News

The face of the UK high street could change forever with suggestions that a fifth of shops could be demolished by 2018 to make way for housing.

According to a study by the Centre for Retail Research published in the Daily Mail, £320m is needed to clear more than 60,000 shops and replace with 20,000 new homes as well as community facilities, office space and GP surgeries. The report identified Wales and the North West as being worse affected with almost a third of stores facing the axe.

The threat comes from an increase in consumers buying online and small businesses unable to keep up with overheads and rent payments.

The report comes as LPC Living, the award-winning regeneration specialist owned by the Pervaiz Naviede Family Trust, is putting together its own plans for the redevelopment of a dilapidated shopping centre in Salford, Greater Manchester.

The Ordsall District Centre, built in the 1970s, originally comprised a parade of high street shops, post office, library and public house. However, its poor siting and wider problems with anti-social behaviour at the time led to the closure of the centre with demolition of the remaining buildings anticipated later this year.

A £50m purpose-built replacement called Radclyffe Park, was completed by LPC Living in 2011 comprising modern retail and leisure facilities as well as a state-of-the-art NHS health centre and a high street of a dozen retail units. The main contractor on the scheme was Manchester-based Russells Construction, winner of Contractor of the Year at the recent Insider North West Property Awards.

Simon Ashdown, director at LPC Living, said “We realised that for the development to work we had to respond to changes in consumer behaviour and offer a range of retail accommodation to suit businesses of all sizes.

With secure parking and a range of flexible retail spaces built alongside a large Morrisons supermarket, Radclyffe Park has been specifically designed to drive footfall to support our smaller enterprises. Our new high street includes a range of businesses such an independent optician who was drawn to the development by the reassurance of a large anchor store and community health centre.”

With Radclyffe Park now successfully established LPC Living is preparing proposals for the redevelopment of the former District Centre site working in collaboration with the local authority and the community. It is understood initial plans include a number of community allotments to be built alongside affordable housing and public open spaces.

It is anticipated the first public consultations will be held later this year.