Discussion Papers 1999. No. 26.
Fall and Revival of City Centre Retailing:
Planning an Urban Function in Leicester, Britain
CENTRE FOR REGIONAL STUDIES
OF HUNGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
DISCUSSION PAPERS
No. 26
Fall and Revival of City Centre Retailing:
Planning an Urban Function in Leicester, Britain
by
Erika NAGY
Series editor
Zoltán GÁL
Pécs
1999
Discussion Papers 1999. No. 26.
Fall and Revival of City Centre Retailing:
Planning an Urban Function in Leicester, Britain
Publishing of this paper is supported by the
Research Fund of the Centre for Regional Studies, Hungary
(This paper was made within the framework of MA Program of the
Centre for Urban History, Leicester University, UK)
ISSN 0238–2008
© 1999 by Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of
Sciences
Technical editor: Zoltán Gál
Typeset by Centre for Regional Studies of HAS Printed in Hungary by
Sümegi Nyomdaipari, Kereskedelmi és Szolgáltató Ltd., Pécs
Discussion Papers 1999. No. 26.
Fall and Revival of City Centre Retailing:
Planning an Urban Function in Leicester, Britain
CONTENTS
1 Introduction / 7
2 Population trends / 12
3 Rising income and changing shopping behaviour / 15
4 Changing structure of retailing / 19
5 Town planning and retail policies at national level / 25
6 A local response: planning of city centre retailing in Leicester
6.1 Transportation policy / 31
6.2 The 1952 General Plan / 36
6.3 The first generation of shopping centre schemes in
Leicester: the Haymarket development / 38
6.4 Controversial approaches towards retail planning: the 1970s
and 1980s / 42
6.5 Actions for preserving the city centre / 45
7 Final findings / 49
Notes / 51
References / 54
Discussion Papers 1999. No. 26.
Fall and Revival of City Centre Retailing:
Planning an Urban Function in Leicester, Britain
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Pedestrian routes and the most visited stores in the main
shopping area of Leicester (1993) / 10
Figure 2: Shopping facilities in Leicester, 1992 / 17
Figure 3: Shares of retail sales by form of organisation / 21
Figure 4: Retail floorspace in Leicester City Centre 1971-1988 / 22
Figure 5: Car Park Provision in the Central Area of Leicester / 34
Nagy, Erika : Fall and Revival of City Centre Retailing: Planning an Urban Function in Leicester, Britain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 57. p.
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1 Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the changing structure and spatial
forms of retailing activities in the city centre after the World War II. To
reveal economic and social changes behind the declining business of small
corner shops and rise of large shopping malls, the studies was extended to
three topics:
• economic, social and environmental problems of city centres;
• structural and organisational transformation of the retail sector and
the spatial consequences of that;
• central and local governmental attitudes towards the processes
mentioned above in terms of town planning and retailing.
The topics are discussed in the main sections of the paper, with strong
emphasis on the changes of retailing in the city centre.
To represent the local effects of the nation-wide structural changes,
retailing and city centre development policies, I studied the example of
Leicester in details. The city is located in the East Midlands inhabited by
280.000 people. The retail sector of the city serves not only of residents but
a wider region (about 540.000 consumers) recently. It must be considered as
a typical regional and service centre: the City Centre has been the main
focus of shopping trips in Leicestershire since the medieval market was
established. The core of the city was suffering from depopulation, decay of
old buildings and fall of economic activities such as manufacturing,
wholesale and certain types of retailing after the World War II as other
British cities did. Local plans for saving city centre retailing and providing
sufficient shopping facilities reflected the priorities of central governmental
policies. The city has been a pilot area for the observation and analysis of
the effects of retail developments (such as the Fosse Park) since the late
1970s.
On the other hand, the colourful land use structure and the peculiar social
structure of Leicester resulted in some specific features of the retailing
sector and forced local planners to consider the customs and needs of
immigrant communities. The sources of the analysis included secondary
7
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ones (of which case studies provided information to compare Leicester to
other British cities), official statistics (population census, Census of
Distribution, local statistics of retailing) and official publications of the
British government between 1960 and 1996. The Leicester City Council
provided shopping and land use surveys, structure plans and action plans
that targeted the city centre. Beyond the analysis of the texts and data, I
collected „soft” information from the officials of the City Council and some
of the shopkeepers.1
Before setting up the hypothesis, it is necessary to define the space that I
extended the analysis onto. In many respects, the city centre is a difficult
area to be defined. In functional terms, it could be identified as the CBD in
Burgess’s concentric model: it is characterised by a high concentration of
retailing and service activities and the dominance of commercial use of the
buildings (particularly, on the ground floor level). In many cases, CBD
functions are not continuous in space; they are interrupted by industrial and
residential units. These are potential sites for the expanding business
activities.
