SO now we have the biggest shopping centre in Europe on our doorstep. Two weeks ago the MetroCentre regained its crown with the opening of the Red Mall amid much razzmatazz. The new mall is anchored firmly on newcomer Debenhams. There's more parking, a new public transport interchange and in its first week alone, more than half a million shoppers went to see if the new mall lived up to expectations. So did we...

The MetroCentre, frankly, had been looking a bit tired. It is, after all, 18 years old. Inevitably, the initial sparkle has worn a bit thin and as Marks & Spencer foundered in the doldrums, it had a general dispiriting effect.

The original Red Mall had always been a bit gloomy, so the time was right for a change.

The good news now is that the new Red Mall is big and light and airy, and lifts that whole section. Instead of a gloomy, easily ignored mall, it's positively inviting. Pedestrian ways from the multi-storey car park open right into Debenhams. Everything is clean and easy and well signposted.

So far, so good.

Debenhams itself is a disappointment. It's very nicely laid out - much more spacious than House of Fraser - and pleasant to walk around. There are seats, a lounge for card holders, and personal shoppers who are pleasant and knowledgeable. They really know their stuff.

They have Topshop, Oasis, Warehouse and labels such as J by Jasper Conran, Coast, St George by Duffer and more.

But... "Young Fashion," says the sign in womenswear and that, pretty much, is all there is. Fine if you're under 30, but not much good for grown-ups. And surely the whole point of a department store like Debenhams is that it's meant to appeal to everyone. While teens and twentysomethings flicked happily through the racks, you could hear the disappointed mutters from their mothers.

Other new stores open in the mall include H&M - always good for sharp, cheap fashions, Spanish chain Zara, French Connection, Karen Millen, a big new River Island, Schuh, Faith, Jones Bootmaker, New Look, Mango and Pumpkin Patch, and the UK's first Bershka store will open shortly.

But Karen Millen was already available in House of Fraser. New Look and River Island have closed their shops in other parts of the MetroCentre to open up in Red Mall though, granted, New Look's store will be much bigger.

Other new shops include The Pier, which most of us have previously known only through mail order, so is good to find in the flesh and, right next door to Debenhams, the Professional Cookware Company, which has some serious kitchen equipment, often at serious prices. You just feel they could turn you instantly into a Delia or a Nigella.

More people are apparently coming from further away and using public transport to get to the MetroCentre, which is just as well, for despite the extra spaces, it's still not easy to find a parking space. At 11.30 on a Monday morning we had to hunt. On Saturday, cars weren't so much parked as simply abandoned as people got fed up of driving round in circles.

But, management assures us, there are plenty of parking spaces as long as people try using the new multi-storey, which also has direct access to the mall.

The opening of the Red Mall certainly seems to have given the rest of the MetroCentre a lift. In the face of competition from Debenhams, House of Fraser seems to have sharpened up its act, and staff in Marks & Spencer are going out of their way to be helpful. There is definitely a new buzz about the place.

You either love the MetroCentre or you don't. If you didn't like it before, then the Red Mall is not going to change your mind. But if you already enjoyed the vast array of High Street names, the convenience and the ease of it, then with the opening of the Red Mall, you'll love it just a little more.

TRIED AND TASTED

MARKS & SPENCER TWIN

YOGHURT POTS

While we were in the MetroCentre, we wandered into the food section of Marks & Spencer - of course - and picked up some of their new fruit and yoghurt duo pots, a sort of upmarket version of Muller Corners.

They included Greek-style natural yoghurt with raspberry, fig and cinnamon compote, £1.29 for 240g; Greek-style natural yoghurt with apricot, orange blossom honey and almond compote, £1.29 for 240g; and low fat natural bio yoghurt with crunch sultana granola, 99p for 215g.

Expensive but delicious. The yoghurt was good but what really made the difference was the fruit. Instead of the all-purpose, sickly sweet anonymous goo you get in most such concoctions, these were actually recognisable fruit - chunks of fig and raspberries, slices of apricot and whole almonds.

These are a real treat - great for a snack, a posh pudding, or if you're expecting someone special for breakfast.

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