Cities must move away from reliance on retail
FOR cities to prosper they must break away from an overreliance on retail to survive. This was one of the findings from a report by the think tank Centre for Cities – with support from Capita – which examined the composition of commercial space in UK cities, and the implications this has for their economies.
It warns struggling high streets have too many shops, but too little demand for commercial space from other businesses, and other uses such as housing and leisure.
Moreover, the report shows the Welsh cities of Swansea and Newport are among the hardest hit in terms of retail vacancies.
Newport city centre has the highest share of empty shops of all cities in England and Wales, with retail accounting for half of commercial space, with one in four shops currently vacant.
Meanwhile, nearly one in five shops in the centres of Swansea and Cardiff are currently empty.
The report found that in successful city centres, which Cardiff was categorised as, offices make up almost two-thirds of the commercial space and the average quality of this office space is better than in other cities.
For example, in Bristol and Manchester, retail makes up about 18% of overall commercial space, and performs well because the large numbers of office jobs provide footfall for retailers.
In poorly performing city centres offices account for less than a quarter of commercial space and the quality of this space lags behind that of more successful economies.
Newport fell into the group of a struggling city centre. This was defined as those which have a lower than average share of jobs in highproductivity exporting firms, and a lower than average share of these are high-skilled.
The city came out as the worst for the most high street retail vacancies at 28%, compared to the UK average was 16%. The share of the city centre commercial space made up by retail was 54%, against a UK average of 40%.
However, there are plans to provide far more office and non-retail space in the city, including at the Chartist Tower project from developer Garrison Barclay Estates, which will see, subject to planning, some 30,000sq ft of new grade A office space and a 163-bedroom Mecure Hotel.
The report makes a number of recommendations on the role of commercial space – alongside wider interventions on skills and transport – in the upcoming local industrial strategies (LIS), which places are developing as part of Government efforts to boost productivity.
Struggling city centres need to reduce their reliance on retail, and instead focus on creating a better environment for other firms – especially exporting firms in sectors such as ICT, legal services, insurance and marketing, which are increasingly important for boosting productivity