Speculation more stores might leave city's centre (From Hereford Times)
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Speculation more stores might leave city's centre
3:00pm Saturday 23rd February 2013 in News By Adam Knight, Reporter
FEARS that chain stores will disappear from High Town were given further justification with TK Maxx’s relocation plans last week – while the council refuse to act, says a Herefordshire councillor.
Councillor Mark Hubbard insists there is “a whole list” of High Town stores now looking to take up one of the 20 Old Livestock Market lots, with H&M looking to open up a second branch there.
Initial plans restricted current city businesses to just 20 per cent of the development’s floorspace, however that policy was relaxed last year, opening the door for businesses to relocate from smaller High Town premises.
However while TK Maxx joined other national chains Next, Debenhams and Odeon in signing attractive letting agreements at the OLM, Coun Hubbard believes Hereford’s independent stores are being locked out.
He said the development does not support local businesses.
The It’s Our County leader now expects River Island to be the next high street giant to cross the road.
“Now that they’ve had the restrictions removed, one can assume River Island will be next – there is a reason it’s still not been rebuilt,” said Coun Hubbard.
“That’s how these developments work.”
The developer, Stanhope PLC, has about two-thirds of the floorspace to fill and while it insists it is not poaching companies from High Town, if approached it is obliged to listen to offers.
However RRA architect Garry Thomas maintains that High Town – not the OLM site – is best suited to attracting modern-day shoppers.
“With the massive shift online, to remain competitive shopping centres must evoke a ‘nice day out’,” said Mr Thomas, a former chairman of Hereford Civic Society.
“This sanitised experience – effectively an Odeon surrounded by several brandname shops – is wholly inappropriate and will never recreate the experience of an historic town centre.”
Further concerns were raised over the 25-year life span of the site’s buildings, announced last week.
Tenants will be required to pay for renewals, a fact Mr Thomas believes will lead to cut-rate leases on behalf of Stanhope.
Comments(32)
probono
says...
4:20pm Sat 23 Feb 13
littlewhitebull
says...
4:26pm Sat 23 Feb 13
If there were any houses going on such a site, personally I would not take a chance.
Grid Knocker
says...
7:37pm Sat 23 Feb 13
William Rudd
says...
9:23pm Sat 23 Feb 13
What complete and utter crap and he knows it too.
William Rudd
says...
9:40pm Sat 23 Feb 13
We would like to update you all and let you know that we were with Stanhope and its team last week for an update meeting. We are pleased to report that over 70% of the total new retail and restaurant area has been reserved by tenants, which is a tremendous achievement in the present market and testament to the quality of the scheme that is being delivered in Hereford.
Werintrouble
says...
10:49pm Sat 23 Feb 13
Maybe 'we' should take a 'leaf out of their book' and look to learn how they are managing to prosper during these bad times in Hereford.
From what I know, they open from dawn to dusk, they attract lots of customers, they sell very cheap products and no other shops can compete with their prices on things like tobacco, cigarettes and spirits.
Its not just shops. Look at the Car Wash business'es that have sprung up in the City. They are all over the place.
These people are driven, motivated, they take full advantage of all the grants and help available to them and they are prospering.
They work so hard. They dont care about their living conditions or how wet or cold it is, they just get on with working and making money.
We used to be like that. Not anymore.
We would be wise to study our visitors from East Europe and see how to make money during these hard times.
JohnBoym458
says...
5:54am Sun 24 Feb 13
.........NOT!!!!
trucking
says...
10:29am Sun 24 Feb 13
Werintrouble
says...
11:11am Sun 24 Feb 13
garygardner
says...
12:43pm Sun 24 Feb 13
Biomech
says...
1:23pm Sun 24 Feb 13
To add; 25 years? Is that for real or a typo? Or just a complete joke?
While I agree the EE's can be highly motivated hard workers, let's not forget that some of their shops are frequently, successfully, raided by customs and trading standards for illegally selling imported, tax free alc/cigerettes.
At it's core, it boils down to supply and demand. The HCC are NOT *supplying* what the people want. Conversely, more EE's come over, more demand, more shops, more business.
Hell, maybe the HCC should take business classes from the EE lol
Werintrouble
says...
1:27pm Sun 24 Feb 13
The Big Issue sellers do it to get a National Insurance number to get themselves started in this Country rather than sponge of the state.
Surely, we can learn a little from these people who seem to be doing well in this economic downturn.
garygardner
says...
1:58pm Sun 24 Feb 13
Werintrouble wrote:now i thought selling big issue was for homeless?? ni insurance number is new one on me something else that maybe being abused
Blooming Eck, I only wanted us to look at the way the East Europeans were doing business. Not to light a fire.
The Big Issue sellers do it to get a National Insurance number to get themselves started in this Country rather than sponge of the state.
Surely, we can learn a little from these people who seem to be doing well in this economic downturn.
Skyhawk
says...
6:19pm Sun 24 Feb 13
We were originally assured that there would be no mass exodus of shops from the existing city centre. With TK Maxx, Next and River Island heading that way, the original promise has been broken. Stanhope have got Hereford Futures and the Council by the **** on this one and they've undoubtedly signed the soul of the city over to them.
