- Stay Connected
Socialize
Abraham Lincoln
If given the truth, the people can be depended upon to meet any national crisis...
Guildford news...
for Guildford people, brought to you by Guildford reporters - Guildford's own news service
Letter: More Reports of High Street Woes Do Not Augur Well For Council’s Development Projects
Published on: 22 May, 2018
Updated on: 22 May, 2018
From A Atkinson
Another week and another set of high street woes to come. Fashion chain Next is to close more stores and insist on new, lower rents from landlords, not great for development projects based upon high returns and risky retail investments many councils have undertaken recently.
Marks & Spencer’s results will see more store closure announcement with the retailer looking to shut an additional 40 stores – note additional, as they are only halfway through a plan to “evolve” 60 stores and will hear full details at their full-year results on Wednesday. They have said, “…we are clear about our plans to accelerate our store closure program…”.
House of Fraser could close up to 30 of its stores or half its estate but an official announcement is not due until June. Watch this space.
The council have an opportunity to save face and admit that the landscape has changed, even since the updated retail study in 2017.
They don’t have to say they were wrong all along to massively expand the retail footprint of Guildford town centre at the expense of much needed sustainable housing for key workers, close to jobs and close to transport hubs. There is a real opportunity to look at real evidence that expanding retail is currently the wrong planning strategy.
Share This Post
Responses to Letter: More Reports of High Street Woes Do Not Augur Well For Council’s Development Projects
Leave a Comment Please see our comments policy. All comments are moderated and may take time to appear.
See: E-Bikes for Hire Arrive in Guildford
Jules Cranwell
May 22, 2018 at 3:29 pm
All very sound reasoning. However, pigs will fly before this Executive ever admits it got anything wrong.
Remember, they did nothing wrong in the Juneja affair. They did nothing wrong in “The Village” fiasco.
I guess they don’t care that it is the taxpayer picking up the bills for these incompetent decisions.
Andrew Procter
May 22, 2018 at 4:51 pm
Well said! It is the truth that town centre retail development schemes are a voice from the past and landlords are reeling from an onslaught of, “Can’t pay, won’t pay the current rent,” from strapped retailers across the country.
The retail site in North Street will remain undeveloped for the period of the new Local Plan as it has remained undeveloped for the period of the last plan. That is unless GBC wakes up and works with the developer to come up with an imaginative high-density residential scheme for which there is proven demand.
There should be some opportunity for “some” ground floor retail/leisure units in the new scheme but in order to provide the retail demand from shoppers who can access the shops what Guildford actually needs is an injection of residential into the town centre core.
Lisa Wright
May 22, 2018 at 4:52 pm
According to the statement that was released yesterday via the Planning Inspector, Guildford Borough Council thinks it is immune from this recession of retail, they see themselves as special.
How or why GBC think residents and visitors will support the Friary, the High Street, North Street and the new Tunsgate “quarter” is beyond me. Sounds like the person who did the maths was the same person who got it so terribly wrong with “The Village” project.
Susan Hibbert
May 22, 2018 at 8:09 pm
This is what we in the Guildford Residents Associations (GRA – the umbrella body for Guildford’s residents’ associations) have been saying for a good while now.
A Atkinson
May 23, 2018 at 11:25 am
It could be worse that I was predicting. See:https://news.sky.com/story/ms-braced-for-300m-hit-from-high-street-closure-carnage-11382157
Time will tell but there should be a reality check of what has been proposed to the inspector. If this element of the plan is so off the mark, what else is built on foundations of sand?
Martin Elliott
May 23, 2018 at 10:51 pm
Another aspect of retail is also the funding of both borough/district and county councils.
Mentioned, but never explained in detail, the grants from central government have been cut and in a couple of years will end. I believe this has already happened.
One replacement is that all councils (where does the same idea come from?) are increasing their property portfolios. This was even mentioned, at the bottom, in the GBC Corporate Plan this week.
Strangely, although savings and incomes were quantified, the property investment and its improvements were not.
]I wonder what the GBC portfolio looks like?
What balance of retail to commercial?
We all know how expert council property investment was a decade or so ago. Has it really improved enough to guarantee to provide an adequate revenue stream to significantly fund GBC over the coming years?