| The Howard Centre | |
| Location: | Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire |
| Manager: | Segro (1990-2004) Landsec (2004-2009) LaSalle (2009-present) |
| Developer: | Segro |
| Number Of Stores: | 50 (approx.) |
| Number Of Anchors: | 4 |
| Floor Area: | 230000square feet |
| Floors: | 2 |
| Parking: | 725 cars |
| Website: | howardcentre.co.uk |
The Howard Centre is a shopping centre in Welwyn Garden City. It is named after Sir Ebenezer Howard, founder of the garden city movement.
The centre was built by Tarmac Construction and opened in October 1990. It was owned and managed by Segro from 1990 until 2004 when ownership transferred to Landsec.[1] Landsec managed the centre until its disposal in October 2009 to LaSalle who have owned and managed it since.[2]
The centre provides 230000square feet of space set across two levels; anchor tenants include Boots, WHSmith, Monsoon and H&M. In April 2022, the then largest anchor store Marks & Spencer (occupying 84000square feet split across both floors at the centre's northern end[3]) closed their Howard Centre branch and relocated to Stevenage.[4]
The centre has direct access to Welwyn Garden City railway station, along with the rail ticket office within the centre itself, and is adjacent to the town's bus station. It is complemented by the John Lewis store which is nearby on Bridge Road.[5]