KQ 2.4 What are the issues facing the CBD?

To understand the nature of the CBDTo understand why the CBD is under threatTo consider how the CBD can be revived

Main features of the CBD

• The CBD becomes more distinct the larger the city

• Key regions of a CBD include :- an old centre (cathedral area, old inns etc)- a modern retail core (often lots of chain stores causing CLONE towns)- Financial institutions- Office districts- Governmental area (council offices, police and courts)- Recreational district

What are the issues of the CBD?

Pedestrianisation

Concentration of offices – office districts

Uniformity of retailing

Entertainment districts

Transport

City centres are perceived as dirty, unsafe and with an ageing environment and poor infrastructure

Out of town shopping

Since 1960s urban traffic management has limited the movement of vehicles

within the CBD.Pedestrianisation has

made shopping safe but some towns have lost character. Eg Taunton

refuses pedestrianisation arguing it would lose its

vibrancy

More recently the loss of offices to suburban or

peripheral locations has led to empty units and

less economic activity in the CBD - Swansea

Department stores and high threshold chains

dominate the centre. The high cost of rent pushes

small retailers away.Specialist shops occupy

less accessible sites. Emergence of “Clone

Towns”. Eg Exeter with only one independent store

in their town centre.

The growth of central recreation areas – very

different in the day and night – ghost town in day and area of vice and crime in the night eg

London’s West end and Newcastle’s Quayside.

Cinemas and theatres move out of town eg Bristol - Cribbs

congestion reduces the accessibility of the CBD –towns grew before wide spread car ownership. In London you travel more

slowly in a car than a horse and cart. Some

solutions include congestion

charges(London), park and ride(Cardiff – Radyr),

tram systems (Manchester)

The loss of retailing to out of town retail parks – Cribbs Vs BroadmeadCulverhouse Cross Vs Queen street Cardiff

1. The Retail Revolution in the UK

1960s• Hierarchical form• From corner

shop to city centre at apex of hierarchy

• Generally shops were Small

• Privately owned

1. Today... High Order Goods -Regional Shopping Centres

Major multiple chains undertook a massive building programme.

By 1993 there were c. 900 superstores in UK. They accounted for over half of all food sales. They

are the most potentially damaging to town centres. They offer a full range of comparison shopping. Strong emphasis on fashion goods. Can you think of examples……. Cribbs Causeway

1. Fourth wave 1990s – factory outlet centres or designer

outlets. Following US example

many are adding leisure facilities.

Eg: Clarks Village Somerset

McArthur Glen - Bridgend

2.. The growth of out of town retailing since 1960s

2.What caused decentralisation? :-

Suburbanisation of population Increased mobility - car ownership Increased freezer ownership Life style changes Changes in the organisation of retailing Planning policies – no longer protect

grenbelt It all started in the US in the 1950s

Effect on town centres?• Out of town investment dwarfed town centre

development from 1980s.• Recession in 1990s – town centre retailers closed or

downsized.• Many town centres had not been redeveloped since

the 1950’-60’s…….they could not cope with the competition from Out of Town stores.

• Broadmead Bristol

The Impact of the rise of out of town shopping

Type of issue Possible advantages

Possible disadvantages

Economic consequences

Social

consequences

Environmental

consequences

Economic Consequences• Benefits

– Employment– Investment– Encourages spending– Can be cheaper for customers - shops pass on economy of

scale– Convenience - one stop shopping– Safe

• Costs– Threatens other forms of retailing– Supermarkets import goods: high ‘food miles’– Encourages car use at the cost of public transport– Inaccesible to some eg elderly & non car owners

Environmental Consequences

• Benefits– Abundant on site parking– Relieves town centre traffic congestion– Pleasant environment– Clean functional buildings– Single Storey Buildings

• Costs– Loss of countryside and agricultural land– Visual obstruction– Serious localized traffic congestion– Contributes to urban sprawl

Social Consequences

• Benefits– Increased Choice– Late night shopping– Fun Shopping

• Costs– Excludes those without a car– Traditional service is lacking

Case Study 1 –The impact of an ‘out-of-Town’

Shopping Mall - Cribbs Causeway.

Maximum of 10 point case study

Location relative to Bristol

Location relative to Motorways

Sketch Map……to show location of the Mall

The SiteThe Cribbs Causeway Development Area (defined by the Bristol North Fringe Local Plan 1987) was previously agricultural land, which accommodated 5 farms and 45 residential properties. North Avon District Council identified Cribbs Causeway for development in 1981.

The MallOpened on March 31 1998

The Mall, with around 14 million visitors a year, is one of the two major shopping centres in the Bristol area, the other being Broadmead.

In all there are 7000 free car park spaces serving Cribbs.

This is adequate although peak times can produce restrictions in traffic-flow and hard to find parking spaces, in fact very busy times such as the lead up to Christmas can result in tailbacks right back to junction 15 of the M5!

Size:995,000 sq ft (92,436 sq m) of retail space

No of shops:135 shops and 2 anchor stores

Anchor stores:Marks & Spencer, John Lewis

Catchment:Total population resident in catchment area is 4.6million (peak)

M&S – one of the anchor stores

An indoor shopping space designed to be a pleasant environment for all, including disabled access

Cafes and light.

Other retail park units.

Leisure Park:The scheme comprises a 12 screen cinema ‘Vue’ (ex Warner Bros.) totalling 4,645 sq. metres, a leisure building (previously “Dave and Busters” themed entertainment space now vacant) totalling 4,180, a health and fitness club totalling 1,860 sq. metres, and four restaurants. Plus two “drive-thru” restaurants.

