Trago Mills
Encyclopedia
Chain store
Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses. In retail, dining and many service categories, chain businesses...
of British department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
s situated in the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
. They are sited in the town of Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
, and on the outskirts of two other towns at Liskeard
Liskeard
Liskeard is an ancient stannary and market town and civil parish in south east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Liskeard is situated approximately 20 miles west of Plymouth, west of the River Tamar and the border with Devon, and 12 miles east of Bodmin...
, Cornwall and Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580....
, Devon. Large department stores were formerly sparse in the rural west country and Trago Mills has endeavoured to fill this gap. The stores' approach to business is to provide a wide variety of stock at low prices. A new store in Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil is a town in Wales, with a population of about 30,000. Although once the largest town in Wales, it is now ranked as the 15th largest urban area in Wales. It also gives its name to a county borough, which has a population of around 55,000. It is located in the historic county of...
, South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
has been planned for several years and will begin construction in Spring 2011.
Development
A38 road
The A38, part of which is also known as the Devon Expressway, is a major A-class trunk road in England.The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, making it one of the longest A-roads in England. It was formerly known as the Leeds — Exeter Trunk Road,...
, has several acres of parkland and lakes stocked with Koi Carp
Koi
or more specifically , are ornamental varieties of domesticated common carp that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens....
. It also accommodates several independent businesses, including a newsagent, a butcher and a bakery. The Liskeard store attracts shoppers from all over Cornwall, as well as Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
. A particularly distinguishing feature of Trago Mills is the architecture of the buildings at Liskeard and Newton Abbot designed by Charles Hunt of St Neot, Liskeard, Cornwall who was appointed architect in 1978. The buildings have an almost castle like appearance, with tall towers clad in white with black framed windows. The Falmouth store is the smallest of the three, and it is sited near the National Maritime Museum Cornwall
National Maritime Museum Cornwall
The National Maritime Museum Cornwall is located in a harbourside building at Falmouth in Cornwall. The building was designed by architect M. J...
. The Newton Abbot site is the largest of the three and covers over 100 acre (0.404686 km²) of land and includes the Trago Mills Leisure Park
Trago Mills Leisure Park
Trago Mills Leisure Park is situated at Trago Mills Regional Shopping Centre, Newton Abbot, and covers over . It was opened shortly after the construction of the permanent store buildings, and has continued to grow since then...
, including The Bickington Steam Railway
Bickington Steam Railway
Located at Trago Mills Regional Shopping Center, Newton Abbot, the Minimum gauge Bickington Steam Railway was opened in 1988, using equipment recovered from the Suffolk Wildlife Park, which itself was taken from Rudyard Lake. It was built by Brian Nicholson, the headmaster of Waterhouses School in...
and the Trago Mills Model Railway
Trago Mills Model Railway
The Trago Mills Model Railway is one of the largest OO gauge model railways in the UK, situated within the Leisure Park at Trago Mills shopping centre, Newton Abbot....
, one of the largest model railways in England, as featured on Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
. Akin to the Liskeard site Newton Abbot is home to several independent businesses, predominantly food based with fish & chips, Pasta King, TJ's Burger Bar, Warrens Bakery
Warrens Bakery
Warrens Bakery is a family-owned chain of bakeries from St Just in Penwith, Cornwall. It is among the best known makers of Cornish pasties and Cornish saffron cake in the county, and has over 50 shops throughout the south-west of England...
, and the Pinochio's chain which alone runs four separate outlets. Other non food-based shops include World Of Mobility, an old time sweetshop, a jewellery shop, a small Co-Op Outlet (run by the nearby Co-Op Supermarket), a flower stall and a well stocked fruit and veg stall.
In October 2004 a large fire broke out in the main building of the Newton Abbot branch of Trago Mills. Thirty fire appliances and over 200 fire fighters tackled the blaze. The fire was the largest to occur in the county of Devon for several years. The building(s) involved are now completely rebuilt.
The chain is owned by local businessman Bruce Robertson, son of founder Mike Robertson. He has faced controversy for adverts which he took out in the local paper containing anti-homosexual views. Bruce is also a major supporter of United Kingdom Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
(UKIP), famously refusing to stop using imperial measures in his stores despite contravening European Union law. Despite his opposition to immigration from countries in Eastern Europe, Robertson was revealed in January 2007 to be employing around 30 migrants from Poland in his Newton Abbot store.
Trago Mills Ltd (Aircraft Division).
Scottish Aviation Bulldog
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fleet. The result was the Trago Mills SAH-1, which first flew on 23 August 1983.
The SAH-1 was passed over by the armed forces, and in the intervening years, the rights to the design have changed hands several times.