With just a few days until the opening of Westfield, the largest inner city shopping centre in Europe, 8,500 people are working round the clock to have it ready.

Despite whispered doubts that it will not be finished in time, bosses are a picture of confidence.

They promise that 80 per cent of the shops will be open on day one and the others are well advanced.

And 96 per cent of the units have been leased, which they say represents a big vote of confidence in the project by the retailers.

Development director Duncan Bower admitted that the project contained elements of the unknown.

He said: "We are doing things slightly different with this store, which is our flagship, in terms of the retail offering and integrating the Shepherd's Bush town centre with our 24-hour public street on private land.

"We are constantly learning. Putting something about the size of Bluewater bang in the middle of an urban centre is not something that the UK has seen before.

"We really want to push the message about public transport. We have 4,500 parking spaces, whereas Bluewater has 13,000. That's why we've invested so much in public transport. We know there might be issues with the opening but we want to welcome everyone who is curious.

"I realise people feel there will be huge disruption, but I don't think the shopping centre will have the massive impact on local shops that they are saying.

"We've invested money in small shops, people with a vested interest will want to move here and prosperity will follow the transport links we've opened up."

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