Manchester City Council Item 6 Economy, Employment and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee 19 October 2011 Manchester City Council Report for Information Report to: Economy, Employment and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee – 19 October 2011 Subject: Independent Retail – Cheetham Hill, Chorlton and Levenshulme Report of: Head of Regeneration Summary Members are asked to note the findings of the research into independent retail provision in the three district centres of Cheetham Hill, Chorlton and Levenshulme. The report contains a number of recommendations across each district centre to improve and strengthen the overall retail offer. Recommendations Members note the content of the report. Wards Affected: Cheetham, Chorlton, and Levenshulme Contact Officers: Angela Harrington Head of Regeneration 0161 234 3171 [email protected] Andy Wilson Regeneration Manager South 0161 277 1880 [email protected] Mark Rainey Regeneration Manager North 0161 655 7861 [email protected] Background documents (available for public inspection): North Manchester Strategic Regeneration Framework, 2004 South Manchester Strategic Regeneration Framework, October 2007 GVA Grimley Quantitative Retail Needs Study, July 2006 1 Manchester City Council Item 6 Economy, Employment and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee 19 October 2011 GVA Grimley Independent Retailers Study, October 2009 Levenshulme District Centre Plan, October 2009 Chorlton District Centre Plan. June 2010 2 Manchester City Council Item 6 Economy, Employment and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee 19 October 2011 1. Background 1.1 Manchester City Centre and its district centres are key economic assets, with the City Centre recognised as the primary economic driver for the City Region. Strategic Regeneration Frameworks recognise the importance of district centres and local centres as fundamental to the sustainability of neighbourhoods. The City’s Local Development Framework Core Strategy (draft) recognises the role of independent retailers within district centres and highlights the need to promote choice and competition particularly where development will support the independent sector. 1.2 The Manchester Local Economic Assessment indicates that retail accounts for 7.6% of employment in the city, and that micro-businesses (1-10 employees) account for 79.7% of businesses (14,205 units). While the LEA does not measure independent retail as a category these figures give an idea of the scale of both retail and small business in the local economy. 1.3 The role of independent retail and the extent to which the City Council can support it has been the subject of a number of reports to the Economy, Employment and Skills Scrutiny Committee over recent years. Whilst facing threats from out of town shopping centres, larger supermarket chains and the growth of internet shopping, it is clear the independent retail sector brings character to district centres and also provides significant employment opportunities. In the face of these wider structural threats independent retailers face many local challenges – as described in the Independent Retail Study below. 1.4 More recently the disturbances which affected the city in August have caused disruption to many local independent businesses. A short summary (appendix 1) is attached to this report outlining what measures have been taken by the City Council and its partners to assist businesses during this difficult period. 2. Independent Retail Study 2010 2.1 The Retail Group (a specialist consultancy in consumer and retail sectors) was commissioned by Manchester City Council in 2010 to undertake a study of independent retailers in three district centres; Cheetham Hill, Levenshulme and Chorlton. The aims of the study were to assess how independent retailers were performing in each of the three locations; identify the issues they are facing, and to indicate how the Council might support the independent retail sector in order to create vibrant district centres. This work included an operator survey and an analysis of shopper profile. 2.2 Recommendations were made to improve the performance of independent retailers in each of the locations, and a summary report was produced to: Draw together the common findings, issues and improvements needed from each of the three District Centres to identify common issues, as well as the centre specific ones. 3 Manchester City Council Item 6 Economy, Employment and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee 19 October 2011 Identify the success factors that need to be in place to develop sustainable independent retail offers in vibrant District Centres. Provide a framework of appropriate solutions on which to monitor, assess and improve other District Centre The scale of independent retail in each district centre is as follows; Centre Total units – all sectors Independents Cheetham 130 60% Chorlton 270 66% Levenshulme 290 99% 3. Summary of Retail Group’s analysis by centre 3.1 This section summarises the views of the Retail Group regarding independent retail in each of the three district centres. 