The North East
Full Occupancy as North Tyneside Retail Park Bucks the Trend
Northumberland Retail Park. Shiremoor. North Tyneside.
The letting of the final vacant built unit at Northumberland Retail Park, Shiremoor on North Tyneside is a milestone for a project which has seen a greenfield site transformed into a popular c.130,000 sq.ft. retail centre with full occupancy in just 16 years. Here we interview Anthony Cape, Asset Manager at developers and owners, Northumberland Estates on the success of the Retail Park, why it has proved so popular, and future plans.
Q: Can you give us a brief history of the Northumberland Retail Park development
A: The site was once a rural village on the outskirts of Newcastle City Centre which, over time, has been transformed by significant residential development within the locality and now boasts thousands of homes. This change in landscape is where the commercial development has its roots. We identified at an early stage that a residential area of this scale warranted its own retail centre, and this was the catalyst to produce the retail masterplan which has been delivered in several phases over subsequent years.
The starting point for what we see today was a 25,000 sq.ft. Sainsburys anchor store developed in 2007 alongside a neighbourhood parade incorporating five smaller units. These proved popular and off the back of this success further units were added to extend the parade to 15 shops. The final phase of this scheme was complete in 2018, let to Heron Foods and Card Factory, complementing notable long-standing occupiers such as Subway, Barnardo’s, Franks Flooring and Indigo Sun. We also introduced leisure to the scheme with the development of a Toby Carvery in 2013 and a land sale for a Sir John Fitzgerald pub close by. In the late 2010’s, and with Aldi on the acquisition trail, we took the
opportunity to plot the next phase. Terms were quickly agreed for an 18,912 sq.ft. Aldi store, which opened in 2018. This phase also saw the addition of a Costa drive thru. We capitalised on this impetus with construction of a further 58,000 sq.ft terrace in 2019, which was immediately occupied by a B&M retail store with garden centre, and a state of the art JD Gym.
2020 needs no introduction in terms of the challenges faced, but we have continued to work hard and are currently concluding the final built unit to Farmfoods, while also looking ahead to the culminating phase on the retail park.
Q. What do you see as the main reasons for Retail Park’s success?
A. Simply put, ‘location, location, location’…The scheme is situated in a densely populated area and lies adjacent to the main A19 arterial route which provides fantastic road connections to immediate and wider catchments. Add well-constructed units, ample free parking, bus connections and its own Metro station with a multi-storey park and ride, the latter constructed by us, and the result is a retail offering which sells itself.
Q. Now the Retail Park is fully occupied, what of future plans?
A. We are conscious that retail challenges will not disappear, but lessons can be taken from the past year. Food retail has proven buoyant and other retailers will look to cluster around this use. We have three on the scheme alongside takeaway and drive thru operators, as well as occupiers that sell food ancillary to the main use. Convenience for shoppers remains key, and given the varied sizes of units, we have a range of retailers offering general goods to satisfy a variety of shopping needs. Paradoxically this success partly stems from nearby competing established schemes heavy on fashion and bulky goods. From conception we established an alternative model for food retail and convenience, and this adopted framework has futureproofed the scheme somewhat. While the leisure elements have suffered, we hope these big brands names will recover swiftly off the back of pent- up consumer demand as things open up.
a mix of retail and leisure has increased footfall. 74
We remain confident of the concept of ‘good retail’ and believe that mixed-use retail parks, such as this, in a good location with strong transport links will continue to be successful. Planning is in place for the final phase and discussions with several retailers already underway as we look to develop in the near future. The development of a further c2,000 homes in the area facilitated by the Northumberland Estates housebuilding team will further complement the scheme.
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MONTHLY 2021
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