Agenda item

Briefing Note of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) received a briefing note of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) that provided a summary of the key challenges and changes the ‘high street’ was currently experiencing and how the Council was working to ensure that the flagship ‘City Centre South’ development scheme was embracing these challenges to deliver a scheme fit for the future.

Whilst ‘the high street’, and town and city centres had always faced challenges and dynamic change, the past ten years had seen a number of factors come together to create a period of unprecedented upheaval. Beginning with the major economic downturn in 2008, the upheaval resulted from the continued importance of out-of-town shopping centres and supermarkets, the rapid rise in online shopping (Internet retailing was more popular in the UK than any other country in the European Union) and wider shifts in consumer spending and behaviour, that had created a situation where what the customers of today and the future want wasn’t being delivered by traditional retail-led high street environments. The last three years had seen a string of well-known retailers entering into insolvency or administration resulting in hundreds of store closures in high streets across the country, affecting the high street rather than out of town stores.

This challenging context had been well researched and had been met with wide ranging reviews that influenced national policy responses. The Portas Review in 2011, reviews from the ex-CEO of Iceland and Wickes, Bill Grimsey, in 2013 and 2018, and a review by Sir John Timpson in December 2018 which were underpinned by a focus on the future success of the British high street requiring a ‘complete community hub solution’ where uses such as public realm, housing, health, education, the arts, workspace and leisure became as much a part of a town or city centre as retail traditionally had. This was reinforced by wider demographic changes and a subsequent reshaping of the housing market which was resulting in more housing types being brought forward in city and town centres, often with a focus on young people, professionals and, increasingly, older people all of who placed increasing value on the benefits of city centre living.

In January 2017, following an Office of the Journal of the European Union (OJEU) compliant procurement process, Cabinet and Council approved the appointment of Shearer Property Group (SPG) as the preferred bidder for the City Centre South (CCS) scheme and authorised that the Council enter into the necessary contractual arrangements with SPG to bring forward the delivery of the CCS scheme. CCS, the Council's key regeneration priority for the city centre, would transform some of the most tired and out dated areas of the city centre, including Bull Yard, Shelton Square, City Arcade and Hertford Street. The vision for the scheme approved by Cabinet in January 2017 was for a vibrant mixed use redevelopment, including new shops, car park, restaurants, leisure provision and homes, all set within a high quality environment for businesses, shoppers, visitors and residents. The Council would be entering into a Development Agreement with SPG before the end of March 2019 and would then work in partnership with them to develop a planning application for the scheme.

Since 2011, the Council has invested over £57m in high quality public realm schemes within the city centre. These schemes had focused on transforming areas with the highest footfall, the main visitor attractions, the key arrival points and likely venues for City of Culture, to ensure the links between these places were seamless, high quality, greener and more accessible. The  importance  of  high  quality  public  realm  within the new CCS scheme could not be  overemphasised, it would act as  an  ‘anchor’  in itself create a sense of place and attract customers to an urban environment  which  was  a  catalyst  and  setting  for  other  important  multi-uses  to  thrive. Within large scale retail schemes, an ‘anchor’ was  there to attract other occupiers and other uses and high quality new public realm, coupled with multi-uses  that  brought  people  back  into  the  city  centre  to  shop, relax, consume experiences and live, could help deliver this.

The Council was delivering a new public realm scheme in the Upper Precinct with high quality water features, landscaping, lighting and paving materials which would set a new standard for the city centre. This standard would be replicated in CCS through a set of public realm design principles for inclusion as part of the Development Agreement. Key to the success of CCS would be the quality of its “leisure” offer, including an improved evening and night-time economy. The offer would need to draw people into the city and be part of a day or half-day experience within Coventry where shopping could be ancillary to a different purpose for visiting. In addition to the new ‘The Wave’ leisure facility, with its estimated 1.3m visitors per year, there was an opportunity to create a new leisure quarter, including high quality new food and beverage occupiers, that could complement the new facility opening from Spring 2019.

As important as high quality public realm, flagship stores and a new leisure offer, was the role urban living would play in creating the conditions for CCS to succeed. Currently there were no residential occupiers within the CCS boundary. Residents would bring vibrancy to a city centre and with two highly successful universities within Coventry and thriving local industries, talent retention was crucial. Being able to offer homes within a city centre environment played a key role in enhancing Coventry’s image as a natural place for people to choose to live.

The Council and SPG would work together throughout the planning application process to explore the potential for delivering the optimal amount of new homes for sale and rent for all. Given the central location CCS had there was opportunity to encourage city centre living where new residents could take advantage of the new public spaces, leisure uses and shops that would be created. Another key aspect was opportunities for creating modern, flexible and affordable work spaces (particularly within the context of encouraging university students to set up businesses within the city) that would add economic development outcomes for the city.

The current economic, retail and demographic context was an enormous challenge for both the existing city centre and the future CCS scheme, but offered the opportunity, through working in a partnership with SPG, for providing a strong focus on high quality public realm and the delivery of a mix of city centre uses to realise a scheme that would set a new standard for city centre development schemes for now and for the future.

The Board questioned officers and discussed the following issues:

·  Councillor O’Boyle confirmed that funding was in place for the City Centre South Scheme and would be delivered. It was important that expertise was sought to ensure the appropriate offer was in place to secure the future of the City Centre offer over the next 25 years. Towns such as Leeds, Manchester and Altringham were examples of successful City Centres with the right mix of offers. The planning application for the Scheme was currently being progressed.

·  The City Centre offer – vision for varying types of tenure and priced residential (The Co-op re-development as an example of City Centre living), leisure, retail with more artisan crafts and boutiques, music, arts, and craft venues, and businesses offering services/goods and providing employment opportunities.

·  Investment – important to provide the best offer to attract a major investor.

·  Central Six, City Centre South, Upper Precinct, Coventry Rail Station – no scheme to be isolated, important that all offers linked together and complemented each other rather than competing assets.

·  Research to be undertaken into Coventry’s student population to identify shopping and entertainment habits - market for specialist provision for student communities.

The Chair, Councillor McNicholas, thanked officers for their briefing and commented that Coventry was progressing well with change and was a good place to be. The Board indicated that they were encouraged by the direction of travel for the City Centre proposals and would welcome a further report on progress in due course.

RESOLVED that the Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3):

1)  Notes the briefing note, with no further recommendations.

2)  Requests that a further report on progress be submitted to the Board in due course.