Main Board Director Adrian Griffiths writes about how to save failing UK retail schemes
Main Board Director Adrian Griffiths has written an Insight paper on how failing UK retail schemes can be saved.
In the paper, Adrian argues that, while providing a strong mix of uses is crucial to the health of our town and city centres, throwing in other uses won’t always save a failing retail scheme. He emphasises that the retail sector has a strong future, for a number of reasons, but that many schemes will need to rethink their strategies if they are to survive and thrive in the coming years.
In particular, he makes the case that the increasing number of vacant former retail units must be filled cleverly – with the F&B market already nearing saturation point, for example, the increasingly common approach of adding substantial F&B provision to provide that crucial sense of experience might not be sustainable – any new mix of uses must be well-thought-through.
He also argues that political commitment to our urban centres must be at the centre of any national renewal strategy – especially because only local authorities are in the position to buy and invest in many of those centres.
Chapman Taylor has long advocated the benefits of providing 24-hour, integrated environments in which an excellent retail offer sits alongside leisure, F&B, residential office, hospitality and community functions. First and foremost, however, we believe that the retail component must be sound, so that the accompanying mix of uses, when well-considered, can have the maximum benefit for the scheme and the community as a whole.
To read Adrian’s paper, please click here.