The Frenchgate Centre (Doncaster)
Recommendation added: 18/08/2006 02:58
By: erika26 (YSUK rating +44)erika26 has been thanked 5 times for this contribution
"Amongst all the re-generation going on in Doncaster town centre and the surrounding area lies one particular place that seems stuck in the past. With all the new sculptures, seating areas, posh eateries and hip n happening nightclubs that Doncaster now has to offer it is suprising that they've forgotten about one of the most important places and left it to rot away. The place that i'm talking about is the Frenchgate Centre, formerly called Arndale.
Doncaster Frenchgate Centre is a shopping mall which lies bang in the middle of the town and is our only shopping mall (not including the Yorkshire Outlet) What a disappointment it must be for those tourists who come to Doncaster for shopping. Yes Doncaster is good for shopping, No the Frenchgate Centre isn't. Well actually that's not strictly true, you can find good shops there but there are many downsides which kind of put a cloud over it. I myself have a love - hate relationship with the Frenchgate Centre. I love it because it holds so many fond memories for me of growing up and hanging out with my mates and chatting boys up, I hate it because it is going downhill fast and no-one seems to be doing anything about it.
One problem I have with this place is the amount of shops that have been closed down and haven't re-opened as anything. This leaves the place looking rather dilapidated and empty. Upstairs in one corner there are no less than 6 vacant blocks just waiting to be leased out which gives visitors an impression that Doncaster is going downhill and suffering a depression. Oh how I wish they'd do something about it.
But I don't want to put any tourists off from visiting the Frenchgate Centre or Doncaster. After all, the Frenchgate Centre isn't the be all and end all of life. Like I say, there are some points about this mall that I love so I will try to be as descriptive as I can in my account so you can judge for yourself.
What is the general layout like?
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The layout is a lot better than some places i've visited to shop. I hate malls that are like a spiders webs which go off in every direction possible and you have no hope of finding your way from a to b (think Meadowhall/Meadowhell). By contrast Frenchgate Centre is just a large rectangular building with an upstairs and a downstairs, much easier on the old feet. If you can't find your way around there must be something up with you.
What about the parking?
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The parking is pretty good, although it used to be a lot better. Above the Frenchgate Centre on the roof is a large (ish) car park which can be accessed from the side. To park here costs roughly 70p an hour although i'm not exactly sure as I tend to park further towards the outside of town where it isn't so busy. There used to be a car park just opposite the mall on the top of the North bus station but as the bus station is in the process of being knocked down to make an interchange the car parking has now been cut by half.
And the shops themselves?
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You can find all the standard shopping mall shops here such as Woolworths, BHS, WHSmiths and Sainsbury. I will go through a few of them step by step and give you some information and my personal opinion on them.
Woolworths - This is one of the better shops in the Frenchgate Centre. It spans two floors and is fairly large in size, although by no means is it a Big W. On the lower floor is the sweets/chocolate (of which they have vast amounts) and the household goods (kitchen gadgets, bathroom furnishings etc etc) On the upper floor you can find the multi-media section and all the childrens items such as toys and clothes. There is also a smoke-free cafe upstairs which is pretty expensive and not that nice.
BHS - I have to admit that this is not one of my favourite shops although I have been known to venture into the household section once or twice. Although the Frenchgate Centre is on 2 levels, BHS actually has 3 levels. This is because they have all their household goods and mens clothes down in the basement area. On the ground floor are all the womens clothes and a few gift ideas. I don't actually like many of the clothes from BHS so have only actually bought a couple of nightwear items from this section. On the upper level is the childrens section where they sell clothes and a few toys, this is where I tend to go as I like to buy the odd few things for my son from here. There is also a BHS cafe which again, just like Woolies, is overpriced and pretty poor food quality.
WHSmiths - Just like BHS this shop has a basement floor where you can purchase all your DVDs, CDs, Videos and singles. On the ground floor are all the magazines, on the upper floor are the books and games. Not much to say on this shop as most WHSmiths are virtually the same as each other.
Sainsburys - I never shop at Sainsburys as i'm too stingy but my Father drags me in to buy his weekly bottle of wine. This shop is by no means a Sainsbury Superstore but it does sell a pretty impressive range for a shop which is fairly small.
Select - I hate this clothes shop. Yes it may sell womens clothes at a pretty cheap price but the quality of the goods is also cheap. Select is also pretty much found in every mall going, although frankly I don't know why. At least our Select is very small so you can ignore it.