Can anyone honestly see the likes of the big high street names like Marks & Spencer, Monsoon, Mothercare, Boots etc. staying behind in the original centre when all efforts will be made to promote and publicise OLM? They'll see a downturn in trade and want a piece of the action guaranteed. High Town will haemorrhage shops once the development opens. All that will be left will be EE shops, charity shops, struggling Independants and boarded up premises. And once Waitrose opens, Tesco will close and focus operations on their Belmont store.
This is the vision of the future. All you with your heads up Hereford Futures and the Council's arse lapping up the spin like the fat cats you worship cannot see the truth. You're blinded by the nonsense, lies and bureaucracy spat out to keep us simpletons thinking we've got a great deal.
The Council are suffocating this town. They've climbed into bed with a dangerous developer and generations of Herefordians will pay for their vanity project.
Don't say the signs weren't there from the beginning.
allhandstothedeck
says...
7:57pm Sun 24 Feb 13
Werintrouble wrote:Correct if Im wrong, but don't supermarkets open 24 hours a day.
Imagine how bad things would be if the East European Traders had not settled here. There would be more empty shops and things would be a lot worse than they are.
Maybe 'we' should take a 'leaf out of their book' and look to learn how they are managing to prosper during these bad times in Hereford.
From what I know, they open from dawn to dusk, they attract lots of customers, they sell very cheap products and no other shops can compete with their prices on things like tobacco, cigarettes and spirits.
Its not just shops. Look at the Car Wash business'es that have sprung up in the City. They are all over the place.
These people are driven, motivated, they take full advantage of all the grants and help available to them and they are prospering.
They work so hard. They dont care about their living conditions or how wet or cold it is, they just get on with working and making money.
We used to be like that. Not anymore.
We would be wise to study our visitors from East Europe and see how to make money during these hard times.
Also what is needed is a shop that will offer good, clean wholesome food at a realistic price. What good is cheap tobacco, cigarettes and spirts, thats not going to do growing children any good. The reason these shops seem to be doing well is because they only 'employ' their own family members so very little is paid in wages. How many British people do you know works in these shops ,but in supermarkets cafe's etc; you will find ALL nationalities.
Herefordian07
says...
10:53am Mon 25 Feb 13
Shadowstorm
says...
12:07pm Mon 25 Feb 13
Also, whats all this malarky about saving 14 trees next to the roundabout? are they for the chop????
Grid Knocker
says...
12:17pm Mon 25 Feb 13
What I find rather more sinister is that Herefordshire Council has been asked (by the Highways Agency) to chop down the 14 Lime Trees which stand on that central reservation by the Tesco roundabout. Why can't Stanhope give up a small strip of land on the edge of the Grid instead?
dippyhippy
says...
3:11pm Mon 25 Feb 13
nised their cities without the need to chop down trees.It has been bad enough losing them from high town,to lose them from this area would be inexcusable. Secondly,many of us on this forum have been saying for quite some considerable time, that this development has been gone about in the entirely wrong manner. Whilst we want Hereford to move forward,what we are saying is,at what price?To lose High Town as a shopping area would be detrimental to the city. But people have been blinded by the promise of the new cinema,its been dangled in front of them like some sort of golden carrot! Well now, more and more businesses are wanting to up sticks and move across to the dark side, I think people are finally seeing what we said will happen. They can now visualise a City centre without the high street names,and realise,like we do,that it will be a ghost town.I am sick to the back teeth of this council reneging on their word,not keeping their promises,and putting the needs/wants of developers before the people they are supposed to represent. This is madness beyond belief.
mizza21
says...
4:35pm Mon 25 Feb 13
Many citys are like this now because of this kind of development.
Leicester has an older quarter and in that part you get small boutiques, independent restaurants, cafes and special interest stores of different sorts (not adult stores, like skateboards and hippy shops).
Then there's the great big sanitised shopping mall..
I know which part I prefer.
Do not fear this HEREford. It will not hurt.
I am not alone I beleive in despising, not the OLM development, but the stupid way the council has allowed itself to be shafted either because they benefit directly from it, (which is a disgrace as elected officials) or because they are incompetent.
The lime trees have to stay. I may have to get out the gaffer tape and hairy string again if they don't relent from that one.
dippyhippy
says...
4:50pm Mon 25 Feb 13
dippyhippy
says...
4:52pm Mon 25 Feb 13
RogerLFC
says...
7:32pm Mon 25 Feb 13
Werintrouble wrote:The regular shops wont be selling 50 grammes of handrolling tobacco for £7.50 as they have to pay UK duty. An Eastern European shop is taking a chance with those sales at that price. Incidentally those items are priced at €4.40 on the packet (with the obvious foreign language health warning) so the Eastern European retailer is making a profit and the buyer getting half price tobacco couldn't care less!
Imagine how bad things would be if the East European Traders had not settled here. There would be more empty shops and things would be a lot worse than they are.
Maybe 'we' should take a 'leaf out of their book' and look to learn how they are managing to prosper during these bad times in Hereford.
