus has been on footwear and fashion."

There are approximately five units left to let, but McKay says there is interest in each of them and he hopes to be fully let by Christmas. "We almost wanted to keep one or two back, to assess the opening," says McKay. "People will see how great the scheme is. This is a one-off shopping centre by Retail Property Holdings and the build quality, design, scheme layout, finishes and atmosphere will set it apart from other schemes."

Meanwhile, in the south of England, Warner Estates and Bride Hall are due to open the £30m Bouverie Place shopping centre in Folkestone, Kent, in mid-November.

An impressive list of leading retailers, including The Body Shop, ASDA Café, Sports World and Poundland, are set to open at the new 200,000-sq ft scheme in central Folkestone, doubling the prime retail pitch in the city. ASDA Café is set to open a 2,600-sq ft store on a 15-year lease at £30,000 pax, Poundland will open a 5,000-sq ft store on a 10-year lease at £125,000 pax, Sports World is set to open a 10,000-sq ft store at £117,500 pax, and The Body Shop will open a 1,250-sq ft store at £57,500 pax. These retailers join the impressive list already signed earlier this year, including a 72,500-sq ft ASDA superstore, BHS, Next, George, Peacocks, Vodafone, HMV, Starbucks, Specsavers and New Look.

Michael Stevens, property director at Warner Estates, says: "We're delighted to have attracted these retailers to Bouverie Place, and are confident that we'll have more to announce shortly, with the shopping centre due to officially open in mid-November. We're investing £30m in the 200,000-sq ft scheme, which once complete will be owned and asset managed by us, and will double the prime retail pitch in central Folkestone."

Green & Partners are retained letting agents for Bouverie Place shopping centre.

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