Greggs - Now then, in my opinion Greggs do the best sandwiches you can find anywhere. I love this shop. They sell everything from cakes, pastries, soup, sandwiches, pies, yummy yummy. When i'm in town I always pop into one of the Greggs shops (we have about 5 in the centre) and they've never let me down yet.
Some Chinese/Japanese/Asian place that I can't remember the name of - Well like I said I can't remember the name but I just had to tell you about this place. They sell things like herbal remedies, bonsai trees, insense sticks. Basically this shop is a load of rubbish. Now i'm not saying that all shops like this are rubbish, what i'm saying is THIS particular shop is rubbish. They usually have at least 4 staff members sauntering around the shop without a single customer in sight. Wonder how long it will be before it closes down. Mmmm, not long I bet.
Burger King - Situated close to the outside of the Frenchgate Centre it is my prefered choice over McDonalds which is just across the road. We all know what Burger King sells so I won't go into that one.
Argos - Two doors away from BHS is a pretty small Argos. Sometimes this shop can be horrendously busy so avoid it at all costs during Christmas.
Boots - Situated in the middle of Argos and BHS is Boots. I don't know what other Boots are like but this one seems to have loads of bargains. I often just pop in to have a browse round. On the lower floor are all the cosmetics and toiletry type things, on the upper floor are the baby items and electrical goods. My last bargains purchased here were boxes of luxury Belgian chocolates reduced from 8 pound each to 1. Well I picked up 4 boxes immediately.
Superdrug - This shop is a fairly recent addition as it was to be found around the outside of the Frenchgate Centre previously. When C&A closed down Superdrug took up the lease of the shop and opened a huge one up. It is all on one level and sells everything from baby items, to make-up to electrical goods. Pretty similar to Boots really, just a bit cheaper on some purchases.
Well I think i've outlined a good number of shops but if you would like any more information on what can be found then do let me know. There are loads more than what I have listed but it would be silly to list them all.
Are there plenty of lifts?
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No, there are definitely no where near enough lifts for a mall. In the centre of the Frenchgate Centre are 2 see-through lifts which I don't use as you end up waiting ages for all the gangs of kids to stop farting around in them. There are also lifts in Boots and BHS but I can't honestly think of any more. I wrote a letter of complaint to our local newspaper concerning the lack of lifts and people miss-using them and it seems that a lot of people agree with me.
Is the mall easy for disabled people to visit?
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Trund le trucks ( well that is what I call them as I don't know their correct name) are available for hire at the information desk. Unfortunately at busy times they do require at least a few days notice of a booking. Apart from that there are disabled toilets on the ground floor and upper floor, these can also be found in Boots and BHS.
Whats the security like?
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The security in recent years has been upped. Gangs of kids now caught hanging around will be moved on, although you always get the odd few taking a permanent seat in the lifts and hiding from the security guards.
Any decent places to eat?
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No not particularly. Apart from Greggs and Couplands (sandwich shop) it's pretty much a load of pants when it comes to filling those tummies. Woolworths and BHS have cafes which I mentioned earlier but it is overpriced yucky food. The only other choice is Burger King, unless you wander outside where there are loads to choose from.
So what makes you love this place so much?
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I suppose it's the fact that i've spent so many years shopping here that it has all become very familiar and holds lots of memories for me. I know where all the shops are so it's easy to just pop into town and grab a quick bit of shopping. All the familiar household names such as Woolies can be found and it is easy to navigate around the mall.
So what makes you dislike it so much?
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The fact that it's going downhill very fast and it gives people a bad impression of Doncaster. There are far too many vacant shops which have either closed down because they've moved premises, or closed because they were rubbish. With all the re-generation and modernisation going on in Doncaster it is unbelievable that they have left this place to go to pot.
Would I recommend the Frenchgate Centre then?
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Mmm m, now this is a tricky question. I wouldn't want to put people off Doncaster because it is fast becoming the place to be, but i'm sorry to say that the Frenchgate Centre lets it down. I'm sure at some point in the future plans will be put into action to make changes here, at the moment though I would probably recommend you stick to shopping outside of the Frenchgate Centre as there are tons of other shops in Doncaster anyway.
UPDATE - The Frenchgate Centre has recently undergone a lot of change. It's been re-developed, regenerated and rejuvenated. It's definitely worth a look now."
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