It is even more difficult to define the city centre as an object to historical
and geographical analysis. The node of trading activities (the CBD) was
shifting and expanding in time and space. This process produced a
heterogeneous area in functional and physical terms. It is composed of
medieval, 19th century and modern (post-war) buildings. This mixture of
functions and problems challenged urban planners. They faced the problem
of decaying historical dwellings and the needs of the actors of the local
economy for a modern city centre after the World War II. Since I am going
to analyse the development of city centre retailing in the post-war period, I
had to consider not only the present CBD, but also the elements of the
historical town centre in its vicinity.
Leicester was an adequate object to my research for its colourful land-use
structure. The main shopping area is bordered by residential buildings of lower
rank on the West and industrial estates on the North and Northeast. The western
part is still a problematic territory for town planners. Since it links a valuable zone
including Roman and medieval remains to the main shopping area,
8
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Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 57. p.
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physicalconditions must be improved to attract tourists and encourage multi-
purpose trips.
The term of city centre is part of the terminology of town planning as
well. The Town and Country Planning Act (1947) empowered local
authorities to obtain land through compulsory purchase and designate
certain parts of cities as “comprehensive development areas”. The document
of “Redevelopment of Central Areas” that was prepared in the same year,
contained a guidance to re-plan city centres dividing them into well-defined,
specialist zones of shopping, offices education, etc. The paper (that distinct
land for shopping, cultural services, housing and offices) described the
functional characteristics of the city centre, but the boundary was not clearly
defined. It was the duty of local town planners.
Local planners distinct the Central Area from the rest of Leicester that
includes the territory inside the Central Ring Road, and some small districts
that are considered as parts of the city centre due to their functions (the
surroundings of the Castle Park, the New Walk and the London Road
shopping centre). The Main Shopping Area includes the primary and
secondary shopping streets. (Fig. 1) This part of the Central Area is
characterised by the highest concentration of retailing and leisure services in
the city. To analyse the trends of population, economic and land use
changes, I shall concentrate on the Central Area as a whole. Since changes
in the retail sector effected mainly the Main Shopping Area, I focused on
the main shopping streets in terms of local trading.
To find a working definition for the area, I used the approach of town
planners. In most cases, planners found a clear limit for the centre of their
town: the innermost ring road surrounding the core. It often has historical
roots incorporating old routes, the castle walls and ditch sites. Since they are
planning units, databases are available for these areas (in the case of
Leicester it is completed by the three small areas) discussed above. It is a
wider definition of the city centre than the functional one.
We have to pay attention not only to the retailing and planning actions
shaping it, but also to the specific problems of the inner areas, such as
9
Nagy, Erika : Fall and Revival of City Centre Retailing: Planning an Urban Function in Leicester, Britain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 57. p.
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Nagy, Erika : Fall and Revival of City Centre Retailing: Planning an Urban Function in Leicester, Britain.
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office, shop and housing decay and demographic trends similar to those of
the inner cities2. The latter can not be clearly separated from the residential
parts of the city centre. For this reason, and because of the important role of
the inner city population as the consumers of the shops in the city centre, I
must refer to some problems and development plans related to the inner city
in the next chapter.
I focused on the period between the early 1950s and the mid-1990s in the
paper. The scale and structure of the consumption and organisation of the
retailing sector was changing considerably in this stage and the process led
to the emergence of new spatial forms of retailing, such as out-of-town
shopping malls3, hypermarkets4 and shopping precincts. Since the
development of city centre retailing was influenced by planning paradigms
(such as idea of precincts and neighbourhood centres) and practical
approaches of local planners (pedestrianisation, traffic planning, physical
renewal of town centres), such factors also must be considered the at the
periodisation of our stage.
The first stage of city centre retailing included the years of prosperity
from the late 1950s until the mid-1970s. This period was characterised by
increasing demand for durable goods and a fairly stable level of purchase of
convenience goods. Town planners prepared major clearance schemes for
city centres that resulted in changing land use pattern such as the expansion
of commercial (office and retailing) use.
Between the mid-1970s and mid-1980s deconcentration of urban
population and retailing was accelerated. The latter was associated with the
increasing scale of retail units. The central governmental attitude towards
town centres was controversial and local authorities had to face with the
decay of retailing activities in the inner areas of cities including city centres.
As a consequence of political movements, governmental policies
considered the interests of inner city poor and the future of the “High Street”
as a focus of community life from the late 1980s. Local planners were
encouraged to carry on the city centre improvement and pedestrianisation
schemes. Construction of major out-of-town shopping centres was
controlled and limited. The process was associated by the new wave of
11
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building city centre shopping centres and stimulated by increasing private
investments in the sector.
The periodisation is corresponding with local and central governmental
policies that followed the fluctuation of the demand and retail investments.
The changes in the retail sector were determined by widespread process
such as the structural and organisational changes of the retail sector,
deconcentration of the urban population and transformation of shopping
behaviour.
2 Population trends
Population trends of Leicester were changing in line with the national ones.
