Town Centre Health CheckReport April 2019 April
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019
ActivitiesandUses ActivitiesandUses ActivitiesandUses Environment ActivitiesandUses
ActivitiesandUses Overview 1. Introduction Contents
5. 4. 7. 6. 3. 2. Overview ofFalkirk’s Town Centres Structure Summary Purpose Accessibility & Summary Accessibility &Summary Accessibility Summary Commercial Viability Context Bo’ness Environment &Commercial Viability Environment &Commercial Viability Environment &Commercial Viability Commercial Viability&Accessibility Accessibility Overview Overview Overview Overview Stenhousemuir Grangemouth Falkirk Denny Environment
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TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 Context 1. Introduction Page 02 vitality andviabilityofthecentre intheface ofsignificant challenges. partnership discussionsonthekey to actionsnecessary maintain the completion ofthe£5mTownscape Heritage Initiative, andarange of recently, attention hasturnedto theprincipalcentre ofFalkirk withthe programme ofredevelopment andenhancement that isongoing. More on actionsto revitalise thesmallerdistrict centres, andlauncheda regeneration initiatives. The2001Town Centres Strategy focused attention town centres through policiesinsuccessive development plansand Falkirk track Councilhasa long record ofprotecting andsupportingits within Scottish PlanningPolicy (SPP). principle marked asignificant embedded shiftinpublicpolicyanditisnow Scottish Government policy. In2014,the adoption ofthe‘town centre first’ Maintaining andimproving thehealthoftown centres isamajorstrand of structural changes inretailing. arising from theeconomic recession, technological and socialchange, and In recent years they have beensubjectto particularly acute pressures leisure, andcommunity services life, andshapingtheirsenseofplace. heart ofcommunities, providing asustainable focus for business, shopping, The importance oftown centres iswidelyacknowledged. They are at the Purpose and issuesintheintervening period. SPP annex. Thissecond report provides anupdate, highlighting changes and Stenhousemuir, arranged broadly undertheheadings suggested in the Town Centre, andthefour district centres ofBoness,Denny, Grangemouth together arange ofdata ontown centre vitality andviabilityinFalkirk The first Town Centres HealthCheckwas published monitor town centre performance, preferably every two years. relevant. Theadviceisthat healthchecks shouldberegularly updated, to health check’. Anannex to SPPsets outarange ofindicators whichmay be and community groups asappropriate, shouldprepare atown centre ‘local authorities, working withcommunity planningpartners, business information baseofindicators ofvitality andviability. SPPstates that to address issuesandmonitor progress, itisimportant to have asound In order to properly assessthestate oftown centres, prescribe actions in 2016.Itbrought Structure A oftheSPP, asshown below: The structure ofthereport isbasedonalist oftopics, adapted from Annex Signage Car AccessandParking Bus andRail Walking andCycling General Accessibility/ModalSplit Accessibility Evening/Night TimeEconomy Residential Culture, SocialandCommunity Leisure andTourism Business andOffice Retail andRetail Services Overview Activities andUses Development Opportunities Development Activity/Commitments Business Improvement District Retail Expenditure/Capacity/Leakage Vacancies Commercial Viability Public Perception Air Quality Cleanliness Historic Environment Public Realm, CivicandGreenspace Overall Structure Environment Page 03
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 Key characteristics ofeachthecentres are listed below. ofFalkirk’sTown2. Overview Centres Page 04 units, library andhealthcentre. extensive redevelopment in2010to create anew Asdasupermarket, retail Stenhousemuir 1960sprecinct isasmall style centre whichunderwent an north through thedevelopment ofalarge Asdasuperstore. civic buildingsonBo’ness Road. More recently, ithasexpanded to the comprises a1960sprecinct style shopping centre, alongsideacore ofolder Grangemouth precinct. shop units,library andpublicsquare that hasreplaced theformer 1960s east sideofStirlingStreet and,onthewest side,anew development of Denny isasmallcentre of heritage basedregeneration over recent years. the town’s redundant dockandharbour. Ithasbeenthefocus Bo’ness isasmallerhistoric burgh centre adjacent to theRiver Forth and Retail Park andaMorrison’s foodstore. has sinceexpanded to thenorththrough thedevelopment oftheCentral - theHowgate andCallendarSquare -were developed inthe1980s/90s.It traditional highstreet at itscore, offwhichtwo modernshoppingcentres Falkirk Grangemouth and Stenhousemuir. centre ofFalkirk andthefour district centres ofBo’ness, Denny, centres andcommercial centres. Thisreport covers onlytheprincipal categorised underfour types:principalcentres, district centres, local The Falkirk Local Development Plan(FLDP)defines anetwork ofcentres, isanhistoric burgh town centre ofsub-regional scale a with isthesecond largest centre interms combining a traditional street shopping onthe of floorspace. It
Key ofFalkirk’sNetworkCentres Statistics Source: Retail Floorspace 2019 Survey shopping andservices shopping, limitedcomparison suburbs intermsofmainfood Serve thelargertownsand District Centres facilities cultural activitiesandcommunity of shops,services,leisure/ Provides anextensiverange convenience shopping. in termsofcomparisonand Serves area-widecatchment Principal Centre Centre Type &Role Centre Stenhousemuir Grangemouth Denny Bo’ness Falkirk (2017 estimate) Population 26,180 16,535 12,819 14,604 39,069 Physical Extent (hectares) 12 22 59 7 9 GF Floorspace (gross sq.m.) 165,449 12,552 20,711 11,116 4,985 No. ofUnits 497 101 47 94 50 Page 05
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 Overview 3. Falkirk Page 06 7th in2010thetown centre rankings. In context, however, theCACI report that Falkirk hasfallen from centres suchasInverness andtheGyle Centre inEdinburgh. This placesFalkirk inthetop 4%ofScottish Centres, andabove strong Falkirk ranked 18thout 468Scottish retail centres. In 2016CACI reported that basedoncomparison goods market potential, convenience andcomparison retail floorspace hasdecreased. and agood food anddrinkoffer. usescontinue Service to grow, whilst notable example. However, there remains athrivingindependent sector, with theclosure ofMarks andSpencerintheHighStreet themost Representation ofnational retailers hasdeclinedover recent years, preferring itsformat andunitsizes. than thecore town centre inattracting investment, withnational retailers Spencer SimplyFood. Inrecent years, theRetail Park hashadmore success retail unitssuchasTesco, SportsDirect, Argos, TKMax andMarks and separated by therailway line.Central Retail Park has alarge numberof Outwith thecore town centre, Central Retail Park sitsjust to thenorth, street Cow Wynd. the southwhere itisbordered by StCrispin’s Placewithkey linkingretail connected by linkingstreets includingVicar Street andto andLint Riggs, Street to Newmarket Street, PrincesStreet andGarrisonPlaceis Shopping Centre at theeast end.The core stretches northfrom theHigh with theHowgate ShoppingCentre at itheartandtheCallendarSquare The core ofFalkirk town centre comprises apedestrianised HighStreet,
Map 1: Falkirk Town Centre ey 100 Falkirk To n Centre 200 300
400 MEE S ROAD MEE S Grahamston Station
GRA AMS ROAD
GRA AMS ROAD
© Crown copyright anddatabase rights 2019Ordnance Survey 100023384. Useofthisdata issubjectto terms andconditions.
