Out of Town Shopping Centres

What are the origins of out-of-town retailing?
Prior to the 1970s, incomes were not high enough to generate the high levels of demand which exist today for consumer goods. The rise of an affluent population generated demand which could not be met in existing CBDs because the shortage of land limited the scale and size of operation of retailers. Sainsbury’s, Safeway, Tesco, and Ikea, along with others, have developed stores that recognise the new logic of the marketplace:

• High levels of demand exist for consumer goods, with customers also demanding a wide range of choice


• Land prices are too high in the CBD to stock a wide range of goods at a low price


• Cheap suburban land allows stores to establish a large scale of operation, bulk-buying a wide range of goods and passing on the benefits of this economy of scale to the consumer


• The majority of the public have access to a car, while radial and trunk routes have been improved in most towns and cities over the last twenty years making certain key sites at the rural-urban fringe highly accessible.

There are now over 1000 superstores, hypermarkets and retail shopping centres in the UK (with a hypermarket defined as having a minimum area of 2500 square metres). Ikea, for instance, only has three stores in the south-east but hopes to cater for all London homes with these, suggesting that all Londoners are within the sphere of influence of one of its branches. Huge warehouses at each site allow a diverse range of goods to be stocked in bulk. For a furniture store in the CBD, the option is either to mass stock a limited range or offer a wide range but at a high price as bulk-buying cannot be achieved.


The advantages (for both consumer and retailer) include:

• A greater range of products are available at cheaper prices
  
• City centre congestion is relieved
  
• Shopping is set in a more pleasant, less polluted and relaxed environment; stores can offer services such as crèches, on-site parking and restaurants.
  
  

However, there are many disadvantages associated with the rise of out-of-town retailing.

• Critics claim that marginalized sections of society may not enjoy the benefits: a car and deep freezer are pre-requisites for the hypermarket model of food shopping.



• The closure of neighbourhood stores within the hypermarket’s sphere of influence may further disadvantages the elderly, unemployed and disabled who may rely on easy local access or shopping on credit.
  
• Negative externalities generated by CBD retailing such as congestion and pollution are simply being transferred elsewhere.

The size of tranquil rural areas in southeast England has dramatically reduced in the last twenty years, with urban sprawl continuing, despite green belt legislation.
How has Sheffield City Centre changed since the opening of Meadowhall?



Meadowhall out of town shopping centre in Sheffield was opened on the 4th of September 1990. It is situated three miles North East of Sheffield in South Yorkshire. This site is an ideal location as it has a catchment area of nine other cities all within an hours drive of Meadowhall. These cities are: Leeds, Nottingham, Wakefield, Manchester, Hull, Leicester, Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham. Since the opening of Meadowhall there have been 19.8 million visitors in the first year, 22.2 million in year two, 24.7 in year three, 27.5 million in year four,levelling out at around 30 million in the fifth, sixth and seventh years.

Why do large Shopping Centres locate on the edge of cities?
Since 1980 the most important change in retailing in Britain that has occurred has been the rapid growth of out of town shopping centres. During this time it has been estimated that four fifths of all new shopping floor space has been on out of town sites. The first large regional shopping centre to be developed was the Metro Centre in Gateshead, since a number of other out of town shopping centres have been opened including Meadowhall in Sheffield. There are a number of reasons why these out of town shopping centres are built on such locations.

• They are ideally on a motorway interchange and near main roads which makes the delivery of goods easier and gives access to shoppers from several large urban areas. This also allows closer links with retailers selling similar goods.
  
• There is plenty of open space for large car parks. Such centres aim to attract motorists as there are no parking problems or traffic congestion as there is in the city centre.


• As land values are lower than those in the C.B.D then so too are the rates and rent which shop owners have to pay. This allows individual shops to use large areas of floor space and so keep the price of their goods down.
  
• Being so large, shops can stock a large volume and a wider range of goods.


• Unlike in the city centre there is plenty of space for possible future expansion.



• They are near suburban housing estates which will provide a workforce, especially as many employees are female, work part-time and have to work late most evenings.

PREPARATIONS MADE IN THE CITY CENTRE, IN ANTICIPATION OF MEADOWHALL OPENINGBefore Meadowhall opened, Sheffield City Council began to prepare for the competition which its development would create. Sub-committees investigated into how improvements could be made to combat the immediate issues of litter, graffiti and the refurbishment of pedestrianised areas. Parking facilities were improved and a special emphasis was given to security. A "City Watch" scheme was established which aimed to reduce crime within the retail zone.


John Taylor, Chief Executive of the Cities Chamber of Trade said, he "did not see Meadowhall as a threat but as a tremendous challenge for the city to meet". The Chamber believed that a new type of shopper would be attracted to Meadowhall and as a consequence have a less than substantial impact upon the city centre. Meadowhall they believed would attract customers from a wide catchment area who would combine shopping with leisure and recreation. Convenience shoppers would still continue to use the city centre.

EFFECTS MEADOWHALL HAD ON THE CITY CENTREAlthough great effects on the city centre were not expected, changes can be seen from walking around the city centre . Shops have closed down as they are attracted to new, cheaper and better locations in Meadowhall. Some shops have also had to close as takings have dropped by twenty five percent since the opening of Meadowhall. Empty shops are targeted by graffiti and therefore make the city centre less attractive. Due to this, new traders are not attracted to the city centre and so the vicious circle continues.

CASE STUDY:

THE TRAFFORD CENTRE MANCHESTER

Use this link together with your PDF to build a case study on the Trafford Centre. Make sure you include location maps, data and detail from local and national media.

When the Trafford Centre was opened in 1998 many people were concerned about the effect it would have on Manchester's CBD. Nearly 5.4 million people (approx 10% UK pop) live within 45 mins drive of the centre. From the very outset the Trafford Centre was designed and planned as much more than just a shopping centre. (Check website for details http://www.traffordcentre.co.uk/)



Advantages of Trafford Centre
The Trafford Centre offers:

• 10,000 car parking spaces
  
  
  
  
  
• Wide range of facilities for disabled shoppers. These include a Shop Mobility Unit


• Enclosed safe environment
• Bespoke security unit with child care and lost child facilities
• Wide range of peripheral retail services including banks, cash points, post office and travel agents

Disadvantages of Trafford Centre
The Trafford Centre has disadvantages which are common to many large out of town retail centres.

• Peak flow congestion on M60 and other access roads (Bank Holidays and Xmas period)
  

• artificial atmospere with themed shopping experiences drawn from Italy, Chinatown and New Orleans

• no independent retail traders due to high rental costs and centre management fees

• Difficult for poorer people to access Security screening by management staff prevent homeless people entering centre
• Public transport only recently improved with Metrolink connection

Here are some Points of View on the Trafford Centre
http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/have_your_say/2002/12/31/trafford_centre.shtml

http://immediacy.newspapersoc.org.uk/CaseStudies/selfridges.htm

http://www.middletonguardian.co.uk/news/s/521877_middleton_loses_out_to_manchester

http://www.traffordcentre.co.uk/media/InfoLearning/traffinfo.pdf


Here are some links on the imapct of out of town shopping on Town

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-councillor-pat-karney-save-878271

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2706067.stm
http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/clonetown.aspx
http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/local_ghost.aspx?page=960&folder=148&