The city experienced a considerable growth in the number of inhabitants in
the post-war years. The process stopped and reversed in the first half of the
1960s. It was a result of the emigration of urban population to the suburbs:
the inner city suffered 1,4% population loss in favour of the suburbs (in
Greater Leicester, the number of inhabitants increased by 7115) in the
1960s.5 This process dominated population trends in next decades as well.
The number of residents was falling in inner Leicester in the 1970s and the
process was accelerated by the increasing housing prices in the 1980s (2,9%
population loss). Town planners expected constant decrease in the inner area
of Leicester and slight growth (about 1%) in the surrounding suburban belt.
The age structure of the population was also changing: after the baby-
boom, proportion of elderly was increasing constantly as a consequence of
the increasing life-expectancy and long-term downward trend in birth rate of
white population. In Leicester, an increasing number of Asian and West
Indian immigrants modified the process significantly. Their proportion of
the population has exceeded 26% recently. The newcomers were mostly
young (younger than 40 years old) and the number of their children is higher
than the national average. The rate of immigration was decreasing in the
12
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1980s and demographic characteristics of these families were getting closer
to that of white families. Although, a lot of members of ethnic groups are
suburbanites now (in Leicester, about one-third of the Asian immigrants),
ethnic groups are still over-represented in the inner cities that are
characterised by high unemployment rates, poor housing conditions (in old
terraced houses), relatively low incomes and favourable demographic
composition (high proportion of children and young adults between the age
of 25 and 44 years).
The trends sketched above re-shaped the social structure of Leicester’s
inner city. Spatial distribution of local population could be followed in the
national population census. Unfortunately, census wards do not resemble
with the Central Area. It is incorporated into Castle and Wycliffe, St.
Margaret (1961) and Abbey (1971, 1981, and 1991) wards. Castle and
Wycliffe suffered a substantial population loss that resulted in an increasing
number of vacant dwellings in the 1960s and 1970s.6 Residents of the Castle
area are mostly white and the proportion of elderly was increasing after the
war. Abbey and Wycliffe are characterised by rising number and proportion
(30% or over) of fairly young immigrants. The latter is inhabited by families
of low income and the ratio of single-parent households is the highest
among the wards.7
The process of population loss was even faster in the Central Area from
the late 1950s on. It was encouraged by the slum clearance programs of the
local authority that proposed land use changes to extend office and shop
floorspace at the expense of residential function. Until 1971, 355.000 m2
office development was carried out in the city of which over 300.000 m2
occurred on central location. It was concentrated on the northern and north-
eastern part of the Central Area.
Population trends outlined above effected city centre retailing directly.
Ethnic groups represented a specific segment of the retail market as
consumers of city centre department stores and small specialist shops of
their own residential areas. Large food stores and the retail market have
important supplementary role in the supply of immigrant communities. The
majority (about 60%) of immigrant families does the weekly shopping in the
13
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main shopping area. Many of the immigrants are involved in trading (food,
clothing, and jewellery) as shopkeepers as well (Hill, 1987) .
The other important element of the population of population change in
the city centre and the surrounding wards is the increasing number of small
households of young and elderly singles or couples without children (in
Abbey and Castle wards). Decreasing size of households could be followed
in the population census since 19618, like in most of the British cities. This
trend contributed to the decline of purchase power in the city centre that was
stimulated by the emigration of white middle class families and invasion of
poor immigrants as well (Davies, 1984).
The new trends in the employment of the population had also effected
local consumption. The number of employees in manufacturing fell by 20%
between 1961 and 1987 although, it is still above the national average. The
process has started in the city centre where the industrial employment
dropped by 10% between 1950 and 1964 and the process was going on in
the 1970s as a result of the decentralisation of industrial activities. In the
meantime, proportion of services was rising up to 60% of which 10,2 % was
employed in retailing in 1987. As in most of West European cities,
proportion of white-collar workers was rising and the employment of
women was also increasing in the offices (White, 1989). Replacement of
workplaces in manufacturing by services resulted in significant changes in
the composition of daily commuters moving to the city centre. Since
employees often link their daily path to work with shopping, retailers and
caterers had to adopt their activities to such needs.9 Increasing number of
specialist shops, restaurants and supermarkets also serve the needs of
commuting white-collar employees.
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3 Rising income and changing shopping behaviour
Household incomes were rising in the post-war years. The progress was not
broken until the mid-1970s. The purchase power rose by 28% in the 1960s
and the trend was maintained by the inflation in the 1970s. Household
incomes were increasing much slower in the 1980s (12,3%) as a result of
the oil crisis and the economic recession. Demand for convenience goods10
was stabilised in the 1960s. Shops selling durable goods were exposed to the
income changes to farther extent: consumption was rising by 20% in the
1960s but only 14,5% in the 1980s (in the case of convenience goods, it was
10,2% and 14,0%).
