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Via Southside happenings I see that the new Silverburn shopping centre in Pollok opens today.

I’ve had the miserable experience of visiting the Tesco supermarket that opened some time back on a couple of occasions (vast impersonal space with narrow lanes and strange availability of certain items), and often wondered when the main centre was due to open. Since joining a running club I’ve run past it twice, including last night.

As we walked through the various pedestrian crossings, I commented to one of my fellow runners that the car dominates the area there. Admittedly we were at a motorway junction, and ‘pedestrians’ (well, runners) play very much second fiddle to the car out of necessity, the pedestrian considerations felt very “oh, don’t forget…” bolt-on-in-a-hurry variety. Also very American: I’ve been caught out trying to walk across 8 lane roads when pedestrian signals went from green to red in about 5 seconds before we’d even reached half way….

Scotland is already very car-focused (to me, at least). The drive-everywhere mentality I’ve observed in the US whereby a short walk across a mall is replaced by a short car excursion can’t be that far away for some. In defence of Silverburn though, it’s not exactly a hotspot of nightlife, and there aren’t many pedestrians crossing the bridge because there’s not much other than a long and busy A-road past some offices and through some golf clubs for a couple of miles on the other side.

The Herald gives a preview, and includes a list of the shops to be found there. I am intrigued to see Yo Sushi will be there: Sushi is a bit thin on the ground in Glasgow, and it may tempt me out there although I’ve found Yo’s portion sizes derisory on previous visits. More wafers of fish rather than slices. Yo aside, it still feels like the same names are there, presenting another homogenised experience, to further undermine the variety we seem keen to do away with, with our spending choices.

I do so dislike large, impersonal and cookie-cut shopping centres stores I’m not going to be rushing out in a hurry, despite the assurances that it’s got variety, has “curves and crescents, civic spaces” and is “the first non-mall shopping centre“.

I suppose I can’t help but wonder what £350m (or even even just a tiny fraction of that) spending might have done to places like Shawlands and other smaller, regional, shopping areas/streets which desperately need some investment to help them out. Right now it feels like the council and governments are giving big business what they want (Bigger! Shinier! Out of Town! Shops!), and forgetting about the little guys. And we are tacitly supporting it all by spending our money there.

Update 8/Nov/2007 - So Frances went along to Silverburn earlier, and came back decidedly unimpressed. Felt it didn’t “feel” particularly like the largest mall in Scotland, and that the shops seemed decidedly poky in size (Those of them that were open).

The selection of shops also “nothing special”. But she is difficult to impress: I should know! Anyway, the Silverburn website is also a rather poor affair, so given I’m sad like this, here’s the list of shops I know many folk are hunting for when they reach this webpage. Transcribe from a flyer.

Not all shops are currently open

Crescent

• Mark’s & Spencer
• Claire’s Accessories
• T Mobile
• Game
• Superdrug
• Optical Express
• JJB Sports
• New Look
• Bennetton & Sisley
• Monsoon
• H&M
• Kurt Geiger
• Office
• Jane Normal
• Coast
• Body Shop
• 3 Store
• Gravity
• Wallis
• Principles
• Ernest Jones
• Frankie & Benny’s
• Parchment
• Muse
• Passion for Perfume
• M&S Cafe

The Square

• Lime Blue
• Red
• Thortons
• Debenhams
• La Senza
• Bank
• Swarovski
• Little VIPS
• Sole Trader
• Starbucks
• Prezzo
• La Tasca
• Rox
• Beaverbrooks
• Phase Eight
• Hobbs
• LK Bennett
• Pure Spa (Level 1)
• Yo Sushi
• Fuel

The Lane

• Carphone warehouse
• Tresspass
• Barratts
• Oasis
• Warehouse
• Clarks
• Burtons
• Dorothy Perkins
• Topman
• Topshop
• Clinton Cards
• Quiz
• Vision Express
• Republic
• Evans
• Schuh
• JD Sports

The Circus

• River Island
• Boots
• Zara
• Next
• Tesco
• Coffee Republic
• Phones 4 U
• Holland & Barrett
• Build A Bear
• Argos
• H Samuel
• Dolcis
• Costa

To repeat: Not all shops are currently open

The Garden

• Coming 2008

And me?

I’m struck that the list of shops (transcribed from a handout Frances brought back) seems to be practically identical to the shops I’ve seen at every other Mall I’ve ever had the misfortune of going to. Yawn. I think I’ll be staying as far away as I can manage.