Touchwood is a popular shopping centre in Solihull, West Midlands, UK. It provides retail and entertainment services to the people in the region.
A private equity fund Lendlease Retail Partnership owns the shopping centre. Opened in September 2001, the centre doubled the retail space in the Solihull Town Centre.
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Lendlease in collaboration with John Lewis Partnership and local authorities developed the shopping centre.
Touchwood welcomed sportswear and footwear retailer Foot Locker in November 2019. The new 3,000ft² store is the latest addition to the shopping destination’s retail offering.
Lendlease planned to undertake an expansion of the shopping complex and received planning consent from Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in 2015. 3DReid was preferred as the design architect for the planned expansion.
Protesters opposed the expansion and alleged that the project would impact the town centre heritage. The plan is currently on hold and Lendlease has been in discussions with the Solihull Council.
Touchwood Shopping Centre location
Touchwood is located in the centre of Solihull, 14.48km away from the east of Birmingham. It is located off the M42 and in proximity to Solihull train station.
Touchwood can be accessed by private and public transport systems. Solihull is well connected to different parts of the West Midlands through bus services.
Touchwood Shopping Centre design and details
The shopping centre occupies an area of more than 650,000ft² and includes over 100 stores and restaurants. It contains 540,000ft² of retail space and 100,000ft² of the entertainment area.
The shopping and leisure destination houses multiple brands, including John Lewis, Apple, Superdry, Hollister, Paperchase, Swarovski, and Joules.
Other stores at the centre include H&M, Zara, Lush, Holland & Barrett, Next, and JD Sports.
Once approved, the proposed expansion project will add 115,000ft² of floor space and 30 new restaurants, cafes and shops to the Touchwood shopping centre.
Touchwood Shopping Centre dining, entertainment and amenities
The facility has multiple restaurant and dining options such as Pizza Express, Ashas, Jamaya, Wagamama, and Five Guys, in addition to Starbucks and Costa Coffee.
In February 2020, Touchwood announced that Japanese restaurant brand Yakinori will open a new outlet in the centre. The proposed restaurant will serve sushi, tempura, teriyaki, ramen, bento, and katsu curry.
Another major attraction at Touchwood is a nine-screen Cineworld theatre, offering a total of 1,855 seats. The theatre’s Superscreen auditorium has a seating capacity of 364 and is equipped with a 4K projector and Dolby Atmos speakers.
Touchwood has 1,700 car parking spaces with extra-wide parking bays. It features designated parking bays to meet the special needs of people with disabilities. The centre has two parking bays located to the left of the entrance and equipped with charging points for electric cars. Two-wheeler parking is available opposite to Orange Welcome Hall in Zone J and near Blue Welcome Hall in Zone A.
The centre also has cycle parks in different locations, including Touchwood Car Park, Jubilee Gardens, Theatre Square, and Cloister Walk.
In addition, Touchwood offers Shopmobility service in the Orange Welcome hall. The service allows visitors to hire scooters and wheelchairs for free.
The shopping centre includes a Changing Places toilet in the Orange Welcome Hall, next to Shopmobility. The toilet includes a hoist and bench for the convenience of disabled people.
Touchwood shopping centre uses a location-based mobile app to improve customer engagement. The app tracks users, while they walk around the shopping centre. It allows the centre to collect data on customer behaviour to send promotions and events to visitors.
Contractors involved
Civic Arts assisted Lendlease in preparing the design and architecture of the shopping centre. Vindico was contracted to manage tenant design approvals and fit-out.
Lacock Gullam worked with Lendlease and Workman to complete a review of all signage systems at the shopping complex. The work involved the installation of new directional signage.
