Westfield Stratford City is adjacent to the London Olympic Park, Stratford Cross, East Village, Stratford Regional and Stratford International stations. The shopping centre is part of a large multi-purpose development project called Stratford City. It is promoted as contributing significantly to the local economy, with the creation of up to 10,000 permanent jobs including 2,001 going to local people.[5] However, there are counter-reports of significant harm to other local businesses due to the preponderance of chain stores.[12]
The shopping centre is anchored by a 240,000 sq ft (22,000 m2) John Lewis department store, a 32,000 sq ft (3,000 m2) Waitrose supermarket, a 136,000 sq ft (12,600 m2) Marks & Spencer department store, a 24-hour casino (Aspers) and a 20 screen all-digital Vue cinema.[13] The shopping centre also has a 267-room Premier Inn hotel,[14] a Holiday Inn with 350 rooms[5][15] and Staybridge Suites.
The shopping centre has approximately 280 stores and 70 restaurants.[16][17]