ILLIAMSON STREET ILLIAMSON
BURN EAD LANE BURN EAD EIR STREET EIR
Central RetailPark EAST BRIDGE STREET BRIDGE EAST
ERSE LANE
MEADO STREET CALLENDAR ROAD CALLENDAR Page 07
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 3. Falkirk Page 08 designated boundary. recent signsofincreased activity. Residential useislimited withinthe accommodating theCouncilheadquarters, althoughthere are some Town Centre hasnottraditionally hadastrong officesector apartfrom are becoming more significant, incommon withnational trends. The functions remain important, retail leisure services, andcommunity uses as aretail andadministrative centre thearea, serving andwhilst these principal centre intheCouncil area. Historically, itsstrengths have been diverse range ofactivitiesanduses,commensurate withitsrole asthe The floorspace survey shows that Falkirk Town Centre supportsa to ascertain thepotential for better utilisation ofthisspace. upper floors remains limited, andisan area where more work isneeded relation to theuseofground floorpremises. Information ontheuseof conducted in2019.Thisprovides comprehensive information mainlyin floorspace survey, presently undertaken every five years, andlast sourceThe primary ofinformation onactivitiesand Activities andUses usesistheCouncil’s
keep unitsoccupied. Escape Rooms. TheHowgate Centre hasalsofound innovative solutionsto focus, aswell asothernon-traditional town centre leisure usessuchas community enterprise andsmallindependent traders providing the main TKMax. Thenumberofvacant unitsinCallendar Square isdecreasing, with Square accommodates alarge gymonitsfirst floor, previously occupiedby totrying adapt to thechallenging retail market conditions. Callendar The Howgate Centre andCallendarSquare shopping a widerange ofmainlyindependent retailers. provide themajorityoffloorspace, although thesecondary streets support Howgate andCallendarSquare), theHighStreet, andCentral Retail Park traditional towns suchasFalkirk. Thetwo indoorshoppingmalls(the of theexpenditure ofaffluent andmobileconsumers, at theexpense of whereby thecitiesandregional shoppingcentres are attracting more environment, butalsocontinuing structural changes intheretail sector the last ten years. Thisreflects therecession andthedifficultretail although theamount offloorspace andunitshasreduced by 17%over Comparison shoppingremains at thecore oftheTown Centre’s offer, floorspace. half ofallunitsintheTown Centre (231units)andaround 25%ofthetotal uses,by contrast,units. Service continue to increase, now forming almost units. Itnow comprises about57%oftotal floorspace, andjust 37%of reduction inretail floorspace, anda5%reduction inthenumberofretail relative importance isreducing. Since2014there hasbeenafurther4% Whilst retailing remains animportant landuse, Retail and Retail Services Figure 1shows that its centres have been 3. Falkirk continuing variety ofdistinctive Figure 1 A key characteristic ofthetown centre isitsindependent sector, nearly fullandvacant unitshave, to date, beentaken uprelatively quickly. enabled theretention andeven attraction ofsomenational retailers. Itis the sametimeCentral Retail Park, withitslarger, more flexible unitshas Woolworths, HMV, WHSmithandmore recently Marks andSpencer. At within theTown Centre, theHighStreet haslost somekey namessuchas Whilst there remains asignificant representation of Activities andUses sector isanimportant asset inthechangingretail environment. 1996 2019 2014 2009 2004 Floorspace Convenience 21,200 m 24,641 m 22,930 m 27,620 m 19,626 m 2 2 2 2 2 local retailers inboththe Floorspace Comparison 69,936 m 75,599 m 83,999 m 82,839 m 74,290 m 2 2 2 2 2 Floorspace Service 43,382 m 37,636 m 33,621 m 28,394 m national retailers retail andservice
andthe 2 2 2 2 Floorspace Vacant
26,999 m 25,894 m 15,945 m 7,771m
2 2 2 2
Floorspace Total 165,449 m 162,059 m 161,185 m 138,630 m Overall, main food shoppingdestination for just over 50%ofthe the three large shopping whichtheCouncilhaspursued over the Centre’s role andvitality, Convenience shoppingremains animportant component of the Town the actualfloorspace current town centre include boundary increased from 34unitsto 46unitsfrom 2014to 2019. Centre. Thenumberofhairdressers/barbers andbeautysalonshas Retail are services anincreasingly important component oftheTown Centre, with Lidljust beyond the occupying theformer Tesco at Callendar Riggs. thenumberofconvenience unitshashalved since 2 2 2 2 superstores withintheTown Centre Units Conv 20 19 25 26 38 hasremained fairly constant. Supermarkets withinthe notwithstanding thestrategy ofdecentralising food boundary. B&Mare Comp Units 162 172 231 252 257 Morrisons, Service Units 231 203 180 197 171 alsorepresented inthe past 15years. In2009, Asda, were the Vacant Units 106 84 55 50 64 Tesco, area’s households. 1996, preferred andIceland, although Page 09 Units Total 497 500 491 525 530 Town
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 3. Falkirk Page 10 within thetown centre. Council HQwithassociated artscentre providing acivicandcultural focus is underway aimedat securingadevelopment partnerto deliver anew Street. Withthebuildingrequiring to bereplaced, aprocurement process The largest officecomplex istheCouncil’s at HQbuilding West Bridge type offacility withintheTown Centre. sq.m. ofspaceonflexible terms, andhasdemonstrated demandfor this exception istheHubinVicar Street whichopenedin2013,provides 2,500 dated andoflow quality, andthere isadearthofmodernfloorspace. An the floorspace survey. Ingeneral, officeproperty intheTown Centre is throughout theTown Centre, andtheseare notgenerally recorded in However,services. upperstoreys accommodate anumberofbusinesses societies, financialadvisers, employment solicitors services, andproperty includingbanks, building occupied by businessandfinancialservices, a concentration inacentral businessdistrict. Around 10%ofunitsare Falkirk property hasamixof office withinthetown centre rather than Business andOffice Activities andUses
encourage linked trips. travel routes between theHelixandTown Centre whichwillhopefully from withintheCouncilarea. There are proposals to strengthen active to theTown Centre, whichremains acentre primarilyusedby residents Helix/Kelpies. However, at present, relatively few ofthesevisitors come decade dueto theimpactofFalkirk Wheelandlatterly, the Falkirk hasdeveloped significantly asatourist destination over thelast has onlyincreased by 1unitsince2014. over 11%ofallunitswithinthetown centre. Thenumberofbetting shops 2014 and53unitsin2019)withthissector continuing to account for just the town centre hasincreased slightly between 2014and2019(51unitsin In terms ofrestaurants, cafes andfast food outlets thenumber ofunitsin Bennys, Nandos,Pizza HutandMcDonalds). restaurants (includingsomepopularrestaurant brands suchasFrankie and commercial leisure sector intheform ofacinema,healthcluband throughout theday. Central Retail Park accommodates thetown’s prime restaurants where theemphasisisonallday withmealsserved service This upturn isevidenced by thecontinuing demand for pubs, cafes and cafes, amusement arcades, night clubs, betting shops andfitnessclubs. (83) inusefor leisure includingpubs, restaurants, services, takeaways, increasing inimportance. Thefloorspace survey records some17%ofunits The overall impression Leisure andTourism isthat theTown Centre’s leisure functionis
3. Falkirk visitor attraction whichiseasilyaccessiblefrom theTown Centre. striking new gateway whenapproaching from thewest, andafurther planning permissionin2019,willhave positive benefits, providing a regeneration andreopening oftheRosebank Distillery, whichwas granted be improved. Meanwhile to thewest ofTown Centre, theproposed Park asamajortourist attraction, although links between thetwo could The Town Centre benefits from theproximity Houseand ofCallendar the Best Western Park Hotel. chain hotels at theedge oftheTown Centre includingthePremier Inn,and and Airbnbalsohasapresence inthe Town Centre. There are anumberof apartment hotel was granted planning consent in2017 at CallendarRiggs hotels, theOrchard Hotel, Antonine Hotel andCladhanHotel. Afurther In terms ofhotel accommodation, theTown Centre Falkirk Town Centre. Falkirk Delivers hasbeenresponsible for anadditional£2.6mspendin Christmas Lights switch onandFarmers Market Days. Itisestimated that throughout theyears suchastheFairtrade Zone, musicanddrama events, community, Falkirk Delivers have beeninfluential inevents andinitiatives groups. Working to abusinessplanwhichisinfluencedby thebusiness Town Centre through involvement inhundreds ofinitiatives, projects and Falkirk Delivers have continued to work to improve thevitality ofFalkirk Activities andUses accommodates three
the Falkirk Sewing Studio, andRe-Act. Callendar Square isalsobecoming a hubfor community projects suchas benefited from theFalkirk THIthrough new shopfronts andpublicrealm. the Active Travel HubandRevive (reuse workshops andadvice),have Forth Environment Link have a presence onFalkirk HighStreet through There isanincrease incommunity useswithintown centre retail units. Educational and Cultural Centre. Francis Xavier RC Church, theFalkirk IslamicCentre andFalkirk Muslim places ofworship inthetown centre includingFalkirk Trinity Church, St A strong senseofcommunity isalsoreinforced inFalkirk by anumberof is proposed to beexpanded advicehubfor asaservice theCentral Locality. various talks andevents. AspartoftheCouncil’s locality hubmodel,itsrole baby andtoddler sessions,computer courses, adultreading groups and resource. Aswell asitscore library function,itprovides acentral venue for Falkirk Library onHope HQ project. events throughout theyear. Itsfuture isunderreview aspartoftheCouncil provides afocal point for thecommunity andoffers avaried programme of multi-purpose arts,cinemaandconference centre. Openedinthe 1960sit Falkirk Town artsandentertainment Hallisathriving centre andprovides a Cultural, SocialandCommunity Street alsoprovides avaluable community
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TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 3. Falkirk Page 12 Centrecurrent isrelocated. MunicipalBuildingssite iftheCouncilHQ/Arts Community Hospital site onWestburn Avenue, andpotentially at the housing exist around theedge oftheTown Centre at theFalkirk proposals withinthetown centre boundary. Opportunitiesfor new a policywaiving certain developer contributions onsmallerresidential of theTown Centre. LDP2seeks to encourage suchdevelopments through granted for 36socialhousingunitsinWilliamson Street, closeto theheart to residential useinrecent months. Planningpermissionhasalsobeen former RusselandAitken OfficesonKingsCourthave alsobeenconverted storey former officesonKirkWynd, bothassisted by theFalkirk THI.The the restoration oftheTattie Kirk,andaflatted development utilisingupper Falkirk THI.Recent projects includeamixed-use development involving storeys beingconverted backto flats, includingprojects assisted by the regenerating town centres andthere isincreasing evidence ofupper 2021. There isanincreasing emphasisonresidential useasameansof resident population willnotbeavailable until after thenext censusin Information Team) whichisfairly small.Unfortunately anupdate of approximately 615in2016 (source: Falkirk CouncilResearch and The resident population ofFalkirk town centre was estimated to be Residential Activities andUses
Figure 2 Source: Customer 2010 Survey Figure 2below. town centre time,themaindestinations intheevening/night are listed in Falkirk BIDBoard. Outofthe61%respondents that indicated they visitthe comes from acustomer survey carried outin2010whichwas produced for The most recent insight into Falkirk’s evening andnight timeeconomy Evening/Night-time Economy to visitat night-time andover theweekends. public’s perception that Falkirk Town Centre isasafe andenjoyable place andStreetService Pastors amongst others. Itsaim isto enhancethe by Falkirk Delivers whichincludesPolice Scotland, Scottish Ambulance on Park Street between 10pmand4am.Itispartnership project managed 2009, andoperates onkey dates from theCommunity Education Building received. ASafebase/Safezone schemehasalsobeenestablished since to reduce trouble andmake theTown Centre safer. Thishasbeenwell A Taxi Marshal Scheme economy willbeupdated inthenext healthcheck. annual appraisal whichshouldensure information onFalkirk’s evening this information isdated, uptheneedto ithasflagged undertake an having littleactivityafter 5pmduringweek days. Whilst itisacknowledged and pubs butaquiet evening economy withtheHighStreet inparticular The general impression Leisure Facilities Nightclub Restaurant Pub Arts/Theatre/Cinema was introduced by Falkirk BIDat theweekends isofastrong night timeeconomy basedonclubs 8% 39% 48% 54% 64% • • • • • • Convenience shoppingisstable andremains animportant component ofthetown centre’s role andvitality; 3. Falkirk
