Back to the Centre
The timing could be unfortunate. Just as worried consumers are tightening their belts, more large-scale town centre retail developments are opening for business this year than at any time in almost two decades, with 13 new schemes or major extensions in the UK. All, of course, were underway long before the credit crunch began to bite mid-way through 2007.
Developers - whose projects take more than 10 years from concept to till rings - naturally take a longer-term view of these matters, figuring that throughout the lifetime of a shopping centre, high street spending patterns will have their ups and downs. However, the optimism of those behind the new schemes goes further, based on the belief that rejuvenated urban centres - sympathetic to the traditional environment and architecture - represent the future of retailing more than the US-style park-and-shop malls of the 1980s and early 1990s.
For more than a decade, government planning guidance has promoted mixed-use developments in town and city centres ahead of out-of-town schemes that contribute to suburban sprawl and promote car use. Manchester and Belfast are held up as examples of how bold, mixed development - often re-purposing existing buildings for retail, residential, cultural, hotel and office use - can turn run-down inner-cities, no-go areas, into vibrant 24-hour communities. Lots of other cities are following suit.
Many developers are commissioning architects new to the retail sector to think outside the box - literally. Rather than constructing conspicuous giant concrete shells and simply focusing on the retail experience inside, these architects are designing shopping spaces that are as much about mirroring the ambience and character of the surrounding environment. Out go single building developments, locked outside normal trading hours, to be replaced by more open schemes linked by avenues which form part of the city centre's streetscape and are accessible at any time of the day.
This type of thinking - echoing the style of Continental cities such as Milan and Barcelona - is designed to lure fashionable retailers from overseas alongside traditional high street names. And, while an attractive shopping centre alone cannot turn a medium-size town into a chic and bustling metropolis, local planners and politicians are increasingly acknowledging the contribution innovative retail schemes can make to economic regeneration and improving the quality of life for all citizens.
Without a doubt, this is becoming a defining 12 months for retail development, says Michael Green, chief executive of the British Council for Shopping Centres. "It is a very exciting year for the industry," he says. "The biggest single change in new developments and major refurbishments is not to be covered or closed in. We have moved away from the big concrete jungles of the seventies, eighties and nineties."
Open air shopping centres do, of course, have their drawbacks. The UK is not the Mediterranean and al fresco living tends to lose its appeal on a wet Wednesday in February. There are also security issues at nights. However, among their advantages, they do not need to be heated or air-conditioned.
Other than out-of-town developments, in recent times a threat to city centres has been the lure of Internet shopping. Although web retailing has not wiped out the high street as some predicted 10 years ago, the effect in certain sectors - music, consumer electronics, travel agencies and books among them - has been marked. The advantage of mixed-use developments in town centres - with open spaces, culture, entertainment and dining - is that they provide a reason for people to spend time there, above simply purchasing an item. "We are very much in the entertainment industry," says Green. "People still want to come into a store to touch and feel clothing. Also, we are finding that even if people plan to buy from the Internet, they will still often go and look at the goods in the shop first. This has a positive knock on effect for retailers such as Marks & Spencer and John Lewis."
Demographic changes are also playing a part in the design of shopping spaces. An ageing population and the power of the "grey pound" have meant developers have had to be increasingly sympathetic to the demands of the older shopper. "Access, egress and service has to be tip top these days," says Green. Environmental considerations are also vital when it comes to designing today's mega shopping schemes. No longer are they built around the car, while rain harvesting, low energy lighting, cycle parking provision and good public transport links are all high on the agenda.