Retail and the High Street

1b. Engaging with key landlords and occupiers

CWaC / CGP / BID – To preside over the establishment of a specific body which is tasked with engaging with existing landlords and occupiers, trouble shooting, disseminating information and strategy from CWaC, and attracting inward investment into Chester. Such a group should not focus solely upon retail but should look at an holistic offer.

CWaC / CGP / BID - Exit interviews should be undertaken with brands / occupiers leaving Chester to better understand “push factors”.

Key major funds include:

1a. Rightsizing the retail core and sub-prime support for a re-invigorated retail offer

CWaC - The Council should take responsibility for facilitating regeneration in the City Centre. It should therefore be actively looking to make positive interventions to maintain, facilitate, and enhance the City Centre environment and people’s experience of it.

CWaC – Development Control to continue to adopt flexible approach to determining planning applications for non-retail uses within sub-prime locations across the city (Watergate St, Bridge Street, St Werburgh St, Northgate St.). This should seek to re-enforce the primary retail core whilst providing activity and interest at street level.

CWcC - Look at whether policy refresh is needed (in line with Central Govt. direction of travel) to facilitate a much more flexible approach to retail, F&B, leisure, and community uses within subprime areas of the City Centre.

CWaC / CGP – Utilise One City Plan refresh to signpost direction of travel in respect of rightsizing and supporting uses within sub-prime areas.

CWaC – Use Northgate to provide flexible, cheap space which can incubate start-up producers, F&B operators, and creatives to assist in the delivery of an authentic “Chester” offer for the City.

CWaC – Utilise existing assets along Watergate Street to provide ‘growon’ space for creatives / producers which are considering moving on from Northgate.

Key “propco” and smaller funds include:

Key occupiers include:

DAVIES RODEN TOPLAND

DISTRICT ESTATES

Retail and the High Street continued

1c. Signage and wayfinding 1d. Car parking

CWaC - There is an opportunity to tie up various work streams such as through the digital signage strategy and work being done via the HAZ.

CWaC - Following the installation of the pilot a digital signage strategy should be implemented in locations of high footfall and in positions where visitors are likely to congregate and require wayfinding advice.

Signage should be able to display live information in respect of:

Events taking place within the city

Special offers within the city

Regeneration

Roadworks / parking restrictions / disruption etc.

As well as providing wayfinding and locational information, such an offer could also be interactive and could enable individuals to ask questions, engage with tourism advisors etc.

Need to examine the role local authority managed car parking, as well as that from other providers, and other transport modes plays in terms of drawing in shoppers into the city on certain days of the week/certain times of the year.

There is an opportunity to review best practice parking systems and use of technology to facilitate users - please refer to specific research below in respect of latest digital innovation in respect of Car Parking.

1e. Responding to change

CBRE has undertaken some high-level research relating to the gaming market, beauty concessions market, as well as trying to understand the future of town and city centres through consideration of projected visitor and shopping trends over the next two decades.

CWaC - Evidence should be utilised to inform the Council’s decision-making with regards to flexible space and meanwhile uses moving forward.

CWaC - Where these vacant spaces are under CWaC control, the Council should consider engaging with the market to bring in occupiers on short-term leases (this can build on recent initiatives using turnover-linked rental agreements) as an opportunity to nurture new sectors and creatives.

CWaC - The Council should actively create additional space and areas within the City Centre to be the focus of particular enterprises in the interests of agglomeration. The Council should decide upon a sector which it wants to attract to the City Centre, seek out occupiers, and create an offer to bring about their relocation to Chester.

CWaC - The City Centre should be an inclusive place to live and visit and to achieve this it is imperative the Council maintains an on-going engagement exercise with its stakeholders. Engaging with stakeholders will need to be an ongoing commitment as the demographics of the City Centre, and by extension the changing needs and demands of its stakeholders, evolve.

CWaC - The Council should utilise its relationship with landlords and occupiers to initiate discussions in respect of meanwhile uses and popup events. This would be significantly assisted by the presence of a new proactive body that engages with landowners, landlords, and occupiers in Chester (discussed at 1.b.) as well as working with destination Chester in engaging with performers and creatives within the city (for example with the recent success of the Place for Arts Chester pop-up units).

CWaC - The high street is evolving at pace and the key element here will be to provide flexible space that is capable of being quickly converted to cater for a range of different uses.

G eneral - Short-term leases could be agreed incorporating turn-over based rental terms to enable small businesses to test products and offers within the city. This would create a real sense of vibrancy and would significantly contribute to the creation of a forwardlooking and authentic offer.