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The Exchange Plans

Off the back of the news last week that Old Town is poised to undergo a £35-million make over of the old Locarno Corn Exchange building, the local business community have welcomed the news. Linda Todd, Director of strategic communications agency Geometry gives her thoughts.

The £35m redevelopment of the old Locarno Corn Exchange building is great news for Swindon, and shows a very progressive and wise approach to the redevelopment of Old Town.

Swindon, like most towns and cities across the UK faces a number of challenges as the urban environment and consumer habits change. Town and city centres are in a state of flux and traditional ideas of retail can no longer be relied on to keep our urban centres buoyant. The statistics have shown year-on-year that High Street retail and inner city shopping malls continue to lose out to the convenience of out-of-town retail and, increasingly, the internet.

The retail sectors that are struggling the most are predictably the ones which face strong online alternatives, for example women’s clothing. However, outlets that offer experience and something you can’t buy online are the growing sectors, such as nail salons, hairdressers, and coffee shops. This should tell us where we need to look when planning our city and town centres.

Once you look at the statistics behind the changes in the retail landscape, it becomes obvious that simply building more retail outlets and shopping malls is folly. It’s a train that is already leaving the station. Instead, the challenge is to repurpose our urban centres to make them centres of experience, community, and increasingly leisure – places we want to go and enjoy, not just places to buy stuff.

Retail guru Mary Portas recognised this back in her 2011 review of the nation’s high streets when she said “Those who see high streets purely as a commercial retail mix need to think again.” The Local Government Association agreed:

“The most vibrant town centres offer a wide range of locally responsive services that create a comprehensive retail, cultural and community hub. This is crucial for the future of the High Street as it is an offer that its competitors struggle to match. Future Government policy must acknowledge this, not treating retail in isolation, but empowering councils to integrate the shopping offer effectively alongside other cultural and community services.”

The restoration of the Locarno Corn Exchange building and the addition of restaurants, bars, cafes bistros and retail stores is to be welcomed, but at the same time we should also welcome the repurposing of Market Square as a public piazza instead of a car park. While there will undoubtedly be some discomfort, and perhaps even anger at the loss of car parking spaces, we need to accept that if Old Town as a retail hub declines in line with other retail hubs across the UK, car parking space will become less crucial anyway. Far better to sacrifice it for the sake of redevelopment and repurposing of Old Town and then look at alternatives to accommodate the new influx of people into the town.

Leaving aside these details, it is good to see a progressive approach to the redevelopment of Swindon. The local authority, building owners and developers should be congratulated on working together for a shared vision that will breathe new life into the town.

 

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