SHOPS!http://blip.tv/scripts/flash/blipplayer.swf?autoStart=false&file=http://blip.tv/file/get/Gatm-NameThatShop1399.flv?source=3

In 1990s change in Government planning guidelines.

• 1993 – start of major change in government policy.

• City centre to be preferred location for developments.

• Introduced concept of vitality and viability of town centres.

• Pro active town centre management. Major retailers are now opening

smaller town centre stores eg Tesco Metro.

This has led to a rise in redevelopment of major town centres: High end high order retail

Goods………Bull Ring Birmingham, St Davids Centre Cardiff Cabot Circus Bristol

What can we do to revive city centres?

What can we do to revive city centres?

• Use a management and PR Company to manage the city centre and encourage special events

• Pedestrianisation to improve safety and to provide a more attractive shopping environment with new street furniture, floral displays and landscaping

• Encourage the construction of all weather shopping centres in key locations in the city centre often with integral parking

• Encourage the development of open street markets, cultural quarters and specialist arcades

• Improve public transport into the central pedestrianised areas e.g. park and ride

• Planning car parks to provide easy access and controlling the prices and time parked

• CCTV to make people feel safer• Promoting tourism activities to encourage greater spending by

conserving the heritage

St Davids 2 – Cardiff City Centre Redevelopment – From this

To this ……

Key facts

• £675 million project• Involved demolishing library, NCP, Ice Rink and

Toys R Us• Scheme included new library, John Lewis and St

Davids 2 Shopping Centre (this includes apartments that have been built but not kitted out or sold due to the recession)

• Linked to St Davids Shopping Centre by St Davids Walk which saw an extension of Debenhams

St Davids 2

• Opened October 2009• 2 floors with areas for a food court, jewellery and

accessories and designer brands• 961, 500 sq ft – 9 large stores and 90 others

including Disney, Hugo Boss, Fat Face, Radley• Restaurants include Jamie’s

Italian• 3000 car parking spaces

John Lewis

• 260,000 sq ft

• Opened Sept 2009

• Largest John Lewis

store in the UK

Success???

• 4500 permanent jobs created

• Cardiff is now in the top 5 shopping destinations in the UK

• 11th biggest in terms of size

• Crowned International Shopping Centre of the Year in 2010

How can we make CBDs round the clock city centres (vibrant and revived?)

• Run shopping events such as farmers markets and Christmas fayres• Late night shopping and Sunday opening• New retail developments focused round a major magnet store e.g.

John Lewis• Plan for more leisure facilities such as café bars, theatres and

cinemas that people would naturally visit in the evening• Promote street activity by allowing cafes to spill out onto the street• Develop nightlife and clubbing• Bring back residences into the centre e.g. regentrification of flats• The bus station will be replaced by an “integrated transport hub”

within the next two years, while there will also be major improvements around the railway station to create a new “gateway to Wales

Other threats to the CBD

• Internet shopping has increased dramatically over the last ten years.

• In a December 2011 study, Equation Research found that 87% of tablet users made online transactions with their tablet devices during the early Christmas shopping season. http://visual.ly/online-shopping-statistics

Explain why it is important to maintain a vibrant and exciting retail experience

within the CBD.(10)

It is important to maintain an exciting retailing experience in the CBD because it has faced so much competition in recent years. There has been a retailing revolution in the UK which has seen the introduction of regional shopping centres located out of town. Much of this decentralisation of retailing took place in the 1980s and was due to counter-urbanisation and an improved road network. Likewise the internet has recently revolutionised the world of shopping with 80% of the British public making online purchases. The CBD has been somewhat neglected and has seen a period of stagnation.Many town centres have not been redeveloped since the 1950’-60’s and could not cope with the competition from Out of Town stores an example of this is Broadmead in Bristol which faced competition from cribbs causeway.

Part 2 • Economic welfare of the whole city

It is important to maintain a vibrant CBD in order to contribute to the economic successes of the city. Cardiff had started to become out-dated and faced competition from Culverhouse Cross, however with the building of St David’s two, 4500 permanent jobs have been created. Cardiff CBD has therefore, attracted employment and improved economic welfare for those living in the area.

• Likewise it is important to enhance the shopping experience and link retailing to other services. This has been achieved in Cardiff with the building of trendy restaurants and bars which spill on to the pavements and offer street dining. In addition, Cardiff attracts Christmas markets and has spent money re-developing its arcade systems in order to attract a range of shoppers. Having done this Cardiff was then Crowned International Shopping Centre of the Year in 2010 and is now one of the top 5 shopping destinations in the UK.

• Cardiff has also become a 24 hour city with late night shopping and Sunday openings. The city has also developed its leisure facilities such as café bars, theatres and cinemas that people would naturally visit in the evening. The area around Mill lane promotes street activity by allowing cafes to spill out onto the street and nightlife and clubbing has increased tourist numbers. Likewise these attractions have brought back residences into the centre e.g. regentrification of flats above St Davids 2.

(c) Explain why it is important to maintain a vibrant and exciting retailing experience within the CBD. (2.4) [10]Answers should show an understanding of the necessity of maintaining /enhancing a vibrant retailing experience in the face of competition from other retail locations away from the CBD and from the Internet.

Reasons could include:• reduction of crime• economic welfare of the whole city• competition from other cities / centres• maintaining tourism attractions• enhancement of shopping experience• linking retail to other services• environmental improvement• attracting employment• encouraging the twenty-four hour cityAny combination of the above ideas for at least one CBD.