August 2011
Fire on BR Footbridge
A small fire occurred on the BR footbridge on Friday evening (15/7/11) resulting in the bridge to Hyde Way being closed, the Station is open as usual.
Network Rail are expected to have completed the required repairs "within a few days". Signage has been put up in the lobby leading to the station from the Centre indicating how best to get to the east side of the bridge by foot. These repairs are now completed.
New Store Opens in the Howard Centre
We would like to welcome Circle 7 to the centre, their new store is now open based on the ground floor, selling cleaning materials, cookware, utensils, rugs, mirrors, soft furnishings, cushions and tableware all at reasonable prices.
Lifts
We would like to apologise to all our customers in advance for the long delays at present with regards to lift 2. Lift 2 suffered a major failure in April that requires replacement of the main gearbox and associated parts. The lifts in the centre are now over 21 years old and as such major components are no longer retained "on the shelf" by the original manufacturers, necessitating manufacture of a new unit. Manufacturing is already in progress and the lift is scheduled to be back in use by the middle of August. There are large notices at all levels asking people to use the stairs where-ever possible and another lift in the North Mall by Muffin Break serves both mall levels. We apologise for any inconvienance caused.
Works
The building work to convert the old Cafe unit into an enclosed retail store commences this week, with handover due to take place to the shopfitters on the 29th July. The centre management offices are being reconfigured at the same time to make better use of the space. We apologise for any inconvienance this may cause to our customers. Crownhill Furniture who used to be in this space have now moved to the Ex Time for Pets store on the first floor. Visit their website www.crownhillfurniture.co.uk for more details.
Childrens MiniGym to Open
Look out for the new childrens My Mini Gym creche soon to open on the first floor. It's designed for under 8's and will have lots of daily activities. Other facilities will be a soft play activity centre, mother & toddler groups, 2 hour daily creche, fun exercise programmes, parties and creative ideas.
Maher The Bookseller closes after 16 years in the Centre!
Maher The Bookseller ceased trading this week after 16 years, and a host of celebrity signings and millions of books sold. Owner Tony Maher had placed a noticed on the shop windows thanking customers and staff for their support over the years. The centre is very sorry to lose such a long term tenant, the book trade has been hit with a whole series of new areas of competition in recent years from supermarkets, internet and ebooks, we wish Tony Maher every success in the future.
Follow us on Facebook!
Howard Centre now has its very own Facebook Page! With regular updates about our competitions, offers and promotions and with plenty of pictures from in and around the centre, it's worth a look. Our Facebook followers will even get the chance to win prizes in exclusive competitions!
Click here to see our page or log into Facebook and search for 'Howard Centre'.
Changes to the Howard Centre Car Park
As you may have noticed we have recently replaced the car parking equipment. This change over seems to have gone well, many members of the public have commented that they prefer the ticket type system we use and that moving the pay points inside the building is also a good idea.
They were brought inside so that paying would be more comfortable rather than queuing in a chilly car park and if a pay point did go out of use the adjacent pay point could be used.
