Keighley shopping centre reaches half-century landmark anniversary

Covering an area of 183,559 square feet, with 78 shop units and an annual footfall of seven million visitors, the centre was launched in May 1968. It had been built by Murrayfield Real Estate Company.

Officially opened by Bradford Council, the centre’s location caused a huge shift in the town’s retail focus, as it was constructed across several of Keighley’s main shopping thoroughfares, including Brunswick Street, Queens Street, Cook Lane and College Street.

In 1987, a glazed roof was added and the building was radically transformed into a modern shopping centre, which included features such as automatic doors, sprinklers and fire alarms. Store fronts were also refreshed.

Keighley-born “Are You Being Served?” actress Mollie Sugden was invited to cut the ribbon of the refurbished centre on this occasion.

Further changes and modernisation have continued into recent years, with Airedale investing £160,000 in upgrading its public toilet facilities in 2014.

The centre is now owned by LaSalle Investment Management scheme, and over the last 50 years it has witnessed many changes to its retail landscape.

Some of its first anchor retailers included Boots, Woolworths, Co-op, Sunwin House and Marks & Spencer. There also used to be a stronger focus on smaller food providers such as local green grocers.

Today, Boots still remains a flagship store, alongside WHSmith, Next and Beales Department Store.

The centre recently welcomed the expansion of health food specialist, Holland & Barrett.

Airedale is home to the charity, Dementia Friendly Keighley, with its brand-new drop-in centre being the first of its kind in the country, and possibly the world.

Steve Seymour, Airedale Shopping Centre manager, said: “Throughout the decades the centre has provided a safe, clean and well-maintained environment with a very strong tenant mix, which is something we continue to improve and develop further.

“We’ve been a major employer in the area over the last five decades, from the building of the centre, to placing people in jobs at our many shops and businesses.

“We currently have 75 units let and a vacancy rate of only nine per cent, employing around 400 people in full or part-time work with several with over 30-years’ service and a few over 35-years.”

Mr Seymour said the centre’s place at the heart of Keighley’s community accounts for its success, noting: “Being at the hub of the town and located right next to the bus station, it has allowed generations of customers easy access to a place in which to meet family and friends, with everything anyone may need under one roof.

“It’s wonderful to see so many faces returning year after year, travelling from across the area to do their shopping here.”

The centre’s three-man maintenance team – Danny Carter, John Walker and James Taylor – between them have 76 years worth of experience of looking after the fabric of both the shopping centre itself and its attached multi-storey car park.

Mr Carter, of Exley Head, who has worked at the centre for 35 years, remembers the huge scale of the 1987 refurbishment.

“The 1960s centre was getting a bit dated so they decided to give it a complete facelift,” he said. “Just to put in the new flooring was a massive job.

“When it was finished, new and up and running it was a real pleasure to walk through.”

Mr Carter said he began working at Airedale in a temporary post, before taking on a fulltime role as assistant superintendent.

“Margaret Thatcher was in power at the time and there weren’t a lot of jobs about,” he said. “Working here I’ve met a lot of people over the years and made a lot of friends.

“It’s not like coming into work anymore, it’s like coming to meet the rest of your family.

“When I started here Keighley was still a mill and engineering town. People’s lifestyles in Keighley have changed since then and in many ways for the better.”

Mr Walker, of Bracken Bank, began working at the Airedale Centre as a maintenance operative 27 years ago, only a few years after the major refurbishment.

He had previously been a lift engineer at Keighley Lifts, when it was based off Dalton Lane.

“I like the variety of the different jobs we do here, and I like being able to work outside, even in the cold,” he said.

“I’d sooner be doing that than working nine to five inside a factory. This last winter was quite a bad one though, and we needed a snow plough to clear the shopping centre’s loading bay.

“As a maintenance team we work together well and between us there’s not much we can’t do here.

“Over the years I’ve probably seen three generations of shoppers at Airedale.”

Mr Taylor, who lives off Oakworth Road, in Keighley, is the relative newcomer among the three, having been at the Airedale Centre for “only” 14 years.

“I started on security at the centre, which I did for 12 months,” he said.

“I’d always wanted to be on the maintenance team, but at first there were no openings.

“Then one of the maintenance lads went to Scotland to set up his own business, so I jumped at the opportunity. It was the best thing I’ve ever done.

“I used to work in maintenance at Haggas’s mill, in Ingrow, but I prefer it here where we can work out in the fresh air.”

From the public’s perspective, one of the most prominent and appreciated jobs the maintenance team does is to put up and take down the centre’s Christmas decorations each year.

To mark its impressive 50-year milestone, the shopping centre is planning a weekend-long celebration on Saturday May 19 and Sunday May 20 from 11am until 3pm both days.

Visitors will have the chance to take part in pass the parcel games with prizes up for grabs. There will also be a roaming magician and balloon modeller on hand.

A thousand cupcakes will be handed out each day. And opposite Poundbakery, there will be a huge ‘spin the birthday cake’ party game where shoppers of all ages will be invited to have a go to win a host of prizes.

There will be a specially-designed, giant birthday card which will be the backdrop for an exhibition of memorabilia.

As part of the celebrations, the centre will be screening the Royal wedding on May 19 at noon and for football fans there will be the FA Cup Final later in the day.

For more information on these birthday celebrations, visit airedaleshoppingcentre.co.uk