White Rose Centre

The White Rose Centre is a shopping centre in the Beeston area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It spans two floors and is near the M621 motorway. It takes its name from the White Rose of York, the traditional symbol of Yorkshire. Most shops are situated on the Ground Floor. The Upper Level mezzanine and ‘The Village’ outdoor expansion houses one of two food courts as well some retail outlets, a Cineworld 11-screen cinema, a Starbucks and an al fresco dining terrace including new tenants Wagamama, Prezzo, TGI Fridays and Five Guys among others. It also houses an outdoor children's play area. Although the centre is smaller than other out-of-town shopping centres, it contains large retailers such as Next, JD Sports, Zara, H&M, Primark, River Island and Marks & Spencer. The centre opened on 25 March 1997 and accommodated major tenants including Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer, Next, WHSmith, Primark, Zara, H&M, New Look, Boots and most recently Sky, with over 100 other stores and services. It contains eateries such as a McDonald's, KFC, Nando's, Starbucks, Subway, Frankie & Benny's, TGI Fridays, Graveleys, Five Guys, Krispy Kreme, multiple Costa Coffees and (newly added) Wetherspoons. The centre has 4,800 free car parking spaces, security and on-site police officers. The south part of the centre was re-developed in 2005 downsizing the Sainsbury's Savacentre to a regular Sainsbury's which made space for other units. Argos was moved into Sainsbury's in 2018. The centre has a bus station at the north end of the mall connecting it to suburban areas of Leeds and to the city centre. The centre has won awards including a British Council of Shopping Centres (BCSC) Gold Award, BCSC Purple apple, and Green apple awards. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the centre suffered the loss of two of its major tenants and most popular stores. Both Debenhams and Topshop closed all stores worldwide and went into administration. The centre also lost a Disney Store, Thorntons and a Thomas Cook travel store. In 2021, it was announced that Marks & Spencer would relocate from their current unit to the larger former Debenhams site, and the new store would open on 25 May 2023. On 20 October 2023, an M&S Opticians service would open within the store.