Built on the site of the former Morley sewage works in March 1997, the shopping centre was the first of its kind in Leeds. Residents in the south of the city watched as the £64million pound development sprung to life, a 76-acre site equivalent to the size of 246 Olympic swimming pools. There have been a raft of changes over the last 25 years, but here is what the centre looked like in its opening week.
All images courtesy of White Rose.
1.
White Rose was opened on March 25, 1997, a £64 million pound development on the site of the former Morley sewage works
2.
Works commenced to build White Rose on July 10, 1995, and took 87 weeks
3.
1.3 million bricks were used during construction. If placed end to end, these would cover 2,020 miles - the same distance from Morley to Tenerife
4.
Twice as much steel was used in the construction of White Rose than Blackpool Tower
5.
White Rose diverts 100 per cent of its waste from landfill – more than 70 per cent of waste produced on-site is recycled
6.
The distance to walk from one end of White Rose to the other is 1⁄4 mile