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Braehead (, The Online Scots Dictionary Scots Language Centre: Scottish Place Names in Scots Scottish Gaelic: Ceann a' Bhruthaich) is a commercial development located at the former site of Braehead Power Station in Renfrew on the south bank of the River Clyde in Renfrew, Renfrewshire. It is particularly notable for its large Shopping center, Braehead Arena and leisure facilities.
The area is known for its shopping centre of the same name, which was Rebranding as Intu Braehead in 2013 and kept that name until 2020. The rebranding was done as part of a corporate rebranding exercise by Capital Shopping Centres plc, which itself was renamed as Intu.
The initial castle at Renfrew was constructed on King's Inch in the 12th century by Walter Fitz-Alan, High Steward of Scotland.however It was deserted in the 13th century and substituted by a stone castle in what currently stands as the centre of Renfrew. By the latter portion of the 15th century, Sir John Ross was obtained the lands of Inch along with the remains of this castle, where he erected a three-storey castle known as the Inch Castle.
In 1769, the King's Inch was purchased by Glasgow Tobacco Lords Alexander Speirs, who demolished Inch Castle in order to build a country mansion, Elderslie House. Completed in 1782 (demolished in 1924), Elderslie House was designed by Robert Adam.
About 200 stores and homes in Renfrew and Clydebank had their windows shattered by the explosion, which was heard throughout the entire Greater Glasgow region and sent flying debris as far as 2.8 kilometres away. The explosion is estimated to have cost £6 million in damage. In large part due to the National Bank Holiday in observance of Hogmanay celebrations, there were no deaths. Twelve people required treatment for shock and minor injuries.
Sited within the same building as the shopping centre is the Braehead Arena and other facilities including an ice rink. In 2000, its curling facilities hosted the World Championships, and in 2005 they were used as training facilities when the Women's World Championships were being held in Paisley.
On 7 October 2011, a father was stopped by security and questioned by police under anti-terror legislation after photographing his daughter at an ice-cream stall. This resulted in a social media backlash and statements from both Braehead's management and Strathclyde Police.
As of January 2013, a planning application was submitted to Renfrewshire Council for 'permission in principle' to build a new mixed-use development at the centre.
In 2018, Braehead was named the top Scottish shopping centre in a GlobalData report.
Following Intu Properties plc entering administration in June 2020, a subsidiary of the company called Intu SGS received funding to take full control of the centre along with Lakeside, Victoria Centre and Intu Watford. The transfer from Intu to Intu SGS is expected to take place by the end of 2020, and will involve Global Mutual becoming asset manager of the centres and Savills serving as property manager.
In 2020, it was reported that Braehead Shopping Centre was trialling the use of full-body security scanners at the entrance.
The museum had been built by and was subsidised by the owners of the shopping centre, but after they withdrew support the museum became financially unviable and Scottish Maritime Museum were forced to close it and transfer its exhibits to their other sites at Irvine and Dumbarton.
The building is now occupied by Krispy Kreme.
The Snow Factor indoor snow slope featured a 168 m (551 ft) main slope with an additional dedicated beginners' area for ski and snowboard lessons. On the main slope, two Poma button lifts gave a drag tow to the top and could be exited either at the halfway point on the slope or at the top. Rope tows were used on the beginners slope.
In December 2011, SNO! Zone Braehead was acquired by the Ice Factor Group and renamed Snow Factor. Snow Factor closed permanently in 2023 due to rising costs and the age of the facility.
In March 2006, weeks before the complex was scheduled to open, the roof of screen seven of the Odeon fell in and required extensive re-building. The mini-golf (which is housed below the cinema) opened in July 2006. The cinema opened on 19 October 2007, 18 months later than planned. "Stardust" was the first film shown. The cinema is fitted with RealD 3D (also known as Disney Digital 3-D technology) in screen 7, and is also capable of showing IMAX films. The cinema held the Scottish Pink Carpet Premiere of Universal Pictures film "Wild Child" on 30 July 2008. Both stars of the film, Emma Roberts and Alex Pettyfer, attended.
In March 2018, an 18-metre (59 ft) high slide, known as The Big Slide, opened to the general public. It is the tallest indoor slide in the UK. [5]
It has been announced that the ski slope structure is to being removed by the owners to create a multi level indoor ekarting track that is scheduled to open in 2025. at over 1,000m the track will be one of the largest indoor tracks in the world.
To the south of the shopping centre is a small development called Braehead Business Park.
A road bridge between Renfrew and Yoker on the north bank of the Clyde was constructed in 2024, First section of new Renfrew Bridge arrives on Clyde, BBC News, 24 April 2024 Final section of Renfrew Bridge floated up the Clyde, BBC News, 17 May 2024 providing easier access to Braehead for residents in that sector of the city.
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