Introduction | A multi-skilled consultancy

Formed in 2005, Iceni is now the market leader and preferred consultancy for a fast-growing number of clients. We have always sought to provide the skills of an advisor with the instincts of a developer.

We achieve this by knowing our tradecraft – the technical skills that come through years of education and on-the-job experience that is recognised by professional accreditation. But it is also daring to be different; being proactive and thinking strategically. Our client relationships are built on trust, togetherness, enthusiasm, and a courage to challenge, where appropriate. The technical specialisms that the company hold have widened, but this fundamental objective remains the same. We are committed to putting our client’s interests first – and providing them with the tools to significantly improve their performance.

Town Centre Repurposing

Town centres and high streets in the UK have dramatically changed. Since the late 1990s, the rise of internet shopping, visits to out-oftown retail parks and variations in consumer spending habits have been catalysts for change. Moreover, a deep economic recession in 2008 and the Covid19 pandemic, has resulted in further impacts to bricks and mortar retailing and the functioning of the town centre.

The so called ‘decline of the high street’ has been a subject of deliberation for several years in the property sphere and in Government. Concern over the long-term viability of our high streets has prompted the publication of The High Street 2030: Achieving Change, December 2018, and latterly changes in permitted development rights, in response to Covid19 to attempt to breathe life back into town centres.

which town centres have to play in daily civic life. People should be proud of their high streets and want to use them, not solely for shopping but also for leisure and lifestyle activities.

There is still a place for retail and a real opportunity to enliven town centre spaces through a mix of housing and civic spaces as demonstrated by some of the case studies included in this document.

Ian Anderson Chief Executive

Despite changing retail habits, Iceni Projects holds an optimistic outlook for the future of town centres. The ‘death of the high street’ has been exaggerated. There is still a place for retail, just not antiquated retail. There needs to be innovation and a reimagining of the role