Braehead
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:Puffer kyles braehead 2004.jpg Braehead is a regeneration project in Renfrewshire, Scotland, comprising an indoor shopping centre, ice skating / curling facilities, the Clydebuilt Scottish Maritime Museum, and the Braehead Arena (along with extensive covered and open-air car parking).
After opening in late 1999, the shopping centre proved hugely popular with consumers (indeed it has been blamed for a downturn in the fortunes of shops in nearby Paisley, Govan and Renfrew).
It was the subject of a dispute between City of Glasgow and Renfrewshire councils, as originally the council boundary line divided the shopping centre in two, but a Boundaries Commission ruling eventually redrew the boundary to include all of the centre in Renfrewshire, however development areas close to the King George V dock to the east of Braehead are still in Glasgow to allow the dock to remain in one authority (even though the complex is less than 1/2 km from Renfrew, but around 5 miles from Glasgow). The boundary runs along the side of Old Renfrew Road / Kings Inch Road and is represented by a chain link fence at this point.
As well as the covered shopping centre, there is also a much smaller retail park comprising larger stores such as PC World and Halfords that cannot be accommodated within the main structure.
It is also home to Glasgow's IKEA store which opened in 2001 and sits near the King George V dock. At 29,000 square metres it is the largest in both Scotland and the United Kingdom.
A large Renfrew Riverside development is in construction to the West side of Braehead involving a large area of house building, as well as Xscape, an indoor ski slope and entertainments complex.
It can be reached from Junctions 25a (westbound) and 26 (eastbound) of the M8 motorway, and has extensive public transport connections including its own bus station, managed by Arriva. Buses run from many areas linking Braehead to Largs, Greenock, Paisley, Glasgow, Erskine and Johnstone. A boat also runs from Glasgow City Centre to Braehead's pier down the River Clyde regularly, taking 30 minutes.
In 2000 its curling facilities hosted the World Championships, and in 2005 were used as training facilities when the Women's World Championships were being held in Paisley.