Shopping

Shopping in Stevenage is concentrated into four main areas: the Old Town, the Town Centre, the Retail Parks and the local Neighbourhood Centres.

Old Town
Dating back to the 12th century, the Old Town High Street was the centre for commercial activity before the development of the New Town. It retains much of its old world charm and today it has a specialist shopping role with shops, offices, restaurants, a hotel and public houses lining the old High Street with convenient free parking. Waitrose and B & Q are two of the larger retail outlets located here.

Town Centre
Britain's first pedestrianised shopping area combines over 250 shops, with offices, civic buildings and leisure facilities. Large retailers include Marks & Spencer, Boots, BHS, Littlewoods, WH Smith, Woolworth, Superdrug, Tesco and Asda as well as most of the high street stores and smaller specialist shops.

The Westgate Centre is a modern covered centre of 110,000 square feet with 35 shops and restaurant facilities opened in the late 1980s. There is also an indoor and outdoor market.

In Autumn 1997 a major new shopping facility opened at the Forum on the North end of the town centre, adding a further 130,000 square feet in ten retail units, widening the shopper's choice further.

The town centre is well served by public transport with the bus station adjacent to shops, and the railway station is within a couple of minutes walk.

Retail Parks
The Roaring Meg and Roebuck retail parks were built to the South of the town centre during the 1980s, they include the major bulk goods retailers, including Homebase, PC World and Argos.

Neighbourhood Centres
Stevenage has 7 neighbourhoods each with their own local centres. There are 23 local centres in the town providing shops, restaurants, pubs, take-aways and other local services, as well as surgeries and community facilities. The Poplars area has a Sainsbury's in addition to the superstore in the North-west of the town.

Major Retailers in Stevenage Include: