If you're a shopper - then ALL your dreams are going to come true in a few years time. One of the largest shopping centres in the UK is coming a few minutes walk from Leabank Square!

All you're going to have to do is walk over the new footbridge across the canal - and through the Olympic park.

Westfield Stratford City, which is due to open in 2011, will house 300 shops and restaurants. The development will dominate the East London retail catchment, with brands jostling for supremacy with 1.2m ft2 site that will form the gateway to London 2012's Olympic Park.

The site will also act as a hub for those travelling to the new Stratford International Station, using Eurostar services from Europe.

Marks & Spencer has joined Waitrose and John Lewis to become one of the first retailers to commit to the site. M&S has signed a contract with the developer to establish a flagship store in the area.

Westfield Stratford City will also provide leisure and entertainment opportunities. The Chestnut Plaza outdoor shopping and dining space will host concerts and events as it looks to establish itself as a cultural destination.

Nick Gray, managing director at retail design agency Live & Breathe, which works with Zavvi and Bluewater, claims the development's 'community feel' will sustain it.
'It is not just a regular shopping centre,' he says. 'A community is being built around it that will attract a wider consumer audience. It is likely to provide a blueprint for future shopping centres in the UK and abroad.'

Planners hope the 180-acre Stratford City site, which will eventually also include offices, hotels and about 5,000 new homes, will be a magnet for further regeneration investment in the Lower Lea Valley area around the Olympic park.

If you want to see whats around the corner - then see: http://www.stratfordcityevent.co.uk/