The process and the increasing rents in the Central Area resulted in
structural changes in city centre retailing: the floorspace and number of
shops selling convenience goods was declining sharply in the city centre
from the late 1960s. The proportion of durable goods in the gross turnover
of shops and retail floorspace was increasing in the area. At the same time,
new elements of the retail hierarchy (suburban superstores and shopping
malls) gained increasing share on the market of convenience goods that also
involved changes in the city centre.
After the World War II, households were equipped by durable goods
such as refrigerator, TV set, washing machine (1960s), telephone, freezer
(1970s) and video (1980s), (Price, Blair, 1989). Rising incomes involved a
significant increase in car ownership, as well that led to dramatic structural
and spatial changes in the retail sector. Although, Leicester is lagged behind
the average of British cities in this term recently, car provision was
improved in the post-war decades notably. Number of motorcars was
increasing quickly from 0,12/household (1951) up to 0,3/ household until
the mid-1960s. The trend encouraged planners to estimate the saturation
level of car ownership 1,2 car/household in 1995. The process was slower
from the late 1970s, and the estimation seemed to be too optimistic.
According to the 1991 census, 32% of households had no access to car in
Greater Leicester and this proportion is even higher (45%) in the inner
area11. Proportion of households without car is the highest in Wycliffe
15
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Ward. Although, car-ownership was over-estimated, local authorities had to
face the lacking balance between land uses as traffic generators and the
available traffic accommodation (road and parking capacities) from the mid-
1960s.
The Central Area was effected by increasing car ownership in an other
way as well: the decentralisation and increasing mobility of the population
involved the emergence of new forms of retailing and new patterns of
shopping trips in Leicester. Out-of town shopping centres and superstores
appeared on the edge of the city that changed the traditional shopping
hierarchy. (Fig. 2) City centre has lost its dominance on the market of
convenience goods and the mix of shops and activities has also been
changed since the mid-1960s. The process was accelerated by the increasing
difficulties in the accessibility of the area furthermore, pollution and
dangerous traffic situations. There were attempts to relieve the city centre
through the formation of the one-way system, pedestrianisation, and
construction of controlled parking sites.
The rising number of car owners involved increasing commuter
movements as well12. City centre concentrated an increasing number of
workplaces, shops and service facilities, as a result of the post-war
developments. The area became the destination of short-term (shopping) and
long-term (daily commuting) movements of car-owners. Since the car was
available less times for women, use of the car was restricted to certain
period (non-working hours) of the day that effected the frequency and
timing of shopping trips.
In parallel with the decentralisation of the population and workplaces
resulted in the rising number of cars, increasing mobility and
deconcentration of shopping facilities, changes in shopping behaviour were
also significant. Less frequent (made 2 or 3 times a week) multi-purpose
trips combining shopping, recreation and personal business became general
as a result of increasing car-ownership (Dawson, 1980). Such routes were
directed to higher hierarchical levels of retailing and services and they were
longer than traditional walk-to-shop distances.
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The City Centre of Leicester remained in the focus of such trips until the
late 1980s. The boundary of its catchment area was the 30-minute isochron
that included Greater Leicester travelling by car.13 Half of the interviewed
shoppers travelled no more than 15 minutes in 1984 that means the majority
of shoppers of city centre shops came from the inner city. Since the demand
for convenience goods is inelastic and the purchase power of the latter area
probably will not change considerably, the small share (3,4%) of such shops
of the net retail floorspace will be unlikely to grow in long term.
Advantages of the City Centre, such as variety of goods of different
quality and prices, high number of specialist shops and concentration of
retail and service functions may save the shops here. Shopping reviews
suggest that retailing of durable goods attract shoppers from the wider area
of Greater Leicester: 70% of the interviewed households chose the main
shopping area for this purpose in 1984.
Lifestyle changes occurred in the 1970s and 1980s also effected shopping
behaviour and City Centre retailing. Increasing number of working women
restricted the time available for shopping after or before working hours and
changed the demand for certain types of food. Working couples prefer one-
stop shopping in larger stores accessible quickly by car. Segmentation of the
market (growing number of small households of elderly, young singles,
childless divorcees, single parent families, etc.) resulted in a significant rise
in the number of specialists, such as healthy food or fashion clothing shops.
This trend contradicts the widely accepted idea of homogenisation of
consumption (“mall-culture”). Shopping has a significant social content:
purchased articles express social identity and individuality. Needs for
specialist shops and attractive shopping landscapes (localities) evolved in
the 1970s that was perceived by shoppers and retailers had remarkable
influence on planning of shopping centres and precincts in the 1980s and
1990s (Crewe, Lowe, 1995).
