This first-of-its-kind London shopping centre is getting a game-changing glow-up – with 150 new shops

Londoners who grew up pretty much anywhere north of the Thames will be familiar with the charms of Brent Cross. Whether you trawled its hallowed halls after your mum as she did the yearly Christmas shop or hung around the Fenwick parking lot with mates, it’s been a well-trodden staple for north Londoners for exactly half a century.

It seems hard to believe that when Brent Cross first opened in 1976 it was an entirely novel concept, becoming the first out-of-town shopping centre not just in London, but in the entire UK. As the decades have passed, BX has lost much of the glitzy newness of its early days. But that could all be about to change. 

Now celebrating its 50th birthday, Brent Cross is receiving a well-earned facelift. Plans for up to 150 news shops, 50 restaurants, a cinema complex and hotel will restore the shoppers’ paradise to the glory of its heyday.

The exact details and timescale for the new development haven’t yet been announced, but plans will be finalised by spring 2026. Barnet Council originally released redevelopment plans for Brent Cross in 2019, at which time the revamp was estimated to cost a whopping £1.4 billion.

The shopping haven’s transformation formed part of the borough’s wider vision for Brent Cross Town, which included ambitions for a new high street and town centre and a sparkly new Thameslink railway station.

Brent Cross West station opened in 2023, becoming the capital’s biggest new rail stop in over a decade. And its existence – a 20-minute walk or 12 minute bus ride from the shopping centre – makes journeying with arms full of retail therapy purchases that much easier.

Got a hankering to shop ’til you drop? Check out Time Out's guide to London’s best department stores here.

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