Summary Figure 3: • Activities andUses of upperstoreys. The Town Centre hasasmallresident population, butthere are anumberofsmallresidential schemesbeingpromoted, includingconversions to theoutlyingattractions into thecentre; The leisure andtourism functionoftheTown Centre continues to develop, butthere ismuchuntapped potential interms ofdrawing visitors The Howgate andCallendarSquare shoppingcentres continue to diversify andinnovate asthey face lower retail demand; Town Centre supportsawiderange ofindependent retailers; Representation ofnational retailers ontheHighStreet continues to decrease, incontrast to Central Retail Park; Comparison floorspace andnumberofunitscontinues to reduce, usesare whileservice ontheincrease; between 2009and2019 Falkirk Town Centre Change inRetail Provision vs Service Service Service +29% Retail -15%
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TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019
Accessibility 3. Falkirk Page 14 Figure 4:Method ofTravel to Town Centre (%) healthy level. navigate around onfoot. survey animpressive 94.7%ofpeoplethought the town centre was easy to get inandoutofthetown centre by car orpublictransport. Inthesame received, 73.4%ofrespondents indicated that they considered iteasy to In asurvey conducted by theFalkirk Herald in2018, Source: Falkirk Delivers in March The method oftravel to theTown Centre was surveyed duringthedaytime of transport cycling suchaswalking, andpublictransport. hierarchy oftransport modes,theaimbeingto promote sustainable modes Accessibility must consider allmodesoftransport andshouldreflect the The accessibilityoftown centres isakey factor success. intheir as shown in Active Travel Public Transport Car/Taxi Mode ofTransport 2018 Figure 4,
on behalf of useofpublictransport and active travel isat a Falkirk Delivers. 18% 23% 59% Whilst travel outof2,639responses by car is dominant
bike maintenance. local active travel routes aswell asrunningworkshops ontopics suchas bikes and e-bikes through abike lendinglibrary andshares knowledge on Carbon Travel andTransport Challenge Fund.TheHubprovides accessto European Regional Development FundunderTransport Scotland’s Low It ispartoftheHealthierGreener Falkirk Project whichisfundedby the sustainable modesoftransport (electricbikes andotherelectricvehicles). to make more oftheireveryday journeys by cycling walking, andother aims to encourage andsupportboththelocal community andvisitors Falkirk’s Active Travel HubontheHighStreet was in2018and launched Development Plan. connecting theTown Centre to theHelixhasbeenhighlighted intheLocal the Town Centre. Thepotential for anoff-road cycle/pedestrian corridor of acurrent Scottish Canalsproject. Cycle parkingfacilities are provided in the Town Centre andFalkirk’s canal network, isbeinginvestigated aspart enhancement ofthisroute, whichwould improve theconnection between and west ofthetown viathecanal towpath andtheMungal path. The Buildings provides oneoff-road route, whichconnects to thenorth disincentive to cycle use.TheBleachfield path to therear oftheMunicipal The busy arterial andradial routes around theTown Centre may provide a Callendar Road. Callendar Park issevered from theTown Centre by thebusy ArnotStreet/ Town Centre andtheRetail Park whichinvolves crossing Grahams Road. involves crossing thebusy GarrisonPlace,andthelinkbetween the include accessbetween Grahamston Station andtheTown Centre which is encircled by busy roads whichpresent barriers to movement. Examples Centre provides agenerally good environment for pedestrians, althoughit Town Centre by active travel (18%).Thepedestrianised core ofFalkirk Town The Falkirk Delivers survey indicates areasonable level ofaccessto the Walking andCycling Accessibility 3. Falkirk
A a brief andmasterplan willberequired to guide proposed usesfor thesite. opportunity at theeast endofthetown centre. Although currently stalled, The former busstation development is includedintheCallendarRiggs Town Centre whichmeansbusesare affected by congestion at peaktimes. the new hubfor buses.There are limited buslanesonradial routes into the at CallendarRoad closedin2018withUpperNewmarket Street becoming connect tomode. Services most partsoftheCouncilarea. Thebusstation relatively high proportion oftrips to theTown Centre are madeby this Falkirk Town Centre isthehubofbusnetwork inthearea anda Bus and RailTransport faster greener electrictrains. electrification project between Edinburgh andGlasgow to enablelonger passengers willalsobenefit from theongoing Scottish Government tonorthern edge, withservices Dunblane,Edinburgh andGlasgow. Falkirk The Town Centre benefits from Grahamston Railway Station onits car use. is littleusedsinceitoffers littleadvantage, interms ofcost andtime,over park and ride facility was built on thewestern edge of Falkirk in 2003, but
Parking comprises two multi Whilecar parkingcapacity in Car parkingprovision in has aoneway system that can beconfusing for visitors. affected by varying degrees ofcongestion at peaktimes.TheTown Centre Access by car to theTown Centre isviaseveral radial routes whichare andParkingCar Access visitors to thetown centre to supportbusiness. Council’s ‘Free after 3’initiative hasbeen continued to encourage more Meeks Road(e.g. andKemper Avenue). After aninitialtrialin2015,the relative to longer stay car parks around oftheTown theperiphery Centre car parks closeto theHighStreet MelvilleStreet, (e.g. WilliamsonStreet) The Council’s pricingstructure isdesignedto maximise usage ofshoppers’ difficult for theCouncilto influence accessandparking behaviour. a large proportion offree parkingisoutwiththeCouncil’s control makes it essentially free facility whichisvery popular. However, thefact that such the supermarkets andCentral Retail Park. Thelatter provides alarge, on street andthelarge car parking, surface car parks associated with and CallendarSquare, avariety ofCouncilowned surface car parks, those surveyed were shoppingonlineonceafortnight. demand. TheFalkirk Herald survey ontheTown Centre found that 60%of and thegeneral reduction intrips hascontributed towards thisdecrease in non-car modes,itislikely competing that larger onlineshopping, centres Figure 6overleaf. Rather thanreflecting anincrease intheuseof on Saturdays saw adecrease from 2006to 2015.Thisishighlighted in and isnow doublethecapacity of1986,theactualdemandfor parking and 4691onSaturday, indicating that capacity exceeds demand. that there were 6467spaces,withmaximum occupancy4406onFriday, The results ofthe2015parkingsurvey shown in theTown Centre isgenerous andrelatively cheap. thetown centre hascontinued to increase storey car parks associated withtheHowgate Figure 5overleaf indicated Page 15
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 Accessibility 3. Falkirk
Page 16 Source: Transport PlanningUnitFalkirk Council Source: Transport PlanningUnitFalkirk Council Figure 5:Type ofCarParking Figure 6:Falkirk Town Centre -Saturday Parking Demand
No. of Car Parking Spaces Other Parking On-Street NoParking On-Street Unrestricted On-Street PayandDisplay Private CarParks Falkirk CouncilCarParks Overall Totals 7000 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 0 2923 1986 2778 Saturday Capacity FalkirkTown Centre 3736
Demand 1990 3292 3962 1993 3837 - SaturdayParking Demand 4925 Capacity 4018 1352 6347 Year 1996 677 193 2006 64 43 5100 6066 2001 5203 Capacity 1255 6467 4117 125 253 217 2015 6347 0 2006 5209 6467 2015* 2015 FridayPeak 4691 Capacity 2922 4406 148 469 219 612 36 2015 SaturdayPeak Capacity 3383 4691 139 515 192 430 32 • Signage inandaround theTown Centre hasseenrecent improvement, andmost peoplesay they finditeasy to navigate theTown Centre onfoot. • • • Accessibility 3. Falkirk Summary orientation boards at key locations. recent investment inpedestrian signage intheTown Centre, alongwith considered that thetown centre iswell signposted. There hasbeen The Falkirk Herald survey in2018found that 66.9%ofthosesurveyed Signage • parks provided by theRetail Park andthesupermarkets. Parking demandhasdecreased between 2006and2015; Access by car isgenerally good, subjectto congestion at peaktimes.Parking isgenerous andrelatively cheap,particularlygiven thelarge, free surface car closed, andbusescan beaffected by congestion at peaktimes; Access to theTown Centre by publictransport isgood, reflected inahighlevel ofaccessby businparticular. However, themainbusstation hasrecently Few peopleaccesstheTown Centre by bike, probably reflecting therelatively hostile environment for cycling onthemainroads coming into thecentre; peripheral roads; Walking isamixed experience for thoseaccessingtheTown Centre onfoot, thepedestrianised centre contrasting withthebarriers presented by thebusy Page 17
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 Environment 3. Falkirk Page 18 Central Retail Park andto thesouthalongCow Wynd. shopping areas radiate outfrom theHighStreet to thenorthto linkwith the Steeple, anotable landmarkwhichdates backto 1814.Thesecondary Howgate centrally located. Invisualterms thefocus oftheHighStreet is with two indoorshoppingcentres: CallendarSquare at itseast endandthe Falkirk Town Centre comprises atraditional pedestrianised HighStreet, Overall Structure
used for food growing. previously underutilisedland.OntheHighStreet, someoftheplanters are Environment LinkandFalkirk BIDaimedat encouraging food growing on High Street. ‘DiginFalkirk’ isapartnership withFalkirk Council,Forth the environment. Communitygrowing hasbecome anew focus for the category. Thisaward successreflects theimprovement inthequalityof National Britain inBloom2018competition intheBIDandTown Centre Scotland in2017.Thefollowing year agold award was secured inthe award andoverall winnerintheBIDandTown Centre category by Beautiful Falkirk’s horticultural environment hasalsobeenrecognised by agold signage to theseparks could beimproved upon. areas ofparklandat the edge ofthetown centre althoughlinkages and Park, CallendarPark andBellsmeadow Park allprovide large, attractive centre isprovided by thegrounds ofFalkirk Trinity Church. However, Dollar within itsboundary. Themost notable area ofopenspacewithinthetown Open spacewithinthe Public Realm Civicand Greenspace town centre islimited asthere are nopublicparks Environment 3. Falkirk
A significant partofthe Conservation Area Historic Environment elements ofthehistoricand surviving street pattern. preserve thespecialcharacter and appearance ofthehistoric architecture street pattern, theconservation area designation serves to enhanceand Whilst modernretail development onthehistoric hashadsomeimpact centre at the east end. the 1960sfrontages at itswestern endandCallendarSquare shopping Street isincludedwithinthe conservation area, theonlyexceptions being built heritage anddistinctive townscape character. ThemajorityoftheHigh first designated aconservation area in1971recognition ofitssignificant town centre hasconservation area status. Itwas
• • • • • • • • • features ofthetownscape: environment. Inparticulartheappraisal identified thefollowing key Heritage Initiative (THI)Bidandto assessthetown centre’s historic A conservation area appraisal was carried outto supporttheTownscape area listed for theirspecialarchitectural orhistoric interest. the buildingsisreflected inthenumberofbuildingsconservation Renaissance, Romanesque, ArtDeco andpost Modernist; thequalityof buildings, includingneoclassical, Gothic,Scots Baronial, Italianate, Richness andvariety ofcommercial ecclesiastical andresidential incorporating decorative glazingandtiling; Several groups oftraditional variations inglazing pattern, designandproportion; Traditional timbersashand elevations, Scottish slate andlocalised useofpantiles andtiles; with polishedandtextures finishes,brickwork to gables andrear Diversity oftraditional materials includingavariety ofnatural sandstones cast iron detailing; Decorative roof features includingturrets, dormers, crow step gables and churchyards and gardens; Varied streetscape interspersed by openspaceincludinghistoric 19th andearly20thcentury; Legacy offinebuildingsfrom theindustrial andcommercial boomofthe offacentraland wynds spine; remnantsSurviving oftheearlystreet pattern withnarrow plots,closes ridge; of alow ridge. TheHighStreet spreads alongthesouthsideofsame Distinctive topography; theParish KirkandTown Steeple occupy thetop case windows predominate incorporating shopfronts survive, insomecases Page 19
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 Environment 3. Falkirk Page 20 Map 2: Falkirk Town Centre Conservation Area, Listed Buildingsand Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) © Crown copyright anddatabase rights 2019 Ordnance Survey 100023384.Useofthisdata issubjectto terms andconditions.
