Priory Meadow Shopping Centre

Hastings has come a long way in recent years as regards to shopping.

One of the major developments in retail has been the building of the Priory Meadow shopping centre.

Cricket lovers had no choice but to wave goodbye to the popular central ground in the town centre which was used for many county matches. Whilst Hastings drastically lacked quality shopping it was sad to see a piece of green land get bulldozed that had been there since the 1860's.

Building it wasn't straightforward either as the ground was soft and prone to flooding. The builders and engineers had major problems with piles (of the concrete variety) and whilst it wasn't a medical issue it was still a major pain in the backside as regards to construction delays.

Even since the centre opened in 1997 there have been problems with the flooding of many stores in the complex. However, there has also been some major investment in improving drainage in the centre of Hastings and gradually these flooding issues have appeared to be less frequent.

There was a time when Hastings fell way behind Eastbourne in terms of shopping choice. I don't think that is the case any longer. Priory Meadow is not massive by any means but it does offer a good choice of major stores. Marks and Spencer, WH Smith, Game, BHS, HMV, Boots, Next, H Samuel and Waterstones being just a few examples. An effective pedestrianization of nearby roads has helped matters too. Debenhams, another major and popular store, is in Robertson Street. This road has also been pedestrianized and Debenhams have spent a mountain of cash improving the multiple floor department store.

There is a down side though. Whilst Priory Meadow and most of the surrounding roads appear successful in attracting passing trade the upper end of Queens Road appears to suffer and looks rather tired. The toy store, Gamleys, along with plenty of other long established stores closed due to lack of trade.Where these buildings have become occupied they have mainly become charity shops, hairdressers and "get cash fast outlets". In principle there's nothing wrong with any of these but the road now appears to have been somewhat taken over by them. Queens Road is the first part of the town you see if you come in via the A21, I reckon it could give a disappointing first impression.

But, on the whole, things have got a lot better for shopping in Hastings and certainly there is no longer the need to travel 15 miles or so to Eastbourne to find a few decent shops.

In fact Eastbourne's own Arndale Centre is now looking decidedly dated compared to Priory Meadow and I can imagine that with so many new food outlets also being in the town we must now be attracting many a regular visitor from that area.

"Late and Live" is a Christmas seasonal promotion by Priory Meadow where the shops open late on Thursday nights and free musical entertainment is provided. In fact the Priory Meadow square has become a sort of central hub for the town. The opening of the town's pantomime now takes place there and it is more than large enough to have housed an ice skating rink in recent years at Christmas. Father Christmas usually sets up home outside Marks and Spencer's in the main undercover section of the precinct.

As regards to car parking there is plenty available. Priory Meadow has it's own massive car park and there are plenty of other car parks nearby should that one fill. Disabled drivers may wish to note that Shopmobility is situated on level 8 of Priory Meadow's car park.