4 ms·

The US went through exactly the same phase after WW2: suburbanization, increase in car transport led to the death of single-location department stores which wer

The US went through exactly the same phase after WW2: suburbanization, increase in car transport led to the death of single-location department stores which were concentrated in the city centre. This didn't occur in the UK because of better public transport, and less suburbanization (marginally). All of the stuff you say is correct but local councils, generally, didn't approve retail parks...they just couldn't find a good enough reason to say no or they were built just outside the council area. And now councils are reaping what they sowed because they stopped houses going up in cities...now the locus of money has moved to the suburbs as new houses get built (and, somewhat unbelievably, councils made this worse but shutting down car parking on high streets during Covid...the economic mismanagement is staggering...but all due to their greed around house prices and trying to restrict cars to boost house prices in the areas local councillors live). For a roadmap, look at the US after WW2 (we are somewhere in the 60s when independent department stores started failing en masse). We had department store chains built up in inner city areas so the collapse is, if anything, more violent. Most high street areas/shopping centres will fold, Debenhams was an anchor tenant in so many shopping centres. Tier 2 cities/towns high streets will be literally deserted in a few years. Most retailers that anchor shopping centres will fail (the big one that hasn't failed already is M&S, even Sainsbury's is vulnerable because I believe they anchor some small shopping centres), and you will see new chains thrive as retail parks spring up. I live near a town with under 10k people, they have put a retail park there with 4 stores, and before they all opened they added another two units. Aldi, Home Bargains, Food Warehouse...all fast growing chains offering products that undercut all the old economy shops. It is really great to see. A lot of these chains are offering real value. In the town I mentioned, it was only Tesco who was known for gouging in locations where they were the only shop in town. Now they are being overrun: Tesco, Sainsburys, Aldi, Home Bargains, Food Warehouse.

kevin_thibedeau 5y ago
These places do still exist in the US. They're typically pre-war suburbs where surrounding density is high enough to prevent box stores moving in.
DrBazza 5y ago
I think the problem with (UK) retail parks is that they're all large and chain owned units. My point is that not far from me there is a farm that chose to convert itself into a retail park of sorts. The tenants are limited by size, and the owners chose a couple of food places, a butchers, bakers, and grocers. All independents. Ironically everything a small town or village used to have. And business is roaring. There's clearly pent up demand for (perceived) quality and old-fashioned shops. I made a comment on another thread, but I think the UK planners should aim for this kind of thing, a smaller retail park with traditional (food) shops, not one massive supermarket. Basically almost a satellite 'village' around a typical town. I'd walk past a dozen Tescos for a decent butcher and baker where I live. Perhaps it's an age thing.

kevin_thibedeau 5y ago

These places do still exist in the US. They're typically pre-war suburbs where surrounding density is high enough to prevent box stores moving in.

DrBazza 5y ago

I think the problem with (UK) retail parks is that they're all large and chain owned units. My point is that not far from me there is a farm that chose to convert itself into a retail park of sorts. The tenants are limited by size, and the owners chose a couple of food places, a butchers, bakers, and grocers. All independents. Ironically everything a small town or village used to have. And business is roaring. There's clearly pent up demand for (perceived) quality and old-fashioned shops. I made a comment on another thread, but I think the UK planners should aim for this kind of thing, a smaller retail park with traditional (food) shops, not one massive supermarket. Basically almost a satellite 'village' around a typical town. I'd walk past a dozen Tescos for a decent butcher and baker where I live. Perhaps it's an age thing.