Increasing amount of free time led to the differentiation of the demand
for leisure services such as restaurants, cafés and night-clubs (Price, Blair,
1989). Lifestyle changes strengthened the specialisation of the city centre
shops and hastened the erosion of retailing of convenience goods in the City
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Centre. The changes in shopping behaviour challenged retailers. Longer
opening hours and more flexibility in time was required (e.g. for weekend
shopping trips). Furthermore, increasing role of motorcar in shopping
involved growing demand for parking space around shops and stores. Multi-
purpose shopping trips forced retailers to exploit the advantages of
agglomeration economies that changed the organisation and the traditional
hierarchy of the retail industry.
4 Changing structure of retailing
The changes occurred within the city centre are bound up to with broader
processes that have significant impact on shopping provision throughout
Britain. Such alterations are responses to the radical changes in the structure
of retail industry and significant shifts in the pattern of retailing and
shopping. The history of the sector was characterised by a fall in the number
of retail units, a substantial increase in the market share of the large multiple
groups and the emergence of new forms of retailing and new types of
shopping centres in the past 30 years. Traditional shopping centres in the
inner area were declining and new centres were constructed on the edge of
cities increasing disparities in retail provision between the outer and inner
city areas.
The dramatic fall in the number of retail outlets characterised the sector
in Leicester as well from the late 1950s. Convenience goods have been
particularly associated with the decline of corner shops and specialist food
traders (mainly grocers and greengrocers). Between 1961 and 1995, the
number of shops fell by 51%14. In the group of grocers, provision dealers,
other food retailers together with the variety/department/general household
stores the number of shops fell by 71% between 1961 and 1995, whilst the
floorspace of food shops almost doubled. Supermarkets15 and later
hypermarkets16 and superstores17 became the destinations of food shopping
trips. Unfortunately, there was no annual data available about large scale
19
Nagy, Erika : Fall and Revival of City Centre Retailing: Planning an Urban Function in Leicester, Britain.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 57. p.
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multiple investments in Leicester. At national level, the number of
supermarkets rose from 367 (1961) over 700 by 1980 of which 400 was run
by 6 major chains (Price, Blair, 1989).
At the same time, net floorspace of shops was increasing in the city.
Independents18 were suffering from increasing rents and a great loss from
the early 1960s while the proportion of multiple chains in the retail
floorspace and the turnover was rising. The latter increased from 25% up to
42% between 1957 and 1975 in Leicester. In the meantime, their share in
the selling floorspace rose by 25%.
The basis of the expansion of multiple companies was the extension of
their distributive system integrating wholesaling, transportation and retail
activities. Such steps were stimulated by increasing labour costs and rents
(on central locations), mass production of retail goods, and the
agglomeration of population and purchase power. To compete with multiple
corporations, small organisations established voluntary groups for
wholesaling (such as the Spar group) from the 1970s to achieve bulk buying
economies. Despite such efforts, trends towards larger scale were present in
the sector in the whole period: the top five convenience goods retailers19 had
nation-wide representation and 51% share of the market at the beginning of
the 1980s. Multiple chains also rationalised their organisations: smaller
outlets were closed and new ones were planned at larger scale. Co-
operatives also recorded proportional decline. Most of the old corner shops
faded and new forms and scales of retailing evolved. (Fig. 3 and Fig. 4)
Deregulation process introduced by the Tory governments contributed to
the multiple companies to build up or expand their chains and set up the
control over supply in the 1980s. Economic policy of the central
government accelerated the circuits of capital that resulted in shrinking
profit for the producers in favour of retailing capital. Exchange relations
became as important as production ones. Corporate capital was gaining
stronger control over suppliers and consumers (through advertisement
campaigns).
20
Nagy, Erika : Fall and Revival of City Centre Retailing: Planning an Urban Function in Leicester, Britain.
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The process resulted in an increasing share of retailing and related services
in the price of goods (Marsden, Wrigley, 1995). The neo-conservative
policy favoured multiples investing in large, capital-intensive projects and
accelerated the decline of small shops and the traditional shopping
hierarchy.
Organisational changes had significant spatial effects. Large-scale
department stores were opened by multiples in the city centre in the 1960s.
The gross selling floorspace was doubled in the Central Area by the end of
the decade. Other shopping centres in greater Leicester were extended by
65% in terms of floorspace increase. Expansion of the selling space of
convenience goods was dominant in this stage. Food stores and mixed shops
operated by national chains (Marks & Spencer, Woolworth) appeared in the
City Centre. The new developments had changed the character of traditional
shopping streets and the pattern of shopping behaviour: large stores became
the main magnets of shopping trips. The process accelerated the decline of
small shops.
In the 1970s, location of multiple retail investments was moving towards
the edge of the city where cheap land was available. This activity diverted
the financial resources from shopping centres of the traditional retail
hierarchy. In fact, a new subsystem was formed by the new elements in the
shopping hierarchy. The process led to the decline of small, traditional
shopping centres such as the district centres situated northwards form the
Central Area of Leicester20. The process has been started in the sector of
food retailing. New superstores21 offered the widest range of goods at the
lowest prices in spacious surroundings. By 1987, their number was 457 in
the UK.