Environment 3. Falkirk The 5year THIwas completed in2018.The aim lighting improvements. pends andcloses,resurfacing ofsomestreets andfootpaths and scheme works includestherepair andrestoration ofFalkirk’s historic contribution to thephysical appearance ofthetown centre. The £1.7 millionproject finishedin2018,andhasmadeasignificant and Cow Wynd. InadditiontheTHIpublicrealm project, ayear long locatedservices inNewmarket Street, Vicar Street, ManorStreet example anumberofnew orrefreshed independent retail and It hashelpedregenerate secondary areas inthetown centre, for into agood state ofrepair inlinewithbest conservation practice. the THIandhasbenefitted from fundingto bringitsexternal fabric Falkirk Town Steeple was identified asoneofthepriorityprojects of traditional designandbringingvacant floorspace backinto use. structures, improving thepublicrealm, restoring shopfronts to their primarily focused onrepairing and restoring historic buildingsand 2013-2018, £5.5millionhasbeeninvested inthetown centre, Historic Scotland, Falkirk Council,andtheFalkirk BID. Between Falkirk’s THIwas jointly fundedby theHeritage Lottery Fund(HLF), the physical appearance ofthearea andenhancingitsassets. to breathe new life into Falkirk’s historic town centre, by improving Falkirk’s Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) buildings andstructures are highlighted on ground, wall boundary andrailings) andFalkirk Town Steeple. Listed buildings are Category Alisted, theOldParish Church (includingburial A large intheHighStreet numberofbuildings are listed. Two notable Listed Buildings
Map 2 . of theTHIhasbeen Heritage Trail site, andFalkirk Trinity Church andgraveyard. covers sights includingtheOldBurgh Buildings,theoldBarrs IrnBru around thetown andasastand-alone learningresource. Thetour historical photographs. Itisdesignedto beusedbothasvistors walk plaque town trail butgives users accessto more content including Falkirk’s THIheritage trail appwhichcomplements theexisting blue its historical importance. Thistrail hasbeenenhancedfurtherby town centre, eachhasablueplaquewithdetails ofthelocation and Falkirk’s Heritage Trail links 25sites ofinterest and in around the Page 21
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 Litter bins Types oflitter Sources oflitter Environment 3. Falkirk Page 22 chewing gum. removal/prevention thereby reducing thevisual impactofdiscarded audit recommends that additionalresources shouldbeavailable for that smokingdoesnotconstitute littering. Interms ofchewing gumthe they disposeofsmokingrelated litter to counteract thepublicperception with campaigns to encourage smokers to become more responsible how smoking related litter intheBIDarea. Theauditrecommends continuing litter continues to beachallenge dueto theconsistently highlevels of Amongst therecommendations itisevident that tackling smokingrelated being themost common type. common form oflitter withintheBIDarea, andsmokingrelated litter 90% in2017.Thesurvey found that pedestrian litter was still themost in Scotland. 98%ofsites were ofanacceptable standard, anincrease from above theminimumacceptable standard of67adopted by local authorities shown in The overall score/cleanliness index achieved inthe Adverse Environmental QualityIndicators Cleanliness 82 sites beingaudited. Thesites were assessedfor thefollowing criteria: projects add monitor Council’s for baselineservices thetown centre andensure BID Town Centre annually. Thisallows theBIDandlocal authorityto Falkirk Delivers commissions Keep Scotland (KSB) Beautiful to auditFalkirk Cleanliness The BIDarea isshown on methodology. Thisisthetenth auditto beundertaken for theFalkirk BID. standards ofFalkirk BIDinJuly2018usingtheKeep Scotland Beautiful BID’s remit. KSB conducted anauditofthecleanlinessandenvironmental Figure 7.Thisisunchanged from 2017butremains 2index points value over and Map 3 above andconsists of36street sites, resulting in Council provision BID area in2018was 69 in accordance with
the
Source: Keep Scotland BeautifulIndependent Validation Audits Figure 7:Comparisonof CleanlinessStandards 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Audit 2017 2018 Cleanliness Index 67 69 65 70 75 79 72 71 69 69 Acceptable No ofSites 70 75 75 78 80 77 75 74 75 78 Unacceptable No ofSites 10 7 7 4 2 0 2 8 7 4
• Public perception ofthetown centre environment isvery good apartfrom vacant shopunits. • Designated AQMA, withairquality withinthetown centre currently meeting withCouncilobjectives; • Higher thannational cleanliness rating by Keep Scotland BeautifulAudit; • • Environment 3. Falkirk Summary • electric charging points. measures. For example there are now 13 locations inFalkirk whichhave The Councilhasmade • To educate andinform onairqualityissues. thepublic • Promoting alternative andsustainable modesoftransport; • Promoting theEcoStars Fleet Recognition Scheme; • Reducing emissionsfrom vehicles; individual are: reduce airpollutionrather thanshort term fixes. Key measures outlined approved inJune2017andfocuses onlong-term key point actionsto levels. TheFalkirk Town Centre AirQualityManagement Plan(AQAP) was (AQMA) in2011recognition ofthepotential to exceed Nitrogen Dioxide Falkirk Town Centre was declared anAirQualityManagement Area Management Area (AQMA). where objectives are notlikely to beachieved itmust declare anAirQuality objectives are likely to beachieved. Ifalocal authorityfindsany places takes placeto assessairqualityanddetermine whether airquality within thetown centre at HopeStreet andWest Bridge Street. Monitoring automatic airqualitymonitoring sites across thearea, two locations are to protect people’s healthandprotect theenvironment. Outof theeleven Falkirk area by theScottish Government. Thesemeasures are putinplace The Councilisrequired to review andregularly report theairqualityin Air Quality £5.5 millionhasbeeninvested inthetown centre by Falkirk’s THIimproving itsphysical appearance andenhancing existing assets; Conservation area status andconcentration oflisted buildingsprovide valuable historic andarchitectural interest; Traditional town centre withpedestrianised HighStreet encompassing two indoorshoppingcentres andanedge ofcentre retail park; significant progress inimplementing these
interiors by covering theinsidewithplainmaterials orlocal advertising. Audit recommends putting imagery intheshopwindows to hidetheshop of unoccupiedshops andtheirfrontages continues to beanissue.The offering shopfront enhancement grants andhangingbaskets. Theissue public are recorded asbeingvery good. Falkirk Delivers plays akey role by public perception ofthetown centre. Initialimpressions ofthearea by the The 2018Keep Scotland findingsonthe BeautifulAuditincludedsome Public Perception Page 23
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019
3. Falkirk Page 24 recent closure oftheMark&Spencerunitbeing significant inthisregard. the amount of vacant floorspace hasincreased slightly by 4%,withthe reduction invacancies sincethen.Althoughvacant unitshave decreased, a peakinvacant unitsin2014,withthe2019survey showing a20% with thesituation improving thereafter. Thefloorspace survey alsohas As can beseenin Source: CouncilSubmissionsto SLAED Figure 8:Vacancy Rates inFalkirk Town Centre Falkirk compares to theScottish national average. Economic Development Group (SLAED). Falkirk town centre andsubmitsthesefindingsto Scottish Local Authorities The Council’s Economic Vacancies Commercial Viability 2017/2018 2016/2017 2015/2016 2014/2015 2013/2014 2012/2013 Year Figure 8there was apeakinvacancy rates in2014/15, Falkirk 12.0% 14.9% 15.0% 16.5% 10.0% 10.9% Development Team monitors vacancy rates in Figure 8below illustrates how Scotland 10.2% 10.1% 10.2% 10.4% 11.5% 11.9% Thorntons (2018),Poundworld (2018),andAnnSummers (2018). (2018), Marks andSpencer(2018),Hallmark(2018),SemiChem and Phones4U(2014),Mathiesons theBaker (2015),BHS(2016),Topman (2013), Blockbuster (2013), Fragrance House(2014),Burger King(2014) have included:Woolworths (2009),D2Jeans(2012),Comet (2012),HMV Significant store closures over recent years withinFalkirk Town Centre 2018/19. floorspace hasdecreased substantially from 2351m²in2014to 1338m²in vacant units(9outof46representing 20%vacancy), butthevacant smaller unitsinthecentre. TheHowgate Centre alsohasanumberof stores suchas BHS,andthecontinued reconfiguration anduptake of floorspace to 6709m².Thisislargely dueto theclosure oflarge floorspace 2018/19, there are 14outof31unitsvacant, butwithanincrease invacant vacant floorspace inCallendarSquare, with18outof31unitsvacant. In vacancies isCallenderSquare ShoppingCentre. In2014,there was 5524m² within theTown Centre. Thearea withthemost significant numberof the town centre. Vacant development sites are notaparticularissue The overall impression isthat vacant unitsare largely dispersed throughout
3. Falkirk Figure 8:Vacancy Rates inFalkirk Town Centre fairly steady given thecurrent economic climate. lower in2018than2016.However overall theimpression isthat footfall is increases for theTown Centre asawhole. shopping centre 7days aweek, whichcan beusedto anextent asaproxy Falkirk Delivers continually monitor footfall figures intheHowgate Footfall Commercial Viability Month January February March April May June August July September October November December in the months 290,277 304,840 373,703 298,217 305,463 385,109 324,212 376,654 298,319 323,127 472,734 300,911 2016 of April, Figure 9illustrates withtheexception of June, July 281,256 278,918 368,892 298,279 292,196 294,831 373,178 320,403 375,051 300,254 328,419 493,617 2017 and December, footfall 268,727 303,889 338,295 299,950 302,567 303,186 387,882 290,836 312,694 254,175 310,798 475,584 2018 is slightly Page 25
