Archives: Community

Whiteley Shopping Centre has unveiled a new book swap area for visitors to share and exchange books for free.

The initiative aims to inspire the community to get reading by providing access to stories free of charge and helping people to be more sustainable.

So far, more than 150 books have been donated by the local community alongside Whiteley’s team and retailers to stock up the shelves, with readers encouraged to return the book once finished or replace with another to keep the cycle going if they are able to.

The bookcase, which was gifted to the centre by a local resident, is located in Market Square, and novels currently available include everything from rom coms by Marian Keyes and Elizabeth Noble to thrillers by James Dashner and David Gemmell.

The Whiteley team have spent the last five months working on a recycling project at Whiteley Shopping Centre, asking the local community, schools as well as all the stores and restaurants to get involved in the collection of plastic bottle tops. The aim was to create a large woodland themed mural, which is now on display on the Whiteley Stage for September.

We have collected over 6000 bottle tops and the collection is still going, anyone is welcome to donate plastic lids (any size or colour) into the collection bin located just inside the public toilet by Market Square until the end of September 2023. All the remaining bottle tops will be donated to a local charity recycling scheme and to Eco Artist and Designer, Sarah Turner, who is currently creating our 10-year anniversary sculpture, made entirely from recycled materials.

During Carers Week, young carers in Winchester presented a showcase of creative work they have produced with professional artists over five months. The showcase, which took place on 14 June, is part of art:space, a national multi-arts project run by Create, the UK’s leading charity empowering lives through the creative arts, in partnership with British Land.

art:space is designed to give young carers creative and social time away from their caring responsibilities. During school holidays throughout the year, young carers taking part in art:space collaborate on artwork in a variety of artforms, guided by Create’s professional artists.

Create’s Co-Founder & Chief Executive, Nicky Goulder, said: “Participating in creative activities is a great way of expressing yourself and socialising. School holidays can be a period of heightened responsibility for young carers and it’s important for wellbeing that respite is found away from their duties as carers.  Thanks to our partnership with British Land, our art:space projects offer an environment for self-expression, socialising, building confidence and having fun. I’m looking forward to seeing the results of their collaborative work!”

Former Centre Manager at Whiteley, Neil Carter, said: “Whiteley has been working with Winchester & District Young Carers and Create for three years. In that time, we have seen many young carers grow in confidence through the workshops Create arranges, and that in itself is reward enough. Our team and retailers have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of such a fabulous project.”

Create’s work with young carers has been the subject of an award-winning animation produced by Bournemouth University film students, as winners of the Kingston Smith 2016 Creative Vision awards:

The showcase took place on 14 June , 6-7.15pm, at The Vault at University Centre on the University of Winchester’s King Alfred Campus.

Come and see The Solent’s newly refurbished restuarant, spa, event space and bedrooms on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd February. The famous Shire Horses will also be in town on the Sunday for some amazing photo opportunities! 

This exclusive offer is only available on the 2nd and 3rd February, so don’t miss your chance to access all areas. They’ll also have compliementary food and drink tasters, free spa treatments and interactive talks plus a voucher booklet for visitors- worth over £100 each. 

There will also be a prize draw on the day, where five lucky winners will be in with the chance of winning one of the following prizes: 

• An annual Spa Membership
• Weekend for two at the Solent Hotel and spa including dinner, spa treatments, and champagne
• Sunday lunch for two for every month for a year at the Solent Hotel and Spa
• A spa day for two, including lunch
• Five tickets to a tribute night of your choice in 2019. 

For further information, click here.

We welcome pre-booked visits from schools to Whiteley Shopping Centre.

Whiteley Shopping Centre is private property and a popular location for geography field trips – as such we require all schools to contact the centre in advance to arrange their visit. Please do contact the management team on the details below at least a week prior to your intended visit date to ensure the trip is able to be booked in.  

The team will be able to provide information on where to park safely, site rules and supply you with our centre fact sheet and sustainability documents.

Please call 01489 566000 or email [email protected]

Whilst we may be unusually quiet at the moment, we have been working alongside our local community. We thought you might like to know what we’re up to.

We want to let you know a little more about the people working in Whiteley right now. Whilst we may be unusually quiet at the moment, we thought you might like to know what we’re up to. These are the people working throughout this crisis to ensure our community gets what it needs and stays as safe as possible whilst doing it. They are our heroes.

This is Mark from Marks and Spencer. Mark is an in store trained baker and one of the people responsible for ensuring we all get enough bread throughout this pandemic.

Mark stepped up to keep working because he knows this gives someone else in the team the opportunity to step back and care for their dependants. As one of only a few trained bakers in store, the team have had to be flexible to ensure they are there to bake as often as possible to try and keep up with demand.

As well as bringing us our bread, Mark has also been taking care of his 81-year-old aunt in remission from cancer with regular food deliveries to her doorstep.

From us to you, thank you Mark.

We want to let you know a little more about the people working in Whiteley right now. Whilst we may be unusually quiet at the moment, we thought you might like to know what we’re up to. These are the people working throughout this crisis to ensure our community gets what it needs and stays as safe as possible whilst doing it. They are our heroes.

This is Chrissie from Holland & Barrett. Chrissie has been working round the clock to ensure her customers are able to still get their vital vitamins and specialist food during the pandemic. Many of her customers rely on the store for remedies to ease ailments such as arthritis and rheumatism.

Chrissie stepped up to keep working because even though she misses seeing her parents, her situation means she can allow other staff members to remain safe at home. 

Chrissie feels as though Holland and Barrett have taken great care of her whilst she works with extra screens, masks, gloves and sanitiser.

From us to you, thank you Chrissie.

We want to let you know a little more about the people working in Whiteley right now. Whilst we may be unusually quiet at the moment, we thought you might like to know what we’re up to. These are the people working throughout this crisis to ensure our community gets what it needs and stays as safe as possible whilst doing it. They are our heroes.

This is Justin from Boots. Before the pandemic, Justin worked in Whiteley store assisting customers with fragrance and electrical products. Since the pandemic, Justin’s role has changed completely.

As soon as Justin saw how busy the number of prescriptions coming into the company had become, he knew he had to help and immediately offered his services, requesting a redeployment to the driver hub.

This change of role now means that Justin supports the delivery team to keep the number of home prescription deliveries stable for customers and care home services. This obviously puts Justin at greater risk but he wanted to step up to support his community, colleagues and Boots.

Justin says he’s so proud of the team at Boots Whiteley and how they’ve all supported each other throughout this time.

From us to you, thank you Justin.

We want to let you know a little more about the people working in Whiteley right now. Whilst we may be unusually quiet at the moment, we thought you might like to know what we’re up to. These are the people working throughout this crisis to ensure our community gets what it needs and stays as safe as possible whilst doing it. They are our heroes.

This is Elliot from the Whiteley Service Team. Elliot is responsible for keeping our malls and back of house areas clean, safe and operational at all times. He’s part of a small team of people responsible for ensuring everyone that comes to Whiteley is a safe as possible.

Since the pandemic started Elliot has taken on an extra hours to support his colleagues. Elliot lives with his mum, dad and little sister who is asthmatic so is constantly worried about bringing the virus home to his family. He says he still comes to work though because he has a duty to maintain the centre and make sure everything is clean and safe for our retailers and our community. If he has one message for you, it’s to please only come out to Whiteley if it’s for essential shopping and remember to keep 2 metres away at all times.

From us to you, thank you Elliot.