City centre shopping facilities were effected in two ways. On the one
hand, there was a dramatic shift in investments between 1971 and 1991:
120000 m2 development was implemented in the city outside the Central
Area and slightly more than 45000 m2 was added to the existing selling
floorspace in the city centre. On the other hand, there was only scarce
development in the sector of convenience goods; retail capital was invested
in the extension of selling space of durable goods. The new out-of-town
23
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developments were successful: proportion of the turnover and selling
floorspace was much larger in the new stores than in the city centre,
particularly, in the case of convenience goods. (There was only small
difference in the case of durable goods in favour of the new centres on the
edges.)22 Large-scale hypermarket and superstore developments outside the
Central Area did not effect city centre shopping severely: the trend of
declining food retailing was present in the centre from the late 1960s. Its
viability was endangered by the construction of out-of-town regional
shopping centres that offered a wide range of convenience and durable
goods. The large scale of such centres and the generous car park provision
attracted multiples and small specialist shops that provided as high level of
supply as city centre shops did. Their catchment area covered a whole
region as that of the Fosse Park, a regional shopping centre on the south-
eastern edge of Leicester attracting shoppers from the whole area of Greater
Leicester.
The new elements resulted by the structural and organisational changes
of the sector formed a new shopping hierarchy that challenged traditional
concentrations of shops (neighbourhood, district centres in the Inner Area
and the main shopping area in the city centre). Such changes accelerated the
undesired decay of traditional shopping centres that could be stopped or
slowed down only by the intervention of local authorities. In the case of the
city centre, diversity of shops and services was highly appreciated by the
segmented groups of consumers, but town planners had to interfere even
here. Retail and transportation policies, slum clearance programs, face-
lifting of old buildings of historical value, improvement of the townscape
(paving, setting up street furniture, etc.) must have been reviewed and
shopping centre schemes were put into this context in the next decade.
24
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Discussion Papers, No. 26.
5 Town planning and retail policies at national level
“Retail policy is a mechanism for overriding and modifying the generation
of such activities where it is against the public interest.”23 Through such
interventions, private investments are directed to places where a new land
use pattern would be beneficial to private capital and the general public. The
process must be cost effective that may deprive the status of certain social
groups. At the same time, retail policy may result in under-utilisation of
existing capacities (such as inner city shopping centres) that must be
remedied at the expense of local governments and local people. In this way,
retail policy was closely related to the problem of city centre development
and town planning regulations. The other contradiction of retail policy is the
extent that public interests should be considered to, at the expense of cost-
effectiveness (the emphasis might be on the first factor as well). Such
problems involved inconsistency in national town planning principals, retail
legislation and governmental guidance focused on inner city problems.
Since the World War II, self-contained shopping centres became the
framework of organising and developing new shops in Western Europe. The
British approach is considered as a specific one that is different form
continental policies in respect of constraints that were established to channel
resources into the central area of cities. The policy resulted in a fairly
concentrated pattern of retailing. This spatial structure is a product of
changing economic philosophies and social changes that influenced central
governmental policies.
The 1947 Town and Country planning Act introduced the concept of
Comprehensive Development Areas and empowered local authorities to
obtain land through compulsory purchase and designate such localities. The
Act inspired local leaders to plan well-defined functional areas segregating
specialist zones for shopping, offices public services etc. In 1954, wartime
licences for new buildings were abolished. The 1957 Town Planning Act
involved extensive slum clearance programs that provided clear sites for
new, zoned developments (mainly for offices, shops, traffic areas). Local
authorities purchased private estates and demolished decaying houses. As a
25
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Discussion Papers, No. 26.
consequence, they had to take the burden of compulsory re-housing of the
removed population.
Slum clearance programs involved the redevelopment of deteriorating
parts of city centres as well. The process changed the built environment and
function of the cleared and re-built sites significantly. Extensive office,
shopping and transportation developments occurred on these places. In
Leicester, 270 acres of land was acquired by the local authority between
1952 and 1972. 33 acres of that were reserved for commercial and office
development and a new civic centre. Sites for the Central Ring Road, a
coach station, the Lee Circle car park and space for warehousing were
separated.
The Acts had a major impact on city centre development: private
investments were increasing and shifting to commercial property that was
inspired by the rising household incomes, as well. Retail developments were
directed to the main shopping area and district centres. The re-development
of city centres had accelerated the decline of small businesses. Planning
blight transformed shopping streets by rising rents. Until the early 1960s,
emphasis was put on the redevelopment of city centres and there was no
governmental policy formulated to manage urban sprawl and its effect of the
retail network.
In the 1960s, comprehensive development plans were prepared for city
centres. The idea of precincts (applied in Coventry, Plymouth and the New
Towns successfully) was adapted for shopping and an extensive
pedestrianisation process has been started. Such local actions were inspired
by the Town Centre Approach to Renewal program initiated by the Ministry
of Housing and Local Government and Ministry of Transportation providing
technical devices for town centre development.