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT March 2019 3. Falkirk
Page 26 Ryden undertook someproperty market research in Retail Expenditure/Capacity/Leakage the catchment. The more affluent groups typically live furtherafield inmore rural partsof affluence categories andtend to befrequent andloyal shoppers to Falkirk. Households intheimmediate vicinityofFalkirk tend to befrom thelower that appealsto shoppers across thedemographic spectrumitserves. preference. Thechallenge for Falkirk isto provide acompelling retail offer (13%), allofwhichhave varying levels ofaffluence anddifferent retail Executive Wealth (14%),StrivingFamilies (14%) and Poorer Pensioners of theAcorn customer classclassification, thethree largest groups are CACI noted that Falkirk serves a diverse catchment population. Interms Edinburgh. centres, andabove strong centres suchasInverness and theGyle in 468 Scottish retail centres. ThisplacesFalkirk inthetop 4%ofScottish residential comparison goods market potential, Falkirk ranks 18thoutof Scotland, andisaregionally significant retail destination. Basedonthe Falkirk performs well compared to otherretail footprint centres in since 2010. butencouraginglyStirling, market shares lost to Glasgow have declined base. At theedges ofitscatchment areas leakage increases to Glasgow and a market share ofover 33%reflecting arelatively strong local shopper located withinacompetitive catchment, however its core catchment has Falkirk’s retail market inApril2016.Thestudy reaffirmed that Falkirk is CACI was commissioned by Falkirk Delivers to produce anoverview of Falkirk to othermajorshoppingcentres isatrend whichisset to continue. andsecondary) catchments.(primary Itistherefore clearthat leakage from CACI reports 48%comparison goods expenditure retention inFalkirk’s core competitors (Glasgow, Livingston Stirling, andEdinburgh). Alternatively, noted that Experianreports 40%expenditure leakage to Falkirk’s top four the Town Centre Regeneration Strategy Review update. Theirresearch Commercial Viability 2015to support
centre. categorising theretail parkasacommercial centre separate from thetown Development Plan(LDP2),publishedinSeptember 2018,hasproposed footfall andactivityaway from thecore Town Centre. TheProposed Local haveotherwise come to thetown, there isaperception that ithasdrawn contention. Whilst theretail parkhascaptured investment whichmight not and viabilityofthetraditional core oftheTown Centre remains amatter of whether theretail parkhasdetracted from, orcontributed to thevitality distinctive features ofFalkirk’s retail environment, andtheissueasto The edge ofcentre location oftheCentral Retail Park isoneofthe Silverburn were thenext visited outoftown shoppingcentres. Almondvale andMcArthurGlenLivingston 12.7%. TheGyle Edinburgh and major centres was evident, withStirlingattracting 29.9%ofshoppers and centre was Central Retail Park at 49.7%.However thepopularityofother preferred shopping locations. Themost frequently visited ‘out oftown’ an indication ofthebehaviour ofresidents oftheCouncilarea interms of the regular useoutoftown shoppingcentres (2,569responses) providing More recently, theFalkirk Herald Survey in2018asked residents about 3. Falkirk centre area, isnotidentical itsboundary to theLDP. The BIDarea ishighlighted on achievement. Given there are upwards of270BIDsacross theUKthisis asignificant projects andinitiatives to supporttheday andnight economy inthetown. and Ireland’s BIDoftheYear’, reflecting thejudges’ approval ofitsdiverse in thetown centre until 2021.In 2017Falkirk Delivers was awarded ‘UK Scotland to have athird successful ballotwhichwilloversee investment both locally andnationally. In2016thecompany became thefirst BIDin gum. TheBIDalsorepresents thetown centre onstrategic initiatives street ambassadors to supplyinghangingbaskets andbinsfor chewing everything from marketing andevents, thehiringoftaxi marshals and and enhancethetown centre. Initiatives carried outby theBIDinclude of theirproperty. Thefundingisthenallocated to take forward projects fromsmall levy businessesinthetown centre basedontherateable value out oftheformer town centre management company, andisfundedby a areas. Established in2008andnowknown as‘Falkirk Delivers’ itdeveloped Falkirk was oneofScotland’s first BusinessImprovement District (BID) Business Improvement District Commercial Viability Map 3 . Whilst covering thesamecore town
Map 3: ey © Crown copyright anddatabase rights 2019Ordnance Survey 100023384.Useofthisdata issubjectto terms andconditions. Falkirk Business ImprovementDistrict(BID) Area Business Improvement District (BID) Area Page 27
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 3. Falkirk Page 28 Street, just to therear ofthe HighStreet, hasplanningpermission. restaurant/bar andtakeaway. Asite for socialhousingby LinkinWilliamson has planningpermissionfor amixed usedevelopment comprising flats, opportunity inBankStreet isidentified intheLocal Development Planand potential redevelopment andregeneration. Afurthersmallerscale properties at thewestern end oftheHighStreet present anarea for Additionally, thevacant Marks andSpencerunit, together withother Brief/Masterplan isrequired. Potential futures usesincluderetail/leisure/office andresidential. redevelopment opportunities. Thesite includes theformer busstation. This isaprominent site at theeast endoftheTown Centre whichoffers Falkirk East EndOpportunity Area (LDPRef :M09) retail/leisure/office andresidential. Brief/Masterplan isrequired. for redevelopment andenhancement. Potential future usescould include rail. Currently predominantly asurface car parkingarea ithasthepotential This site provides animportant gateway to thetown centre by road and Grahamston Opportunity Area (LDPRef :M08) scale opportunities: to develop asavibrant Town Centre. TheLDPidentifies two possiblelarge Future redevelopment opportunitiesare important ifFalkirk is to continue Development Opportunities High Street. intensifies theneedfor focus onthere-development oftheeast endofthe store ongoing. Theclosure ofFalkirk BusStation inAugust 2018further part ofCallendarSquare Centre, remains vacant, withmarketing ofthe as companies continue to re-structure. Thelarge former BHSstore, as store closures over recent years. Otherstores are alsoat riskofclosure a significant lossto Falkirk, thelatest inaseriesofcomparison retail The closure ofMarks and SpencerontheHighStreet in2018hasbeen Development Activity/Commitments Commercial Viability
Source: Falkirk LDPJuly2015. Map 4: the project. procurement exercise aimedat findingadevelopment partnerto deliver extremely difficultbudget context for theCouncil.Work hasstarted ona economic andcommunity benefits to theTown Centre butisset withinan for aTown Centre location. Thispotential opportunitywould bringboth and ArtsCentre, for whichtheCouncilhasaclearlyexpressed preference development opportunityisthe Council’s proposals for anew CouncilHQ Although there are nofirmproposals orapreferred site asyet, asignificant © Crown copyright anddatabase rights 2019Ordnance Survey 100023384.Useofthisdata issubjectto terms andconditions. LDPDevelopment Opportunities M08 ey Development OpportunitiySites M09 • • •Therelationship between Central Retail Park and • 3. Falkirk Summary • • Commercial Viability The proposed new CouncilHQandArtsCentre represents akey opportunityto strengthen thevitality andviabilityoftheTown Centre. High Street, includingthevacant Marks &Spencer Unit,presenting afurtheropportunity; The LDPidentifies two large scale redevelopment opportunitiesintheTown Centre at Grahamston andFalkirk East End,withthewest endofthe The Town Centre hasasuccessful BusinessImprovement District which was first introduced in2008; Retail expenditure leakage to othermajorcentres isacontinuing trend; The numberofvacant unitshasreduced since2014,althoughtheamount ofactualvacant floorspace hasincreased slightly; thetraditional town centre remains amatter ofcontention;
Page 29
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 4. Bo’ness Overview Bo’ness is a small traditional historic burgh centre adjacent to the River Forth and providing local shopping and services for a population of about 14,500. It is distinguished by its exceptional historic environment, which is a conservation area, and its tourism potential arising from various attractions in the town.
Map 5 : Bo’ness Town Centre
Firth of Forth ey Bo’ness To n Centre
arbour
Dock
Car Park UNION STREET
March 2019 UNION STREET
UNION COURT
Bo’ness & inneil Rail ay DRIVE IAL NORT STREETEAST PIER STREET
MEMOR AGGON ROAD MAR ET STREET MAR ET
COMMISSIONER STREET
OPE STREET
STREET DOC STREET MAIN STREET NORT LIN S COURT SOUT STREET
Car Park
PROVIDENCE BRAE
SEAVIE PLACE LIN S ROAD
STE ART AVENUE
To n all
Bo’ness Public School
© Crown copyright and database rights 2019 Ordnance SurveyGRANGE 100023384. TERRACE Use of this data is subject to terms and conditions.