3.2 Cheetham The centre comprises approx 130 retail units, generally in small, old terraced units forming a traditional, linear "High St" layout with a more recently built pedestrianised precinct at right angles to the main frontage leading to the new Tesco store which is isolated from the main run of shops by the largely vacant new units. The centre caters well for the day to day convenience needs of the catchment population in terms of range of outlets but suffers from a relatively poor physical environment in much of the centre. Poor public realm management is highlighted as a major issue. It also has a narrow range of comparison goods outlets. There are few national, multiple stores with the local, independent sector dominating the mix. The retail offer at Cheetham Hill centre reflects the catchment population which is generally less affluent than the UK average. The City Council should reaffirm its aim of enhancing Cheetham Hill Centre in line with policies of the North Manchester Strategic Regeneration Framework and focus on improving the quality and sustainability of the Centre, whilst working closely with retailers, shoppers and other key partners. 3.3 Chorlton Chorlton District Centre is a busy suburban centre (circa 270 shops) four miles south of Manchester City Centre. The Square Shopping Precinct, a dated open air centre is on the north side of Wilbraham Road. There is also a collection of shops on Beech Road about half a mile to the south of the centre of Chorlton, near the bus station. The environment is not shopper friendly. The busy traffic creates significant noise and fumes and crossing the roads is difficult at times. There are few pedestrian crossings and on street parking means pedestrians are often manoeuvring between parked cars. The area lacks the softer elements such as trees / greenery, seating and hanging baskets which help to create a pleasant environment. Independents, catering / leisure and services operators dominate the offer with a small number of multiples. The offer feels fragmented due to the way the shops are spread over a large area and mixed with residential, offices and garages. 4 Manchester City Council Item 6 Economy, Employment and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee 19 October 2011 Although there are a good number of independents in Chorlton, as a group they have little collective impact as they are too spread out to create critical mass. Many of the better quality ones are typically on the periphery of the retail offer and those along Beech Road do not feel part of the offer at all. Retail standards amongst the independents are very mixed. There are a number of modern fascias and shop fits where the offer is well merchandised and the message to the customer about what is being sold and why they should visit is abundantly clear. They have created interesting and innovative looking stores and in many cases are selling something ‘different’. The same can be said of a number of the delicatessens and eateries where quality, tempting food is readily available, often within a comfortable and contemporary seating area. However there are a number of independents where the shop looks tired and shabby and inside the product is cluttered and poorly presented and the external appearance of the shops is uninviting. 3.4 Levenshulme Levenshulme is a large District Centre (circa 290 units) located about 4 miles to the south east of Manchester City Centre. It consists of a 1-mile long cluster of shops, typically occupying both sides of the very busy A6 (Stockport Road). As the shops are not continuous, and have much overlap in terms of mix and role, it could be argued that rather than being a single parade, Levenshulme’s offer is more a collection of local parades, each having their own local appeal, usage pattern and customer base, although obviously with some overlap. The centre is dominated by independent retail, catering and service goods operators, where independents account for 99.5% of all operators. Levenshulme offers the antithesis of the ‘clone town’ retail experience At the heart of the district centre, the impact of the shop units is reasonably good, however the visibility of the whole offer is poor. Many of the fast food restaurants and takeaways have their shutters down during the day, particularly from Matthews Lane down to Mayfield Road. The linear layout of Levenshulme makes it very easy to understand and see the whole offer. Unfortunately it is 0.9 miles from one end of the district centre boundary to the other. This is a result of a disparate, drawn out offer, with little sign posting, significant runs of non active, non commercial floor space, a lack of strong anchors, no obvious central hub, limited clustering of logical uses and lack of clearly defined entrance and exit. The physical environment is satisfactory in terms of streetscape, pavements, lighting and roads, however the quality of the retail environment is significantly reduced by the number of vacant units, compounded by a large number of evening food and catering operators not opening their shutters during the day.