Finding Opportunity on the High Street
Qandor member Richard Holland, Director at Holland Harvey Architects, gives tips on how to make the most of the current opportunities on the high streets of London.
As both chain-retailers and independents suffer the imposed closures of the COVID pandemic, many businesses will not re-open. In addition, the continuing rise of online shopping puts our high streets at risk of becoming desolate landscapes, void of the hustle and bustle of daily life that we all currently crave. Perhaps now is time for a new approach to help reimagine and sustain our beloved town centres? Changes in planning legislation have unlocked new opportunities for development and are feared by some as a means of opening up the floodgates to a wave of unplanned, poor quality residential conversions – however, we believe there is another option.
Could the new ‘Class E’ be the saviour of the High Street and an opportunity to create truly mixed-use town centre communities? Imagine an empty retail unit effortlessly reimagined as a co-working space, a yoga studio, or a children’s nursery – all with high density, high quality housing above to provide a critical mass of residents that support local businesses and breathe new life into the local economy!
Below we describe three examples where we have worked closely with landlords, planning authorities and local communities to reinvigorate some of London’s high streets using our three-point plan:
Intensify residential uses to generate value and create a critical mass of people
Seek innovative anchor tenants to complement traditional retail and service offerings
Strive to provide added community/social benefit
Going truly mixed-use in Westminster
Our first case study is a failing corporate retailer on an otherwise independent-led high street whose demise would have created a significant blight in a very prominent location: the property was in excess of 10,000 sq. ft. set over four storeys, in a conservation area setting.
A new anchor tenant was forthcoming with a visionary concept to create a family-focused member’s club incorporating retail, restaurant, co-working space, member’s lounge and children’s nursery – all Class E uses. Critically, the development is set to attract a high volume of members, parents, shoppers and diners to the site, whose incidental patronage of other local businesses will help boost the local economy and bring life to the high street.
The business case required a substantial rooftop extension to the rear of the building – the principle of which was in direct contradiction to Westminster planning policy. However, through a strategy of active stakeholder engagement paired with a conservation-led approach to design, we garnered the support of local community groups and ward councillors. Ultimately the enhanced environmental, social and economic benefits of the scheme won favour at committee – consent was granted in July 2020 and the club is due to open in the Spring.
Micro-development in RBKC
A vacant and dilapidated ground floor retail unit with empty ancillary space upstairs in a constrained urban location provided us with a challenge – how do we unlock its value? The neighbourhood in question is dominated by boutique style retail but has been in steady decline. The site would require significant investment to make it habitable, and the owner was looking to increase the value of the asset. The ambition was therefore to retain a flexible mix of uses by re-providing a Class E retail space at ground floor, whilst adding value creating residential units above.
Our strategy was to develop a planning argument based on the principle that, under Class G, the existing A1 use could accommodate two flats, thereby establishing residential as an acceptable use. From here we set about proving that extra mass could be achieved at the rear through consideration of daylight/sunlight envelopes. We ultimately gained support for a part two-, part three-storey mixed-use building comprising a smaller Class E unit on ground floor and with 2 one-bedroom flats above, increasing the site’s GIA by 33%.
The retail unit was reduced by 40% to make it a more viable size for the type of retailer that the landlord was looking to attract; crucially this reduction did not go below the trigger for loss of employment space under RBKC policy – in fact the quantum of zone A retail was unaffected. This new mixed-use ‘micro-development’ will also ensure new footfall on an otherwise declining high street creating a more buzzy, attractive place to live – in turn creating a further uplift in value for the residential units.
Preserving community assets in Lambeth
Finally, a ‘Dickensian’ terrace of commercial buildings fronting a community centre on the quiet end of a south London high street. Our application proposed a new eight-unit mixed-use development over flexible commercial space and represented a 650% increase in the quantum of residential area on the site.
A critical element of the scheme was to improve access to a much-loved community centre which had stood on the site since the 19th century. A secure, well-lit passage provided a new means of direct access, and new kitchen and WC facilities for the community centre itself were included as part of the application. The importance of preserving places of gathering as local assets has never been so pertinent, and we demonstrated that a commitment to community benefit and social value could go way beyond an s106 contribution.
The scheme re-provides all the commercial area at the perfect size for an independent offering – ensuring no loss of local employment. All the apartments achieve or exceed the London Housing Design Guide space standards, and the scheme included 80 sqm of private rooftop amenity space set over two levels offering dramatic views across London.
Conclusion
According to the Financial Times, 2.8% of chain-owned outlets have closed during the pandemic, but only 0.5% of independent retailers: we believe the future is local!
Extensions to permitted development rights and the introduction of the new use classes E and F will create opportunities to further diversify the offering on the British High Street. Through conscientious design, pro-active engagement with communities and a little vision – the property industry can breathe new life, and value, into Britain’s greatest assets.
With thanks to Daniel Rinsler & Co., Jon Dingle and Boyer Planning. CGI by Studio Archetype.
——