The 1968 Town and Country Planning Act obliged planning authorities
to prepare structure plans for a whole region and local authorities had to fit
their own structure plans into that under the supervision of the Secretary of
State for the Environment. The Act provides that so far as shopping is
concerned, this plan was to be able
26
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Discussion Papers, No. 26.
• to set out general proposals relating to the hierarchy of centres,
creation of new centres, development of district centres and
relief congestion on town centre,
• to deal with the quantity of floorspace at significant stages and
its distribution,
• to lay out a broad criteria and policies for the location of new
development and development control in relation to
conservation and conversion,
• to deal with the implementation such as the assembly of sites
by local authorities and the scope for private development.
The legislative framework to make strategic plans at regional basis,
including the construction of regional shopping centres was ready. The
hierarchical view of the governmental approach supposed the existence of
the co-ordination of municipal decisions that was lacking. (Matthews, 1995)
Furthermore, structure plans made for 20 years were not adequate to control
the rapid changes in the retail sector. Considerable inertia had been imposed
on the shopping development process since major schemes had taken
several years to secure approval (in the case of Brent Cross, London as long
as 10 years).
The 1968 Act encouraged local authorities to desire and support the
development of modern shopping facilities corresponding with the needs of
local population, but stressing the need for examining the economic viability
of the proposals to avoid over-provision. At this time, number supermarkets
and superstores were increasing and shopping centre schemes were
implemented only on central locations. Integration of new schemes into the
existing hierarchy was suggested and improvement of car parking
conditions was encouraged. The Act dealt with the problem of shopping
centres in terms of needs of the population living in the region. The
Department of Environment gave guidelines for the standards of amenities
in shopping centres. The development of public transportation was also
encouraged to make the centres accessible to a wide spectrum of the
population.
Although, the number of new, planned shopping centres was increasing
27
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Discussion Papers, No. 26.
in the 1970s, but joint actions of local authorities were hindered by
bureaucratic inertia. The central government supported retail developments
that improved the supply of new suburbs but suggested the integration of
new shopping centres into the existing hierarchy in the 1971 report24.
Traffic calming (not exclusion!) and the extension of the existing pedestrian
routes were also suggested as devices for saving the role of the city centre in
retailing. At the same time, the scale of shopping schemes in city centre was
increasing and there was an increasing pressure on the government to
approve schemes for out-of-town shopping developments (Bennison,
Davies, 1980) .
Local authorities remained hostile towards to suburban retail centres
although, there were exceptions such as potential outlying service centres
for expanding residential areas. The reasons for that were disturbing the
tranquillity of the countryside and the emergence of two distinct social
systems of shopping: one for poor and elderly in inner cities and one for
middle class and wealthy families in the suburbs. All applications for new
developments over 45.500m2 floorspace must have been sent to the DOE, a
collective body of professional planners for approval. Most of such plans
were rejected forcing the developers to construct new facilities on central
locations.
In 1977, improvement programmes were initiated by the central
government that included the protection of town centres (Development
Control Policy Note 13). Large scale stores had to be carefully planned,
fitting into the existing patterns, helping the revitalisation of inner cities,
avoiding over-provision under the control of local authorities. At the same
time, governmental attitude became more flexible towards out-of town
developments, there were more schemes of such sort approved than in the
1960s. Ad hoc handling of the changing retail sector and lack of co-
ordination between the controlling bodies made ambiguous inner city retail
policy of the government in this period.
In the first half of the 1980s, there was a significant increase in
investments in the retail sector. The boom of speculative plans was
increasingly concentrated on the edge of cities. In 1987, 60% of the
28
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Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 1999. 57. p.
Discussion Papers, No. 26.
investments was located on out-of –town sites (at national level). Discussion
about the impact of such developments was revived in the mid-1980s. The
purpose of retail policy of the central government was to assist market
forces in the early 1980s. The emphasis shifted from local control towards
allocation of land use via the operations of the market. Retailers of the
“High Street”25 were arguing for more control to avoid the deprivation of
the city centre.
The 1986 guidance proposed a detailed analysis of shopping provision to
be done by local authorities. Using a clear set of regional criteria, a regional
balance between district centres and large stores was to be maintained under
the control of the central government. The guidance suggested the
consideration of the interests of car owners and permission of large, modern
foodstores in the vicinity of existing shopping areas. It also stressed the need
for the revival of the central shopping area. Improvement of the physical
environment, re-design of car parks and covered shopping malls,
pedestrianisation and encouraging the development of services for shoppers
(such as catering and amusement facilities) was suggested to local
authorities, to enable the main shopping area and other traditional shopping
centres to compete with modern forms of retailing more effectively. The
guidance suggested that it is not the role of land use planning to regulate
competition between retailers and retail methods and suggested local
planners to avoid preserving existing commercial interests. This
contradiction allowed local planners to follow their own ideas and local
needs.
