I have been shopping here for many years, and it has changed a lot. It has many of the big names…read moresuch as Boots, Beatties, M&S, Argos, Woolworths, WHSmith etc, and there are places to eat and drink like McDonalds, Costa coffee and Subway. The main parade area is pedestrianised, and they often have a farmers market and arts & crafts stalls on the main shopping street. At Christmas there is an impressive Santa`s grotto! New additions to Sutton are Aldi & Poundland. At the top of the parade is the historic old Town School building, which is now home to Sutton Baptist church, where on some days you can pop in and get a coffee and baked potatoe!

The Gracechurch Centre or, to give it it's ungrammatical and Americanised modern name: Mall…read moreGracechurch (I know, horrible innit?) is generally unloved among the locals. Built in 1974 by basically wiping out the middle of Sutton and starting again, the Gracechurch has been modified several times but still has the same basic shape. Beneath a sizeable multi-storey car-park, the shopping area is mostly covered and is clean and plenty spacious. A lot of shops come and go but the long-serving stalwarts are House of Fraser (formerly Beatties), WHSmiths, Marks & Spencers and Boots. The other shops are mostly filled with (women's) clothes. Locals often moan that the Gracechurch is full of rubbish shops and not enough local, independent traders. Ironically, whenever a local trader does try their luck, they soon shut down due to lack of custom. Compared to somewhere modern like Touchwood, the Gracechurch isn't great; compared to somewhere like the Saddlers Centre in Walsall, it's great. You can pretty much find everything you need up there or very nearby on the Parade. Back in the day the spaces in the Gracechurch were filled with oversize chess pieces, now there's a more helpful Information Kiosk, lots of benches and a jacket potato stand which has been there for as long as I can remember (and probably longer) and so can't be too bad.

Beatties is Sutton Coldfields big department store, sells everything from clothes to kids toys!…read moreFair prices to suit Suttons middle and upper class population but quite expensive to everyone elses tastes. Very good quality items for sale, comparable to a John Lewis.

House of Fraser is the ultimate in shopping for anyone who wants to feel they're spending just a…read morebit more than they ought, for the that feeling of decadence and slight wrecklessness. The HoF in the Gracechurch Shopping Centre in Sutton Coldfield is slightly smaller than most, which I really enoyed. Instead of that overwhelming department store feel, the smaller size offered a more relaxed browsing feel, and more easily-located concessions within the store. There is a brow bar and a manicure/pedicure station, offering some of the nicest of each of those services in Sutton. There is also a small cafe offering some nice cakes and sandwiches and hot drinks. The Bay shop in here as well as the Oasis are both rather nice, with great fitting rooms and some very helpful ladies. The jewelry section is small, but offers some very nice, interesting pieces I've not seen in another HoF. I ended up buying some pieces for my honeymoon which I've gotten a lot of compliments on. No matter the time of day, this HoF is never crushed with people, so again, the shopping experience is much more relaxed and less manic than normal.

The former Beatties department store has managed to retain its character and friendliness despite…read morebecoming part of the HoF group. Spaced over three floors, the store offers a compact range of fashion, beauty and homewear. The main reason for my visit once a fortnight is to take advantage of the Benito Brow Bar, which offers a superb service every time.

Absolutely massive!…read more The George range is large and has everything you need covered. you also have an opticians, pharmacy and a travel agency. The cafe offers a good range of meals at reasonable prices. I've had chips and gravy from them before and it was lovely and cheap. Only thing I have noticed is despite the large site I often find that items I require aren't in stock`

The Asda superstore at Minworth is one of the biggest Asdas/Walmarts I've ever been to, even…read morecompared with the ones in Texas and California -- and that's saying something, as Texas' motto is "Everything's bigger in Texas". In a slightly out-of-the-way location due to its size, it can be slightly tricky to get to if you don't know the area, but sat nav has it faithfully in and so does Google maps. The parking is good, there's plenty of it, which is the only way parking ever can be good. There are two entrances, one toward George and one nearer the tills and groceries. Annoyingly, they arbitrarily close down one of the exits later at night, but it's not consistently the same one, and you can't tell from the car park. And it takes a LONG time to walk to the other one (moan whinge, etc). The selection of clothing isn't actually that good for the size of the store. I'd expect a lot more considering the electronics and groceries sections are so big they defeat even me. But this Asda carries a lot more speciality food and interesting culinary and baking items for those rarer recipes. The selection of DVDs, CDs and electronics is gorgeous, and has everything you'll need. Ditto homewares and home appliances. The TV choices make Curry's look like a car boot sale. There are about 25 tills, but later at night, even though the shop stays busy, there aren't many of them open, which is a poor management decision, but queueing still isn't terrible. A great shopping experience if you like your stores big big big with more more more.

very bright, airy and clean. Good choice of small shops offering a variety of things. There are so…read moremany different things to find in here. Would recommand you go to have a look around.

The Currys is very small and theres not alot of choice or staff to be honest, but I suppose if you…read moreknow what you want and they have it in stock then all is good. Staff are friendly tho which goes a long way! The is a new 99p store sandwiched in between Curry's and Marks & Spencers! Its large and airy and has a large stock choice.

