Chapelfield Shopping Centre

Since my last review, I feel the centre has lost some of its appeal. There are quite a few empty units in the centre. Also after visiting the Westfield Centre’s in London and Stratford City, and seeing the possibilities that large centres have, Chapelfield seems to be losing ground fast.
The new corporate look of ‘intu’ doesn’t really work for Chapelfield. It needs a local identity that it had before the rebrand. What exactly is an ‘Intu’ and how does it make the centre better? The centre only being a few years old looks like it could do with a refit. The wood veneer seems very dated.
Many of the original retailers have gone, being replaced with others that fail to fill the gap. Borders was replaced with a hardware store. Esprit with a Café Rouge. Seldom comes better I feel.
The dining terrace offers nothing new, with a good portion of it with empty units. McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, KFC and Spud-​u-​like are available in most towns and cities. Chopstix and Eds make a slight improvement. The better food outlets are outside the centre in the area adjacent to the main entrance. The two shoe shops seem to be relics of better times on the plain when the area was dedicated to fashion and not food. I feel the centre would be benefit if all the eateries were in one area, surely this is the purpose of a dedicated dining area.
The centre seems to attract lots and lots of teenagers. This can be off putting when shopping. Especially when they just seem to hang around and sit on the floor on the dining terrace.
The shopping centre leaks in places when it rains!
The most annoying thing is when certain stores close early, whilst the centre is still trading. This is so disappointing when you have made a special trip to the centre and the centre is open and the store is closed. It rather defeats the object of late night shopping. A centre of this size needs to open much longer all year round. Many a time I have considered catching a train down to Stratford or the capital.
Being right next door to Chapelfield Gardens I am surprised that the centre does not utilise this jewel of the city environment.
Finally, car park fees are quite expensive.

this is absolutely one of the best mall in norwich, really attractive and near to public transports! the shops are providing us with a large choice of clothes, stuff and everything. I did like going there when I was an erasmus student!