New kiosks, seating and cladding in £5.5m shopping centre revamp

New seating, kiosks for small businesses and new cladding are coming to a prominent shopping centre as bosses give the site a new lease of life. King’s Chase Shopping Centre in Kingswood has been earmarked for a £5.5m revamp following a consultation by South Gloucestershire Council.

The plans, which form a wider regeneration project for Kingswood, have been unveiled to shoppers with work now underway. Shopping centre bosses say new cladding will be added to the entrance, install new signs, revamp the entrance stairs and redecorate its distinct glass roof canopy.

Further improvements include new seating, planters, and plants, new lights within the Mall and new kiosks for small businesses. The new work is scheduled to take place up until August. Shoppers can learn more about the changes on a window display in the Kingswood Skills Hub.

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A spokesman for King’s Chase Shopping Centre said: “Exciting developments incoming over the next few months at Kings Chase. We will be working hard to make improvements to the public areas of the Shopping Centre.”

The improvements come following the opening of bakery giants Greggs in April and the arrival of B&M in the coming weeks. According to a post from the shopping centre on Facebook, the new retail store is scheduled to open its doors on June 14 and “the team are working very hard to get the store up and running”.

B&M will be located on the site of the former Wilko branch. Signage on its storefront reads: “Your new B&M store is coming soon. We can’t wait to meet you!”

South Gloucestershire Council bought the Kings Chase Shopping Centre for £10 million, following years of discussions over the site’s regeneration. South Gloucestershire Council had progressed with a new vision to regenerate the struggling high street, including the King’s Chase Shopping Centre.

The local area and its residents and visitors have spent years waiting for an investment, after funding was identified. In the latter part of 2023, ideas being considered as ways to improve Kingswood town centre included a time-restricted traffic ban, improved shop frontages and more greenery.

The council then launched a consultation website detailing its £25m vision for key areas of the town, and asking for feedback from residents and businesses in the area. Its masterplan for Kingswood was originally published in May 2022, outlining the key aims for improvement.