Change Ploughs On

Since starting this blog I've shown many photos from in and around the Regent Arcade shopping centre, but never the front. Well, here it is in all its 1980's glory! I have written about its history before, but here is a brief recap. The Regent Arcade was built in 1982-84 and cost £23 million. It has 78 shops, a roof top car park and is over 185,000 square feet in size. The Arcade was opened in May 1985 by Princess Anne.

Over recent months the Regent Arcade has been undergoing a makeover, with the marble and stone walls and pillars inside being replaced. It will be white and silver when it is completed. The front is also going to be changed, with a large arch way replacing the existing facade. This change is probably going to be the most noticed, as the front you can see today is almost identical to that of the previous building that was there. The site used to be The Plough Hotel, which dated back to 1654. It was one of Cheltenhams most popular hotels and inns. The yard that was behind the High Street hotel was the biggest in the country (hence the size of the present shopping centre.) But after the Second World War the Plough fell into disrepair and was never as popular as in its heyday. It was eventually demolished in 1980, despite the protest of locals who collected a 20,000 signature petition (that's a fifth of Cheltenhams population!)

Not surprisingly, there has been no similar petition regarding the planned changes to Regent Arcade.