CORBIE ALL TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT CENTRE HEALTH TOWN
Page 30 4. Bo’ness the remainder. quarter. Financial,legal, property account and healthservices for most of quarter units,withcafes ofservice andtakeaways accounting for afurther barbers andbeautysalonscontinue to grow asasector, constituting over a in theway theseorganisations are delivering Hairdressers, services. Scotland hasclosed,astheCouncil’s onestop shop,reflecting changes unitsandfloorspaceService have declinedslightly since2014.TheBankof shops (onlytwo) andjust onebetting shop. couple ofantique/second handshops. There are relatively few charity quality nicheshops includingabookshop, acouple ofboutiquesanda comprising smalllocal independent shops, there are someinteresting the comparison shoppingoffer isquite limited inqualityandextent, of thediscount store occupying theformer Woolworths unit.Although Comparison floorspace hasreduced since2014mainlythrough theclosure expansion ofFarmfoods, andhasfurtherincreased marginally since2014. significantly between 2004and2014,through thearrival ofLidlandthe anchoring thecentre at itseast end.Convenience floorspace increased shopping remains animportant functionwithsmallTesco andLidlstores floorspace, withanet reduction ofjust of1unitsince2014.Convenience information. Theoverall retail presence isholdingupwell at 58%oftotal effect ofadjustments to unitfloorspaces arisingfrom thelatest assessor’s accounted for by conversion ofaunitto residential use,plusthenet There 3%drop hasbeenaminor intotal floorspace since2014, Activities andUses limiting factor. Forties pipeline, whichmakes landfall adjacent to Bo’ness harbour, are a play arole inregeneration, althoughHSEconstraints arisingfrom theBP Woolworths unit.Smallscale residential usecould therefore continue to of bothupperstoreys andground floorshopunits,includingthevacant There hasbeenfurtherevidence ofinterest inconversion to residential us stalled, although acurrent PPPapplication for theMainStreet ispending. for residential infill at UnionStreet andMainStreet, whichhave been investment andactivityinthe1970s1980s.There are opportunities is areasonable stock oftenement flats dated from HousingActionArea 400, whichisrelatively highcompared withotherTown Centres. There The residential population oftheTown Centre isestimated at around the Hippodrome provide thefocus ofsocialandcommunity use. accommodation. Bo’ness library, whichhasassociated meeting rooms, and are somecafes, butalackofqualityrestaurants andbars, andnohotel supporting tourism infrastructure intheTown Centre islimited. There attraction andarts venue intheheartofTown Centre. Otherwise, the potential remains. TheHippodrome cinemaprovides akey leisure from thevisitors whichhave come to therailway orotherattractions, but destination. Historically, theTown Centre hasseenrelatively littlebenefit Kinneil Estate, to thewest ofthetown, provides afurthertourist new cross-Scotland longdistance route, runsadjacent alongtheForeshore. north east edge oftheTown Centre. Theroute oftheJohnMuirWay, a Scottish Railway Preservation Society, andbasedat Bo’ness Station at the and KinneilRailway andtheScottish Railway Exhibition,bothrunby the Bo’ness hasasignificant tourism functionwhichisanchored by theBo’ness Page 31
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 4. Bo’ness Page 32 Figure 11: Figure 10 Activities andUses 2019 1996 2009 2004 2014 Floorspace Convenience between 2009and2019 Bo’ness Town Centre Change in Retail Provision vs Service Service Service 5,101 m 4,000 m 4,995 m 3,622 m 5,098 m +3% 2 2 2 2 2 Floorspace Comparison 2,141 m 2,423 m 1,649 m 2,610 m 2,811 m Retail 2 2 2 2 2 +9% Floorspace Service 4,138 m 4,631 m 4,664 m 3,436 m 2 2 2 2 Floorspace Vacant 1,172 m 1,134 m 1,635 m 826m 2 2 2 2 Floorspace Total 12,552 m 12,978 m 12,442 m 11,504 m 2 2 2 2 Units Conv 14 13 16 18 11 Comp Units 27 29 30 26 26 Service Units 41 44 35 35 43 Vacant Units 12 9 10 14 12 Units Total 95 94 91 93 92
Environment 4. Bo’ness
meantime detracts from theeastern approach to theTown Centre. was to have formed partoftheforeshore regeneration project, butinthe on theeast side,there isderelict landto thenorthofLinks Road, which Street, andtheformer Cochrane foundry site inUnionStreet. However, the Town Centre, themainonesbeinggap site adjacent to 52North There isalow ofvacant incidence andderelict sites withinthecore of been subject to investment inpath infrastructure overlooking the The Town Centre isreasonably compact andbased Foreshore provides anextensive include thearea infront oftheHippodrome station islessattractive. Other smallerspaces whichhave beenimproved having benefited from THIandmore recent investment. Theadjacent bus of North Street, The key publicspacesintheTown Centre raising thequalityofdesign. quality, suggesting that theTHIhashadsomelasting effect interms of tenemental repairs. Most, althoughnotall,new shopfronts are ofgood Hippodrome, improving thestreetscape andshopfronts, andmaking the town, through bringingvacant properties backinto use,suchasthe which was completed in2012.Thishelpedrestore thehistoric fabric of The Town Centre was subjectofa£5mTownscape Heritage Initiative (THI) Forth withfineviews to andfrom theestuary. old dockandharbour;itsoriginalshopfronts; anditsrelationship to the cases to the16thcentury; itsrelationship withtheheritage railway andthe its range features suchasitshistoric street pattern, withnarrow streets andcloses; recent conservation area appraisal highlighted anumberofoutstanding Bo’ness Town Centre Conservation Area was designated in1975.Themost The Town Centre’s historic environment isexceptional andisamajorasset. stores andother Town Centre shops. are slightly off-centre, whichmay limittheextent ofshared trips to the predominating. Thetwo supermarkets, althoughwithinthedefined centre, street pattern withground floorshops andtenement properties of historic buildings, Market andEast PierStreet. Their qualityisgenerally good, Forth, through whichthe many andattractive semi-natural greenspace of whichare are grouped around thejunction JohnMuirWay runs,andwhichhas andtheEast Partings. The andwildflower planting. listed, around thehistoric dating back
in some
expenditure. for improved convenience shoppingto assist inretaining more local across most oftheTown Centre. TheLDPalsoidentifies the potential BP Forties pipelinepresent problems for larger ordenserdevelopments the Local Development Plan,althoughHSEconstraints associated withthe opportunities at UnionRoad andMainStreet/South Street are identified in In terms offuture development opportunities,residential/commercial resident population ofBo’ness to usetheTown Centre. of investment init,butalsothewiderchallenge ofgetting thesubstantial in Grangemouth. Thisreflects thesmallscale oftheTesco store andlack Centre Tesco (39%in2009),accelerated by theopeningoflarge Asda proportion ofBo’ness residents dotheirmainfood shopping in theTown Successive householdsurvey upto 2009have indicated that adeclining not necessarilybeindicative ofanew business). 30% ofproperties having new names(althoughashopnamechange may There isevidence ofareasonably highturnover with around ofbusinesses, redeveloped for housing. 8 unitsbecame vacant, but4came backinto use,and1vacant unitwas former Woolworths unitbecoming vacant again. Over thefour year period, vacancy levels are backup to 2009levels. Themajorchange was the Following areduction vacant in unitsfrom to 13%in2009 9%in2014, Commercial Viability Page 33
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 • Accessibility ishampered by thelocation oftheTown Centre andthetopography ofthetown. • Vacancies have increased backupto 2009levels (13%),withtheformer Woolworths store beingthemost prominent addition; • • • • • • Accessibility 4. Bo’ness
Page 34 Summary • The at Seaview Place,UnionStreet andRegister Street. vehicles, andonSaturday 408vehicles. Themainoffstreet car parks are indicates acapacity of762spaces,withpeakoccupancyonFriday 462 Bo’ness hasagenerous station onEast PierStreet. The Town Centre isserved by various and hasasmallbus busservices, Town Centre itselfhasnopedestrianised areas. This islikely to actasadisincentive, particularlyto walking andcycling. The the mainresidential areas lyingonthemore elevated landto thesouth. is anissue.Itlocated ontheForth at thenorthernedge ofthetown, with that the THI hashadsomelasting effect interms ofraising thequalityofdesign; The historic environment an issue; existing vacant shops andupperstoreys aswell astheallocated housingsite inMain Street, althoughHSErestrictions arisingfrom theBPForties pipelineare Residential useisamore prominent partofthemake-up oftheTown Centre thansomeothercentres. There isinterest innew homesbothasconversions of limited restaurant provision oraccommodation intheTown Centre to supportthetourism product; Tourism potential remains substantial, given thepresence oftheHippodrome, theSRPS,JohnMuirWay, andotherattractions inthetown, butthere is good range ofservices; floorpacehasalsoreducedService slightly, through thelossofBankScotland andtheCouncilonestop shop, althoughthecentre still benefits from a to thecentre’s attractiveness; Comparison floorspace hasreduced slightly since2014.Althoughthecomparison offer islimited, there are anumberofindependent nicheshops whichadd Farmfoods inthemiddle; Convenience floorspace hasincreased slightly since 2014.Themainconvenience anchors remain Tesco andLidlat theeastern edge oftheTown Centre, with Overall, thepicture isoneofrelative stability since2014,withthelevel ofretail floorspace relatively unchanged; relationship of the Town level offree parking.The2007parkingsurvey is Centre a major asset, to the bulk of which its was catchment enhanced population through the recent THI. Most, although not all, new shopfronts, are ofgood quality, suggesting Overview 5. Denny for Stirling andFalkirk. Thetown centre provides local shoppingandservices providing direct links to majorpopulation centres suchasCumbernauld, area. Thetown issituated between two motorways (M80andM876) Denny isasmalltraditional burgh located inthewest oftheFalkirk Council development are still to take place. community designedtown square withpublicart.Afurthertwo phasesof Council development comprising shopunits,acommunity library anda side, a1960sstyle precinct hasrecently beenreplaced by anew £7.8m Stirling Street are recognised asanArea of Townscape Value. Onthewest 18th century parishchurch. Thetraditional buildingsontheeast sideof of amainstreet (StirlingStreet) andhistoric crossroads overlooked by an as DunipaceandHeadofMuir. Ithasatraditional street pattern consisting some 13,000 people, including those living in neighbouring villages such
