FOCUS 15
Rethinking the use of available space
A large proportion of high street lots are designated for retail-only usage, with multi-year leases that prohibit tenants from exiting. When trading gets tough, shops are often left in a shabby state or become vacant, adding to the general air of desperation. Existing spaces simply do not meet the needs of certain retailers – particularly the large multiples – who have rationalised the number of stores and relocated to larger facilities in malls or parks. Demand for social meeting points such as cafés, restaurants and bars, however, is soaring, and town centres have to evolve to meet this changing mix of consumer needs.
As Neil Saunders, Managing Director of retail research and consulting fi rm Conlumino succinctly puts it: “We need to remove regulation and let market forces shape the high street.” Archaic planning procedures are a huge barrier to progress, with any change-of-use plans requiring building-by-building applications that can take years to complete. Local authorities are responsible for land-use planning, yet their powers are limited, due to the fragmented ownership pattern of town centre property. Owners include pension funds, property companies, private individuals, and charities, each with its own investment rationale and time horizons; adjoining landlords rarely talk to each other.
Contrast this with shopping malls, which tend to be run by single, commercial groups with the authority to make decisions that meet the best interests of the tenant, the investors and the local community. They are even prepared to take a hit on rents if it means securing a tenant whose business will enhance the value of the overall asset; something that no private, individual high street landlord would contemplate.
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WE NEED TO REMOVE REGULATION AND LET MARKET FORCES SHAPE THE HIGH STREET.
Neil Saunders, Managing Director, Conlumino
Fixing the mix
According to Mark Teale, Head of Retail Research at real estate services fi rm CB Richard Ellis: “Mixes are not self-sustaining; they need continuous work for high streets (or shopping centres) to be sustained. A lot of currently failing high streets would be fi ne if only they were managed in the same way as purpose-built shopping centres.”
Achieving central ownership means creating economic zones or local development corporations with special powers to harness capital and expertise. Such coordinated planning has been the catalyst for some of the UK’s foremost regeneration initiatives, including London Docklands, parts of the North East and Manchester.
A more radical step is to transfer complete control of high streets – including transport access and parking – to professional shopping centre asset managers. Bringing stock under single management can only be achieved by compulsory purchase, which requires a resilient political will. While compulsory purchase may
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A NEW DAWN
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