East Renfrewshire
Phil Prentice, Economic Development & Regeneration Manager at East Renfrewshire Council provides an overview of a successful programme of rolling town centre improvements, culminating in major investment plans for Barrhead and an innovative approach in Neilson which could provide a national template for regeneration.
Following research conducted in 1999, East Renfrewshire Council has implemented a series of town centre improvements. This indicated a number of issues that needed to be addressed and highlighted Clarkston as the first priority for support.
The Town Centre Partnership that was developed for the town provided a blueprint for a rolling programme of developments designed to make best use of the council’s available budget.
Initial meetings with traders highlighted there was recognition that something needed to be done as the centre’s “shabbiness” was contributing to declining visitors numbers and reduced shop footfall. The knock on effect was 13 empty shop units and a lot of disturbance by teenagers at the weekends.
A small working group was formed with representatives from the traders, Council, Chamber of Commerce, community council and local politicians. The Council then helped fund trader, visitor and resident surveys as the basis for scoping a development plan.
Key was recognition of the need to “spruce up” the town centre and fill the empty retail units. At the time a new developer took over the units and was more open to developing an action plan with improved incentives. This brought the empty shops down quickly to two and, at the same time, a Sainsbury’s anchor store was secured for the town.
Other initiatives included floral displays, new street furniture, new granite signage at the exit and entry roundabouts and improved security through a radio alert system, CCTV and better car park lighting. A farmers market which attracted 3,000 people was launched and continues today.
The working group ran from 2002 to 2004 and still meets periodically to ensure propgress is maintained. Responsibility for maintaining initiatives were transferred to Council departments and the budget was rolled on to the next priority.
Next up was Thornliebank. Meetings with traders highlighted a more basic set of requirements including new hanging baskets, tree planting, a shopfront upgrade for the local McDonalds restaurant and street banners, which were based on designs from a local schools competition. About £80,000 was invested over a one year period - a short sharp investment to meet the needs identified.
The next target town, Busby, presented a unique set of challenges mainly as a result of a major gap site and the lack of council land ownership. A £65,000 programme of environmental improvements was implemented in 2007 which included shopfronts and street repairs.
This brings us up to the present day with Giffnock, which has benefited from a combined public realm and traffic works contribution of £500,000 by a new Morrisons’ store on Fenwick Road. This has been linked to improvement of the Council’s local learning centre. This is a live project and we are about to start implementation of physical improvements which the Town Centre Partnership has helped identify.
Perhaps even more exciting is Neilston which could provide a blueprint for town centre improvement on a national basis.
With the support of Renaissance Towns, a unique team has been assembled headed by Alan Simpson, Professor at Glasgow School of Art who previously headed the Yorkshire Forward regeneration initiative.
His team includes representatives from Architecture Design Scotland (ADS), The Lighthouse and specialist architecture consultants. This differs from the original Clarkston model in that it will see more involvement of community and residents as well as traders and other stakeholders.
The Neilston Village Regeneration Group was formally launched in mid October 2008, and Renaissance Towns has said it is looking to this as a model to review town centre improvement and issues such as residential planning. This is likely to involve the transfer of some Council assets to the Group to support sustainable development. Big issues are being considered such as how small towns relate to neighbouring metropolises – how do they go about retaining their character and define a role for themselves, or do they survive as sleepy dormitories?
The ten year plan for regeneration of Barrhead, “Better Barrhead”, is also kicking off. This £113m initiative will also provide an interesting model for other Councils as it is not based on an Urban Regeneration Company (URC). Most councils without URC status face greater restrictions in what they can and can’t do, particularly in attracting investment.
Despite this, East Renfrewshire Council and its partner organisations have been successful in developing a £113m budget. In addition to environmental improvements, new affordable housing, modern business sites and a health centre, this will include creation of the region’s first further education college linked to conference and sports facilities. Proposals for a new 75,000 sq ft supermarket with 1000 car parking spaces is also being progressed along with linked retail units and public realm works, the latter budgeted at £2.5m.
Newton Mearns will be the focus for improvements in 2009, covering the whole map and the priorities identified in the original 1999 report.
Conclusion
The way people shop has changed dramatically since 1999 and councils’ budgets are getting tighter and tighter. Local centres certainly need to take control and adapt if they are to survive.
That brings us full circle to Clarkston which is progressing towards becoming a Business Improvement District (BID) by the end of 2009. This provides a means of building on the previous investment by the Council in a way that is sustainable and is a blueprint for the other centres to follow.
The main issue for all town centres is to identify what makes them unique and build on this. If you were teleported into any shopping centre in Scotland today, you might have trouble identifying where you are – they are so similar. Local centres can compete through their individuality, by understanding their local audience and offering something different that will appeal to them.
For more information:
Phil Prentice
Economic Development Manager
East Renfrewshire Council
T: 0141 577 3753
E:
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Further links:
Better Barrhead
East Renfrewshire Council Regeneration