A first-floor series of connecting, partly-covered avenues has the site come across as a mix…read morebetween old-fashioned precinct and the world's worst mall. On a jet of air fashioned from 1,000 utterances of 'bab', it's as if the souks of Morocco have been transported to Brum, but with chips, Jammie Dodgers and betting slips where once there were figs and mint tea. This is not necessarily a criticism, but it is hard to tell what year it is. Here, an otherwise disparate group of enterprises have been brought together under one brand; a sense of unity among the rag-tag which is loosely supported by a multi-storey car park, shared escalator and website. Familiar names - mainly fast food, bookies and vendors of shirts worn by those on whom people have a flutter - are to be found, along with independents whose frontages have not changed since 1982. Hamsters, greetings cards and lots of things for under a quid are among their wares. A really good chippy is the best of the bunch. A new and modern annex, which has an almost atrium feel, is a surprise find, but it would seem initially to only serve as an entrance from another compass point rather than a source of a better retail experience. It does, however, comprise an Asda supermarket which is one of the chain's best designs regionally. It helps cut down on the trolley-clashing, marbles-losing frustration usually experienced in two of its sister stores, Minworth and Tamworth.

I have regularly visited Chelmsley Wood Shopping Centre for many years. The last time was 7/2/13…read more Many years ago I worked at Coventry Building Society for 7 years. I have today received a parking ticket of £75 for shopping in the town centre for more than 3 hours on my last visit! I telephoned the shopping centre to be told that a new company has been employed and have installed CCTV. The town centre shops are disappearing one by one. Asda is killing off the shops and I will never return there now having this parking fine. I parked where I always have in the carpark at the bottom of the escalators. This car park is always empty now. I have the same shops closer to where I live and will use them from now on. What a ridiculous thing to advertise a free car park for the shops as the website boasts.

As you vigorously scratch your head in confusion having never heard of it before, note that what…read morethe Brum City Council's planning documents call the Boldmere Shopping Centre is known colloquially as 'Boldmere High Street'. This busy commercial district is differentiated name wise to distinguish itself from the other commercial hub located in the south end of Boldmere Rd., known as 'Little Boldmere' that contains the Boldmere tap et al. Boldmere is a diverse middle class neighbourhood that borders Erdington to the south, Wylde Green to the east, and Sutton Park to the north. The Boldmere Shopping Centre, or high street, reflects the diversity of the area with an array of local shops and chains for the community to explore. The commercial district starts at the intersection of Antrobus Rd/Highbridge Rd. and Boldmere Rd, and continues north until you reach Jockey Rd. Businesses have traded here since the railroad laid out the initial criss-crossed roads in the late 1800's. Victorian buildings are mixed in with structures from all periods up to the present, giving the street an organic, hodge-podge feel. Recently many high street banks and other chains have been abandoning commercial districts like this en masse, however this has created opportunity for small local businesses to swoop in to take up the real estate. A recent example is the closed HSBC branch, currently being converted into a Mexican themed restaurant. Other than a proper bank branch, the Boldmere high street area has virtually every kind of shop you may need for daily purchases. There are dozens upon dozens of stores in the area, but some of my favourites include: - An official Post Office, located at the back of WH Smith. - The Boldmere Library, which has faced off against closure by the council only to remain open and provide a small, but cozy space for borrowing books and using the internet. - Three grocery stores in the form of Tesco Express, Sainsbury's, and Nisa Local. - Numerous Indian and Balti restaurants, making Boldmere the Balti Triangle of Sutton Coldfield (aka Boldmere Balti Row). - Two independent butchers, and a really good deli. - Green Grocer, who stocks the best in produce. - Two chain pubs and a Harvester, for those that like that sort of thing (The Bishop Vesey does a good chain job at stocking real ale and craft beer). - A plethora of hair dressers and barber shops, if you need your hair cut, you'll likely find a good shop here. - Charity shops and bric a brack stores. Too many to list! - Two chippies. - Several lounge and cafe style restaurants and coffee shops. - An upscale, professional florist. - One bike shop, one used car dealer, and two running stores. We love multi-modal transport! These are just some of the highlights, with many others not listed including an industrial estate for your construction etc. related needs. While Boldmere's high street may not be as posh as Harborne's, it contains a proud collection of independent traders working their craft and building a real community in Boldmere.

This no-nonsense clothing store sells sportswear, clothes, shoes and various other products at…read moreattractive prices and benefits from a stellar location just inside Erdington's Central Square Shopping Centre. It's pleasing to see branded sports products at discounted prices and even more pleasing to see that Total Clearance Store sells official Aston Villa goods, but disappointing to see that the majority of products on sale are b-grade, damaged goods. Additionally, the store has an unappealing, unclean feel to it, with many products covered in layers of dust and the floors looking as if they haven't had a good scrub in a very, very long time. On my visit, I found the staff to be annoyingly pushy, as the owner followed me around the store attempting to pressure me into making a purchase as I browsed. Total Clearance store may be cheap, but it most certainly isn't what you'd call cheerful. Personally, I'd recommend shopping elsewhere.