From what I know, they open from dawn to dusk, they attract lots of customers, they sell very cheap products and no other shops can compete with their prices on things like tobacco, cigarettes and spirits.
Its not just shops. Look at the Car Wash business'es that have sprung up in the City. They are all over the place.
These people are driven, motivated, they take full advantage of all the grants and help available to them and they are prospering.
They work so hard. They dont care about their living conditions or how wet or cold it is, they just get on with working and making money.
We used to be like that. Not anymore.
We would be wise to study our visitors from East Europe and see how to make money during these hard times.
CJM1957
says...
8:16pm Mon 25 Feb 13
Clarkester
says...
8:42am Tue 26 Feb 13
£1.90 for a single adult to get from Yazor Road to Tesco!!!!
£1.50 for a single child for the same journey!!!
Ridiculous.
RogerLFC
says...
10:30am Tue 26 Feb 13
Seventh
says...
12:00pm Tue 26 Feb 13
High Town, or the OLM, it makes no difference, I just want to be able to buy the things I need, and to be able to have dinner and a filmwithout travelling to Worcester or Gloucester.
Herefordshire as a county has one full-time cinema with ONE SCREEN. And, frankly, it's absolutely terrible. This is appalling. the way to save Hereford is to have things here that people want. If anything, it'll clear High Town of big, characterless brand-name stores, to make way for interesting local stores, much like the Shambles area of Worcester, which is thriving.
megilleland
says...
3:15pm Tue 26 Feb 13
What I find rather more sinister is that Herefordshire Council has been asked (by the Highways Agency) to chop down the 14 Lime Trees which stand on that central reservation by the Tesco roundabout. Why can't Stanhope give up a small strip of land on the edge of the Grid instead?
Here is my letter of objection to above.
Application to fell 14 Lime Trees - DSM/130148/K
I wish to object to the felling of 14 lime trees on Edgar Street. I understand it is stated that the felling is necessary to widen the road in connection with the roundabout.
The council have a poor record of preserving trees in the city and its surroundings - the council's intentions are to cut the trees down regardless of finding an alternative strategy. This roundabout has high levels of pollution, with the trees absorbing some of the pollutants. The extra lane will create more stationery traffic and increase pollution.
A member of the public has made a suggestion that the road scheme could take land from the ESG to absorb the extra lane and leave the trees in situ. I support this approach and look to the council to take this idea on board.
Martin Gilleland
Other people need to register their objection through jround@herefordshire
.gov.uk by this Friday 1st March.
See application here:
http://www.herefords
hire.gov.uk/housing/
planning/58286.aspx?
ID=130148&NoSearch=T
rue
Herefordian07
says...
4:46pm Tue 26 Feb 13
ArmadilloSackRace
says...
9:23am Thu 28 Feb 13
CJM1957 wrote:People have been moaning about how the multi storey isn't fit for purpose for ages, and now, when it's finally getting an upgrade, people still moan.
Don't worry about all the shops moving out of High Town, there won't be a town left for shoppers to visit as the Council in its wisdom is to close the multi storey car park for 6 months starting 11th March. That means even fewer people will come to Hereford a parking will be even more horrendous and traffic chaos will ensue as people drive round in circles looking for somewhere to leave their cars. Better, quicker and cheaper to go to Worcester methinks. RIP Hereford.
The entrance, exit and ramps between floors aren't suitable for the larger cars that people have these days. Without a major upgrade then this carpark will be of no use to anybody so may as well get it sorted before the new development opens, rather than just leave it there, serving no purpose whatsoever in a few years time.
Some of the space within the devlopment is being opened up as a temporary carpark during the closure anyway so please quit the scaremongering.
dippyhippy
says...
6:35pm Thu 28 Feb 13
megilleland wrote:Well done Megilland! A briiliant letter,I have also lodged my own concerns!
What I find rather more sinister is that Herefordshire Council has been asked (by the Highways Agency) to chop down the 14 Lime Trees which stand on that central reservation by the Tesco roundabout. Why can't Stanhope give up a small strip of land on the edge of the Grid instead?
Here is my letter of objection to above.
Application to fell 14 Lime Trees - DSM/130148/K
I wish to object to the felling of 14 lime trees on Edgar Street. I understand it is stated that the felling is necessary to widen the road in connection with the roundabout.
The council have a poor record of preserving trees in the city and its surroundings - the council's intentions are to cut the trees down regardless of finding an alternative strategy. This roundabout has high levels of pollution, with the trees absorbing some of the pollutants. The extra lane will create more stationery traffic and increase pollution.
A member of the public has made a suggestion that the road scheme could take land from the ESG to absorb the extra lane and leave the trees in situ. I support this approach and look to the council to take this idea on board.
Martin Gilleland
Other people need to register their objection through jround@herefordshire
.gov.uk by this Friday 1st March.
See application here:
http://www.herefords
hire.gov.uk/housing/
planning/58286.aspx?
ID=130148&NoSear
ch=T
rue
Werintrouble says...
3:38pm Sat 23 Feb 13