Affect of New Retail Quarter on Sheffield's economy
Discussion
Hi guys,
I am just wondering what effect you think the New Retail Quarter will have on Sheffield's economy? Do we have enough potential to compete with cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Nottingham? Will the increased supply meet demand?
I'm really interested in your views/forecasts.
Cheers
I am just wondering what effect you think the New Retail Quarter will have on Sheffield's economy? Do we have enough potential to compete with cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Nottingham? Will the increased supply meet demand?
I'm really interested in your views/forecasts.
Cheers
That's a very general question and there are a lot of factors involved.
Sheffield already has a major retail centre so it is running against Manchester and Leeds anyway - can't say about Nottingham as I don't know that area.
Retail improvements on their own don't necessarily do a great deal for an area unles they are on the scale of the new development in Liverpool where Liverpool 1 is going to have an enormous impact simply because of its size.
But you would have to link that to the SRB funding that has been going into Liverpool for over a decade now. I was there in the mid 80's when Albert Dock was only just getting going and it seemed madness to be putting such high profile retailers in what was then still a complete sh*thole of a city. Now it finally seems to be coming of age and providing a financial boost to the city but that has come from a combination of factors, not just new retail.
Ultimately for an area to pick up you need two elements: it has to attract business from elsewhere or it has to generate new business on its own. Retail can only create new business at the rate of general growth in the economy so you have to look at where existing business can be attracted away from other locations.
Of course that's essential a zero sum game - whenever one area improves another area goes down.
The other factor is the strategic planning background. If any area accelerates to become a regional bigshot such that it moves up a notch in the planning hierarchy then it will continue to grow as new development is guided there by the planning regime. My home town went the other way and is now so far down the list that there is almost no chance of getting major retail development because of the effect it would have on the next three towns along.
Local commercial agents should have their finger on the pulse of all this as it is their job to know where the commercial market is moving and that depends on where business is going, geographically and economically.
Sheffield already has a major retail centre so it is running against Manchester and Leeds anyway - can't say about Nottingham as I don't know that area.
Retail improvements on their own don't necessarily do a great deal for an area unles they are on the scale of the new development in Liverpool where Liverpool 1 is going to have an enormous impact simply because of its size.
But you would have to link that to the SRB funding that has been going into Liverpool for over a decade now. I was there in the mid 80's when Albert Dock was only just getting going and it seemed madness to be putting such high profile retailers in what was then still a complete sh*thole of a city. Now it finally seems to be coming of age and providing a financial boost to the city but that has come from a combination of factors, not just new retail.
Ultimately for an area to pick up you need two elements: it has to attract business from elsewhere or it has to generate new business on its own. Retail can only create new business at the rate of general growth in the economy so you have to look at where existing business can be attracted away from other locations.
Of course that's essential a zero sum game - whenever one area improves another area goes down.
The other factor is the strategic planning background. If any area accelerates to become a regional bigshot such that it moves up a notch in the planning hierarchy then it will continue to grow as new development is guided there by the planning regime. My home town went the other way and is now so far down the list that there is almost no chance of getting major retail development because of the effect it would have on the next three towns along.
Local commercial agents should have their finger on the pulse of all this as it is their job to know where the commercial market is moving and that depends on where business is going, geographically and economically.
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