High Street Futures. (How) can town centres fight back? Dr. Steve Norris

High Street Futures (How) can town centres fight back? Dr. Steve Norris

(How) can town centres fight back? The challenges facing our town centres and high streets How can town centres can fight back? Making Town Centres Happen

The challenges facing our town centres

1980 s Ghost Town Britain Lack of investment No leadership Poor management Neglect, vandalism & crime Poor design Inadequate public services Culture of short-termism no vision!

The Golden Age Birmingham Bull Ring Westfield London Liverpool One Uxbridge The Chimes Exeter Princesshay

The Economic Storm As the trees shake in the economic storm, the rotten apples are falling to the floor * *The Times, 27/09/08

From Boom. 12.00% 10.00% Convenience Goods Comparison Goods 8.00% 6.00% 4.00% 2.00% 0.00% -2.00% -4.00% -6.00% 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Yearr Source: MapInfo Information Brief 08/02 (September 2008), Table 1.

to Bust & what next? 12.00% 10.00% Convenience Goods Comparison Goods 8.00% 6.00% 4.00% 2.00% 0.00% -2.00% -4.00% -6.00% 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Yearr Source: MapInfo Information Brief 08/02 (September 2008), Table 1.

Development Pipeline slows to a trickle

Market Share Non-store retail sales: projected share 30.00% Non-store retail sales Adjusted for sales from stores 25.00% 20.00% 15.00% 10.00% 5.00% 0.00% Year Source: MapInfo Information Brief 08/02 (September 2008), Table 1. Experian Business Strategies

(How) can town centres fight back?

How can town centres fight back? Planning Visions Strategies Leadership Partnerships Engagement Funding Development Management

Planning system has become: - too complex and inaccessible - difficult to operate - difficult for developers and communities to engage Draft Framework distils over 1,000 pages of National Planning Policy to 52 pages Next step: streamline 6,000 pages of national planning guidance

Ensuring the vitality of centres Recognise town centres as the heart of communities and pursue policies to support their vitality and viability; Define network and hierarchy of centres that are resilient to anticipated future economic changes; Define extent of town centres and primary shopping areas, and set policies that make clear which uses will be permitted in such locations; Promote competitive town centres that provide customer choice and diverse retail offer, and which reflect the individuality of town centres. Retain and enhance existing markets and re-introduce or create new ones, ensuring that markets remain attractive and competitive;

Ensuring the vitality of centres Allocate a range of suitable sites to meet the scale and type of retail, leisure and other uses needed in town centres. Needs for retail, leisure and other uses should be met in full and should not be compromised by limited site availability. Assess the need to expand town centres to ensure a supply of sites. Recognise that residential development can play an important role in ensuring the vitality of centres. Where town centres are in decline, local planning authorities should plan positively for their future to encourage economic activity.

Portas Review Themes Run town centres as a business Get the basics right to allow business to flourish Level the playing field for town centres Create stronger responsibilities for property owners Give communities a voice

Portas Pilot Towns Ashford - using local street market to attract people back to the high street by offering stalls for a tenner ; Berwick - working with local builders and businesses to give the high street a facelift; Brighton (London Road) - encouraging retailers to tackle vandalism and crime; Hatfield - looking beyond retail to provide community and event facilities to encourage more visitors to the high street; Leamington (Old Town) - tackling the high vacancy rate in the high street and encouraging new businesses to the area; Rotherham - launching a publicity campaign to highlight the unique nature of the high street and encourage people to shop local ;

Portas Review The one perhaps the only thing everybody I have spoken to is agreed on is that for a high street to survive and grow it must have a very clear vision of where it wants to get to. If the High street was in single ownership, like a department store, it would have a vision, a high level strategy and direction, it would choose what it wanted in a particular space to fit with a vision and proactively target the business and services that were missing.

LB Wandsworth The Council believes that undertaking a competitive analysis and visioning exercise which allows for the clear identification of place identity so that the town centres can be positioned against their strengths and unique selling propositions will provide a strong and long term response to the Council s objective of maintaining vibrant and healthy town centres.

Wandsworth Town Centre Visioning Carry out a strategic and competitive analysis for each of the five town centres, engaging with the relevant stakeholders Work with each of the Town Centre Partnerships to develop a long term vision for each of the five town centres. Identify points of difference (unique selling points) for each of the five town centres to support the development of a differentiated location product to be developed; and Develop a brand image and identity for each of the five town centres.

Building the evidence base Catchment definition Customer profiling Shopping patterns Expenditure flows Health checks SWOT assessments Benchmarking/ Gap analysis Capacity assessments Impact assessments

Making Town Centres Happen - Newbury 800,000 sq ft gross retail. 375 units 14 th most affluent catchment in the UK Ranked c.150 th in UK. Prime Zone A s static No major investment Few large shop units Forecast capacity for 25,000 sq.m net of new retail demand.

Newbury: A Vision & Strategy Evidence based approach 2003 Retail Study Widespread consultation Consensus and cross party political support The need for change was accepted Long term integrated plan written by Unitary authority and Planning led Key issues: Accessibility Townscape and Vitality

Newbury TC, Parkway 2002: Retail Study 2003: P&D Brief Summer 2004: Nov 2004: ITTs Preferred Developer 2005: Masterplan Dec 2005: Oct 2006: May 2007: Application: Permission CPO Inquiry 2011: Opens

Parkway The Development 295,00 sq ft 52 shop units 790 car parking spaces Street based design; not mall, not enclosed Integrated into main shopping street Anchored by Debenhams and M & S John Lewis at Home opened April 2012

Robust Visions & Strategies Leadership Evidence Base Partnerships Proactive Management Vision & Strategy Commercial Realism Marketing & Branding Design

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Steve Norris BA MPhil PhD MRTPI Dr. Steve Norris is Partner in Planning Perspectives LLP and also heads up the public sector consultancy arm of the business (Strategic Perspectives). He was previously Director in the retail and town centre consultancy teams at GVA and DTZ. Steve has over 20 years experience providing planning and commercial property consultancy advice on a wide variety of retail and town centre issues for regional planning bodies, local planning authorities, developers, investors and operators. He provides advice on all aspects of retail, town centre and economic development consultancy - ranging from preparing/appraising sequential and capacity/impact assessments, through to town centre strategies, visions and development frameworks. Steve is a member of the British Council of Shopping Centres (BCSC) and Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM); and chairs the annual RTPI conference on retail and town centres. For more information please email Steve at steve.norris@strategicper.com