DU E STREET Map 6:
© Crown copyright anddatabase rights 2019Ordnance Survey 100023384.Useofthisdata issubjectto terms andconditions. STIRLING STREET STIRLING
Denny Town Centre
GLEBE STREET GLEBE
DAVIES RO DAVIES DU E STREET DU E
Primary School St. Patrick’s RC CARRONBAN
CRESCENT STIRLING STREET STIRLING
Car Park
GLASGO ROAD GLASGO Car Park BROAD STREET BROAD
ey ERBERTS IRE STREET ERBERTS IRE
Denny To n Centre
MCTAGGART AVENUE MCTAGGART
IR SLAP BROAD STREET BROAD Page 35
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 5. Denny Page 36 hairdressers, barbers andbeautysalons. property bookmakers, services, apost office, cafes, andawidechoiceof bank facilities. Arange however, ofservices, are still present including of theUK’s bankbranch network whichhasleft Denny withnopermanent also closedwithinthesameperiod.Thebankclosures reflect arestructure in thecentre. TheRBSbranch, outsidethetown centre, onGlasgow Road result ofthree recent bankclosures (BankofScotland, TSB andClydesdale) floorspaceService has been somereduction since2014interms ofunitsandfloorspace. extent, comprising mainlysmalllocal independent shops, andthere has town centre. Thecomparison shoppingoffer islimited inqualityand as Greggs) occupying somenew unitswithinPhase1oftheredeveloped be attributed to better data collection and/or convenience retailers (such floorspace hasincreased sincethelast floorspace survey, althoughthismay store anchoring thecentre inthemiddleofStirlingStreet. Convenience Convenience shopping Activities andUses remains animportant withaCo-op function sharply declinedbetween 2014 and2018asadirect
opportunities for theintroduction offurther socialhousing. development, althoughPhase 2oftheregeneration project may offer on theoldpolicestation site inBroad Street istheonlyrecent residential blocks at Church Walk. Asmalldevelopment offlatted Councilhousing and hasreduced inrecent years following thedemolitionofresidential Residential play usedoesnot asignificant role smalltown inthis centre, Broompark CommunityHallat Davies Row. locality area. Afurthermedical practice islocated at Denny Cross, and In2018,itbecame theadviceandsupport hubforservices. thewest and businessspace.Ithousesamedical practice andarange ofcouncil but provides avery important concentration ofcommunity services northern endofStirlingStreet, isnotincludedinthefloorspace survey, forms partofthePhase1 regeneration project. Carronbank House,at the There isagood range ofcommunity uses,including • • • period 2009-2019.Thisisdueto acombination ofthefollowing reasons: The numberoftotal hasdeclinedfrom units to 63units 54unitsduringthe floorspace. the 1960sshoppingparade, replacing some,butnotall,unitswithnew Phase 1ofDenny Town Centre’s regeneration has to residential. Therefore, theunithasnotbeencounted in2019survey. The former Clydesdale BankinDuke Street isundergoing excluded from the2019survey. Road) that are outsidethecentre’s boundary. Theseunitshave been Previous surveys (suchastheformer units included RBSonGlasgow allof demolished thenew library which a change ofuse 5. Denny Figure 13: Figure 12 Activities andUses 2019 1996 2014 2009 2004 Floorspace Convenience between 2009and2019 Denny Town Centre Change inRetail Provision vs Service Service Service 1,956 m 1,810 m 1,619 m 1,752 m 1,783 m -6% 2 2 2 2 2 Floorspace Comparison 1,150 m 1,240 m 692m 856m 939m Retail 2 2 2 2 2 -8% Floorspace Service 2,308 m 2,779 m 2,469 m 2,476 m 2 2 2 2 Floorspace Vacant 594m 397m 651m 138m 2 2 2 2 Floorspace Total 5,550 m 5,651 m 6,022 m 5,336 m 2 2 2 2 Units Conv 7 5 6 11 11 Comp Units 8 15 15 18 11 Service Units 34 34 32 30 25 Vacant Units 7 10 4 2 5 Page 37 Units Total 57 54 63 60 56
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 Environment 5. Denny Page 38 traffic away from thecentre. Road (DEAR), whichwillhelprelieve congestion at Denny Cross, routing committed itselfto complete thefinalphasesofDenny Eastern Access remain anissuefor thequalityofenvironment. TheCouncilhasnow Levels ofcongestion at Denny Cross andthrough traffic onStirlingStreet enhancement. public art.Phases2and3present furtheropportunitiesfor townscape focal point for thetown centre, complemented by various items of frontage mentioned above, thenew town square provides anattractive improvement ofthetown’s environment. Apartfrom thenew building Phase 1ofthetown centre regeneration project hasseenamajor complement thisinterms ofscale anddesign. side andtheredeveloped buildingsonthewestern sidehave sought to presents atypically Scottish smalltown mainstreet onitsretained eastern Alexander Church bookends thenorthernendofstreet. StirlingStreet shopping street, StirlingStreet, at Denny Cross, whilethe19thcentury St 18th century OldParish Church bookends thesouthernendofmain of predominantly two storey terraced properties. historic Thestriking, with ground orstorage floorshops below service premises on upper floors The Town Centre isvery compact andessentially formed offour streets,
or community usesare more likely options. marketing exercise hasattracted littleinterest inthesites, andresidential opportunities for furthercommercial development. However, arecent Phases 2and3ofthetown centre redevelopment present potential scale inthetown centre, there islittleopportunityto reverse thissituation. other towns suchasFalkirk andCumbernauld. Withnosites ofsignificant of centre inGlasgow Sainsbury/Iceland Road, butmore significantly to the expenditure dueto itslackofalarge foodstore. Leakage occurs to theout Denny Town Centre doesnotretain much ofthearea’s convenience are vacant, anditishopedthat they willattract tenants induecourse. and floorspace are around 10%.Two unitsinthePhase1redevelopment number ofvacant unitshasfallen. Vacancy rates for bothnumberofunits The amount ofvacant floorspace hasrisenslightly since2014,butthe Commercial Viability • • • • Accessibility 5. Denny Summary • • • works) Carronbank House,andtheCo-op. Davies Row (whichhasbeenimproved aspartofthePhase1regeneration vehicles, andonSaturday 226vehicles. Themainoffstreet car parks are at indicates acapacity of400spaces,withpeakoccupancyonFriday 327 Denny hasanadequate Bonnybridge, Falkirk, StirlingandCumbernauld. Town Centre linkingthetown isserved by anumberofbusservices with Eastern AccessRoad, whichshouldeasecongestion to somedegree. The is taking forward theconstruction oftheremaining phasesoftheDenny at Denny Cross isasignificant problem. Asnoted previously, theCouncil theory, iseasy to accessfrom itscatchment area. Inpractice, congestion The Town Centre isat theconvergence ofanumberroutes andso, in Accessibility to theTown Centre ishampered by congestion at Denny Cross, butthisshouldbeaddressed by theDenny Eastern AccessRoad. Phases 2and3have attracted littlecommercial interest, andare now more likely to bedeveloped for residential orcommunity uses; and appearance ofthecentre; Phase 1ofDenny Town Centre’s redevelopment hasprovided anew library, modernshopunitsandanew publicsquare whichhasenhancedthecharacter Vacancy levels remain moderately low at around 10%ofbothunitsandfloorspace; advice andsupporthub,althoughallthebanks inthetown centre have now closed; There isagood range provided ofservices withinthecentre, whichhasbeenfurtherenhancedby theconversion ofCarronbank Houseinto thewest locality The comparison sector ischaracterised by areducing numberofmainlysmallindependent shops withalimited overall offer; The Town Centre retains aconvenience shoppingfunction,althoughonlyaminorityofresidents dotheirmainshoppingthere; level offree parking.The2007parkingsurvey Page 39
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019
EARLS ROAD SOUT BRIDGE STREET BRIDGE SOUT TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 Overview 6. Grangemouth Page 40 Timber Basin Roundabout Junction Dock Map 7: major hazard sites aswell asalackofpotential sites. M8 andtheRiver Carron, floodingissuesandrestrictions imposedby the opportunities for housinggrowth dueto physical constraints suchasthe continues to beadeclineinthepopulation ofthetown whichhaslimited mainly inthetown centre andthesmallCharlotte Dundascentre. There large portandchemical andpetrochemical industries. Retail isfocussed Grangemouth hasapopulation of16,535andischaracterised by its © Crown copyright anddatabase rights 2019 Ordnance Survey 100023384.Useofthisdata issubjectto terms andconditions. DUNDAS STREET Grangemouth Town Centre
UNION ROAD Car Park S UARE YOR Carron Dock
DOC ROAD
ERSE ROAD ERSE STATION LA PORTE PRECINCT
Car Park ROAD ey Car Park Grangemouth To n Centre
Car Park
BO’NESS ROAD BO’NESS
URE
COURT TALBOT STREET TALBOT
ABBOTS ROAD
PAR ROAD
RONALDS AY CRESCENT RONALDS AY
BO’NESS ROAD BO’NESS
GRANGEBURN ROAD GRANGEBURN
SOUT S ORE ROAD S ORE SOUT PARIS STREET PARIS 6. Grangemouth Figure 14 reasonable range for ofservices thelocal population. well astheLibrary, Town HallandPolice Station andcontinues to provide a Pharmacy andBoots.Thetown retains apost officeand Councilofficesas predominantly well known highstreet retailers suchasSpecsavers, Lloyds since thelast survey in2014.Thelarger unitsinthetown centre are businesses inthesmallerunits,majorityofwhichhave beentrading Iceland. Tesco hasnow closed.There isahighpercentage ofindependent provide themainconvenience shoppingprovision aswell asFarmfoods and bookmakers, hairandbeautyproviders andtakeaways. Asdacontinues to convenience andarange operate ofservices inthetown suchassolicitors, In Grangemouth town centre around onethird floorspace ofthe is Activities andUses 2004 1996 2019 2014 2009 Floorspace Convenience 3,341 m 4,420 m 7,756 m 9,978 m 9,350 m 2 2 2 2 2 Floorspace Comparison 5,432 m 5,010 m 5,343 m 4,348 m 4,522 m 2 2 2 2 2 Floorspace Service 4,791 m 6,108 m 4,292 m 4,631 m 2 2 2 2 Floorspace Vacant 2,821 m 1,016 m 2,017 m 735m 2 2 2 2
