Vicarage Field Reviews Summary

Accessibility & Convenience

Pros:

• "Parking is available lot's of little shops."
• "This shopping centre is just opposite to barking station."
• "You can park your car easily, shopping mall has many entrances you can easily access from 4 sides you don’t need to go around and find a gate."
• "Car park accessed from Ripple Rd. Minimum carpark charge is £2.50 for up to an hour. Can be paid by cash or card."
• "Parking barrier was open on Sunday and I went to B&M Store to collect £40 stuff."
• "The Vicarage has a wide range of stores and boutiques, from clothing to stationery to food and personal care."
• "Commuting to Vicarage Field is quite easy and straightforward for non-locals by means of public transportation."

Cons:

• "The parking fee bit expensive."
• "All brand names shops have left and the car park is cash only."
• "The car park prices are ridiculous way over charges."
• "Idiotic car park payment system effectively makes the place a no-go unless you're on foot."
• "The parking pay machine is working with only coin no chance pay by card at all."
• "Parking machine that took coins was out of service on the ground floor."
• "Not to mention if you park at the back of this shopping centre the numberplate recognition system doesn't work properly."

Shopping Experience

Pros:

• "Good for browsing."
• "A large café in the open central area."
• "The food stalls in the middle are great such a wide selection."
• "Over the years the shops have changed but you can get a wide variety of items in there even a haircut, teeth whitening, furniture, clothes for all, diverse clothing, toilets, baby changing facilities, disabled facilities, escalators-lifts."
• "A big shopping mall located opposite Barking Station, has a number of (mainly independent) outlets across various levels."
• "Used the cash point outside the post office and visited the knitting stall with wonderful gifts for adults and children, from a very talented lady."
• "A nice vegetable stall inside on ground floor."

Cons:

• "This place is an absolute unflushable toilet from hell."
• "The staff on the stalls are only there to make money and do not give refunds regardless if the product is damaged or not fit for purpose."
• "I got conned."
• "It's becoming run down."
• "Both of the escalators are still not working."
• "Poor selection of stores here, most of them are closed or run-down."
• "This shopping centre is really old, it doesn’t have any popular stores just full of random shops and businesses."

Customer Service & Facilities

Pros:

• "Wasn't too busy as I went early."
• "Very clean, beautiful ponds filled with ducks and beautiful trees with lots of squirrels in them."
• "Liked that there's a B&M and a post office."
• "Also great to support an independent shop."
• "Has escalator to upper floor & toilet."
• "Nice coffee shop inside you can just sit and relax in for an hour or so."
• "Public toilets available."

Cons:

• "When I made an official complaint to the centre management, they said will get back to me soon but no action was made."
• "The toilets are filthy. Whenever you use them theirs no toilet paper, the toilets stink of urine and the floor is filthy."
• "Rude staff EKA cleaners who had to go with me only wanted to use the WC when in the cubicle when she showed at me sorry if the toilets were closed they should have been a sign there was nothing."
• "Be careful if shopping in the area."
• "I returned promptly at 6pm, which is the closing time of parking, only to find out that all of the doors leading to payment machines were locked."
• "The state of the toilets is appalling."
• "It's scary trying to walk up/down them and extremely dangerous for those who are less able bodied."

Overall Atmosphere & Future Prospects

Pros:

• "This place is an eyesore for Barking Town Centre. Glad the council has passed compulsory purchase order and are transforming Vicarage Field to create a new residential and commercial hub for East London."
• "A shadow of what it used to be 10-20 years ago."
• "All the shops sell quality goods with cheap prices. I recommend this place for tourists, families and friends."
• "They have kept vicarage fields nice and tidy."
• "It sometimes serves as a meeting point for the local community."
• "With an amazing range of glasses."
• "I'm sure it must be affecting business."

Cons:

• "Shocking what has happened to this shopping centre, knock it down and start again."
• "This is a very dated and slightly depressing shopping centre."
• "Desperately needs to be upgraded."
• "Has potential to be so much more, boring, outdated."
• "Deserves 0 ⭐️."
• "It's being knocked down soon.... replaced with new everything."
• "When this was first built it was a good place to visit with a lovely food court and lots of shops. Now it is a very dull, boring and lost all its character."