Floorspace Total 21,450 m 20,181 m 14,139 m 20,711 m haveand beautyservices, alsoshut. two banks. Oneofthebetting shops andagambling aswell ashair service, For floorspace service themost significant change iswiththeclosure of comparison floorspace. large Tesco hasbeenoccupiedby aB&Mstore whichhasincreased the e-cigarette shophasmoved into larger premises. At thesametimea with anotherE-cigarette shopandafishtackle shopandoneexisting comparison usefor Specsavers. Two new comparison unitshave opened have closed.TheWHSmithunithasbeensplitandhalfofitisretained in Smith, anArtGallery, AG OfficeSupplies,SemichemandPoundstretcher amount ofcomparison floorspace hasincreased. Two card shops, WH There hasbeenanet reduction offive comparison althoughthe units, 2 2 2 2 Units Conv 13 14 10 10 16 Comp Units 19 24 23 34 41 Service Units 45 49 37 36 36 Vacant Units 24 13 24 10 7 Page 41 Units Total 100 101 100 94 90
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 6. Grangemouth Page 42 reduced insize. alhtough themajorhazard zones associated withthisindustry have now the town centre haspreviously complicated any potential redevelopment any additionaldevelopment. Thelocation ofthechemicals industry near more recently. However thepost 2008economic downturn hasdelayed hall in2006.Thepotential for furtherredevelopment hasbeenexplored It was extended to includethenew Asdadevelopment behindthetown in the1990’s. Itispartowned by Falkirk Councilandtheprivate sector. The town centre was redeveloped inthe1960’s and Road andtheestimated population isjust 91people. in LaPorte Precinct andinYork Square, andanumberofflats onUnion the town. Thetown centre has24flatted residential properties above units national chains,Domino’s andCosta Coffee have established businessesin There are five charityshops inthetown andsixtakeaways. Two new Activities andUses Figure 15: Provision between 2009and2019 Grangemouth Town Centre Change inRetail vs Service Service Service +11% Retail -5% furtherrefurbished Environment Road isalisted building. including theTown Hallandlibrary. Theformer LaScala CinemaonBo’ness club onTalbot Street. Bo’ness Road hasanumberofattractive buildings There isnogreen spaceinthetown centre although there isabowling the mainpartofcentre viaapedestrian route alongsidethetown hall. not therefore anattractive entrance for visitors. TheAsdacar parklinks to the maincar parkfacing therear ofthebuildingsat UnionRoad whichis modern town centre ispedestrianised to thesouthofBo’ness Road with York Arcade andSquare and traditional buildingsonBo’ness Road. The The centre ismadeup of amodernshoppingcentre onLaPorte Precinct, 6. Grangemouth • The 1960’s designisdated andwould benefit from redevelopment however thisisunlikely inthecurrent economic climate. • Summary • have allclosedsincethe2014survey. businesses inthesmallerunits.WHSmith,Mathieson’s Bakery andTesco high street retailers andthere are ahighpercentage ofsmallprivate remain.. Thelarger unitsinthetown centre are predominantly well known bookmakers inthetown centre rather thanfour andthetwo pawnbrokers have13 unitsandservices decreased to 45units.There are now three from 24to19 units.For convenience thenumberofunitshasdropped to Porte Precinct. For comparison goods thenumberofunitshasdecreased rate was 14%(24%ofunits).Most vacancies are onthemainstreet ofLa additions. Thevacancy rate for 2014was 5%offloorspace andin2018the and three larger unitsmake upthemajorityofvacant floorspace undertaken in2014with24unitsvacant althoughthetwo former banks Vacant floorspace at 2019hasalmost last tripledsincethe survey was Commercial Viability Grangemouth Town Centre still provides avariety for ofservices local residents includingbothconvenience andcomparison goods aswell aslocal services; Vacant floorspace hasrisensignificantly since2014; Accessibility Road, Talbot Street andat Asda. from themainresidential areas. Itiswell served withcar parkingat Union bus stops nearby althoughitislocated inthenorthwest ofthetown away The town centre hasgood accessibilityfor local residents withanumberof Page 43
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 Overview 7. Stenhousemuir Page 44 provide redevelopment whichwas completed in2010.Ithasbeenrestructured to Stenhousemuir Town Centre hasbenefitted from asubstantial £15m by themainaccessroad to thetown centre. is dated inappearance andseparated from thenew shoppingenvironment Community Trust. Part oftheoriginalprecinct style centre remains which another large unitisoccupiedby Stenhousemuir Gym andrunby Falkirk of B&MBargains to alarger store adjacent to thetown centre, and one ofthenewer large retail unitsisvacant following therelocation and anew library, healthcentre andcivicspacewithpublicart.Currently a new 40,000 sq. ft. Asda foodstore, new non-food retail floorspace
Map 8: © Crown copyright anddatabase rights 2019Ordnance Survey 100023384.Useofthisdata issubjectto terms andconditions. MAIN STREET
JAMES Stenhousemuir Town Centre
STREET Primary School Stenhousemuir ey
Cro nest Park
PAR DRIVE PAR MAIN STREET MAIN
VALEVIE
Stenhousemuir To n Centre RAE STREET RAE Library
ING STREET
VALEVIE
MAIN STREET MAIN
CRO NEST LOAN CRO NEST IR AVENUE IR
ING STREET
MUIRFIELD ROAD MAIN STREET MAIN
C URC STREET igh School Larbert 7. Stenhousemuir Figure 17 population ofthetown centre has increased from 2016. The site oftheformer policestation was developed for 18flats, sothe Unfortunately thisfigure willnotbeupdated until thenext censusin2021. 82 in2016whichisrelatively low compared to othertown centres. The residential population ofStenhousemuir was estimated to be example there are eight Hairandhealth/beautyunitswithinthecentre. This reflects anational trend whichhasseenagrowth inretail for services, total numberofunitsinStenhousemuir over halfare occupiedby services. hasincreasedoccupied by services significantly from 22to 29.Outofthe the town centre redevelopment. At the sametimethenumberofunits This inpartcan beattributed to theaddition oflarge singleunitsthrough units issignificantly lower in2019(17unitscompared to 30unitsin1996). Whilst overall theamount ofretail floorspace hasincreased thenumberof town centre. attributed to therecent relocation ofB&MBargains to theedge ofthe drop incomparison floorspace, to alevel lower than1996,which can be of thetown centre. The2019floorspace survey doesindicate asignificant increased significantly whichreflects thecomprehensive redevelopment Since 1996theamount ofconvenience andcomparison floorspace has Activities andUses 1996 2004 2019 2014 2009 Floorspace Convenience 1,919 m 1,425 m 5,137 m 5,096 m 4,417 m 2 2 2 2 2 Floorspace Comparison 1,593 m 2,508 m 1,332 m 2,026 m 1,870 m 2 2 2 2 2 Floorspace Service 3,159 m 2,701 m 2,247 m 1,822 m 2 2 2 2 Floorspace Vacant 1,227 m 2,985 m 194m 773m 2 2 2 2
Floorspace Total 10,981 m 5,467m 11,078 m 11,116 m Figure 16: 2 2 2 2 Provision between 2009and2019 Stenhousemuir Town Centre Change inRetail vs Service Service Service Units Conv +40% 10 6 8 7 6 Comp Units 20 10 16 11 11 Service Units Retail 22 29 28 23 27 +17% Vacant Units 3 3 6 4 4 Page 45 Units Total 55 48 47 54 50
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT March 2019 Environment 7. Stenhousemuir Page 47 foundry more effectively thanat present. of noise.Improved landscaping around would itsboundary helpscreen the foundry ishighlyvisibleandhasasignificant presence visuallyandinterms in theLDPthere are noknown relocation plansby thecompany. The foundry isdesignated as‘BusinessArea withPotential for Redevelopment’ Drysdale Foundry occupiesacentral site withinStenhousemuir. Whilst the shopping areas. bisects thetown centre, creating abarrierbetween theoldandnew have beenwhichinpartcan beattributed to thenew accessroad which precinct andshops onMainStreet hasnotbeenaseffective asitcould The integration ofthenew retail 1960sshopping unitswiththeoriginal Stenhousemuir since1922. 18th century, whichisalsothelogo for McGowan’s toffee factory basedin reflecting Stenhousemuir’s history asacentre for cattle markets inthe seating andpublicart.Thefocus ofthisistwo cast iron highlandcows a new accessroad andcentral pedestrianised publicspacearea with redevelopment hasopeneduptheshopping environment by creating Main Street, sothecentre was notvisibleto peopledrivingpast. The the redevelopment. Previously thetown centre turneditsbackonthe The environment town ofthe centre haschanged radically through Bargains andTimHorton restaurant anddrive through. the former McCowan factory site hasbeendeveloped for alarger B&M north western edge ofStenhousemuir ontheothersideofMainStreet Card Factory, Ladbrokes andBetFred. Adjacent to thetown centre, at the including: Asda,Spar, Farmfoods, two Lloyds Pharmacies,Subway, Greggs, Within thetown centre, there are anumberofnational retailers and increased since2014,principallydueto therelocation ofB&M. recording just 3vacant units.Theamount ofvacant floorspace has Vacancy rates have remained low, withthe2019floorspace survey Hill ofKinnaird, formerly occupiedby Bellsdyke Hospital. area hasbeento thenorthofLarbertandStenhousemuir at theInchesand expansion ofLarbertandStenhousemuir. Themain expansion oftheurban The footfall ofthetown centre hasincreased over the years withtherapid Commercial Viability
• Highly accessibleto alarge catchment population; • There are anumberofnational retailers aswell asindependent shops; • Despite thelossofRoyal floorspace BankofScotland, service hasincreased slightly; • • Total retail floorspace andservice hasdoubledsince1996,whichcan bemainlyattributed to theredevelopment ofthetown centre in2010; • Accessibility 7. Stenhousemuir Summary A zebra crossing links thisarea withthenew retail units. The remaining precinct partofthetown centre hasapedestrianised area. adjacent to thelibrary. be available withinthenext two years. Cycle parkingprovision isavailable increased theamount of parkingsignificantly. Updated information should Council in2007predating thetown centres redevelopment whichhas In terms ofcar parkingthelast monitoring survey was undertaken by the Stenhousemuir.various serving busservices distance ofalarge proportion ofitscatchment population. There are also • The Town Centre liesin Physical environment ofnew andoldshoppingareas donotintegrate well. units remains low; The relocation ofB&MBargains to theedge ofthetown centre in2018hasincreased theamount ofvacant floorspace, althoughtheactual number ofvacant The overall perception ofStenhousemuir isofastable town centre; theheartofurbanarea, soiswithinwalking Page 48
TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT April 2019 April 2019
A NE FOR A' TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT CENTRE HEALTH TOWN