Despite the contradictions of town planning policy, officials paid more
attention to the declining inner areas including city centres, from the mid-
1980s. The Secretary of State for the Environment rejected a series of
shopping centre schemes that were supposed to effect the vitality of inner
cities severely or planned in the Green Belt or in the open countryside.
(Leicester was also involved: in 1986, an application for a 12500m2 out-of-
town scheme was turned down.) The Secretary required local planning
authorities to notify him each proposal for major retail development. The
deficiency of planning mechanism for dealing with large-scale projects and
29
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Discussion Papers, No. 26.
the need for intervention to save the city centre viability was recognised by
governmental officials however, town planners criticised central
governmental policy. The reason for that was the elimination of
responsibility of local planners in favour of the London administration
without setting up the central administrative framework for the assessment
of shopping development proposals. Furthermore, there were no clear
criteria of assessment and methods to predict the effects of new schemes
were also lacking.
The National Planning Policies Guidance (1988) also dealt with the
problem of city centre retailing. Governmental support shifted to improving
city centre vitality and viability. The guidance introduced a new approach
towards retail development: new schemes had to be considered first in city
centres, then on the edge of traditional inner city shopping centres and only
as last resort on out-of-town sites. The latter had to provide a choice of
means of transport. Local authorities were required to work out a parking
strategy in the city centre to encourage shoppers to visit there. The guidance
represented a considerable shift towards the recognition of the effect of
shopping centre developments, the role of city centre in the local
community life and the need for its preservation. National policies had local
content that considered needs and peculiarities of local shoppers and
retailers.
In July 1993, a revised version of retail planning policy guidance was
published with a broader application containing planning aspects of retail
development in town centres. It suggested the mixed use of the areas such as
business, housing and leisure and rose issues about new forms of retailing.
Local authorities were urged to appoint a city centre manager and work out
a car parking strategy encouraging shoppers, not commuters. The 1993 and
1996 revision set up more obstacles for out-of town developments to protect
the viability and quality of the city centre. According to local planners of
Leicester, governmental proposals from 1988 met their views and aims in
terms of retail planning policies, for they considered the needs of a wider
spectrum of urban population and the City Centre as the focus of
community life.
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6 A local response: planning of city centre retailing in
Leicester
6.1 Transportation policy
Until the early 1960s, city centres were accessible to car owners in Britain.
The number and average speed of cars were increasing that raised the issues
of congestion, pollution and safety. The 1963 Buchanan Report was the first
“no” to motorcars in the post-war era.
The first concept of traffic control was presented by Alker Tripp in
193826. He suggested the classification of roads (arterial, sub-arterial and
local roads) to ease the congestion. He proposed the separation of transport
modes to increase the safety of pedestrians. This way of traffic organisation
included the pedestrianisation of shopping streets and construction of
shopping arcades and precincts. A. Tripp’s proposal included construction of
radial and ring roads to improve the accessibility of city centres as well.
His ideas were growing influential and they were put into practice after
the World War II, when new land use plans were prepared for cities. The
precinct idea appeared in New Towns, in the neighbourhood centres of
public housing estates and in the centres of heavily bombed cities. Town
planners as Abercrombie, Adshead, Gibson and T. Sharp followed Tripp’s
ideas in their past-war plans.
Since the Tripp’s concept involved extensive road building and
widening, planners and developers had to face the resistance of retailers.
The latter wanted to avoid the diversion of traffic from the main shopping
area and losing their shops along the transformed ring roads and bypasses.
They protested against the stricter traffic control in the city centre as well.
Town planners and traffic engineers experienced similar difficulties in the
adaptation of the concept at re-shaping the built environment in Germany
and other European cities. Local interest groups slowed down the process of
traffic control (Monheim, 1985).
The
27
Buchanan Report was a turning point in planning urban traffic. It
discussed the conflict of needs for accessibility and urban environment. This
first critical approach towards motorization and town planning had
31
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significant practical impact. It was sensitive to conservation of the built
environment and pedestrian movements and suggested the complete
seclusion of vehicles from main shopping areas (P. Hall-M. Hass-Klau,
1983). To realise it, it was necessary to construct arterial ring roads. The
1967 Road Traffic Regulation Act permitted the conversion of highways.
The joining of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government and Ministry
of Transport was a further step towards the integration of traffic engineering
into town planning. Transportation was considered as a function of land use
that reflected the effect of the report (M. Hass-Klau, 1988).
The environmental crisis resulted in more critical attitude towards
motorcar. Further restrictions for the traffic (such as the introduction of 30
miles/hour speed limit) were implemented by local authorities to save the
built environment. Britain did less for traffic calming and pedestrianisation
compared to other European cities in the 1970s and 1980s. The reason for
this was that British spent less on motorcar than French or Germans and the
number of accidents was also smaller (P. Hall, 1993). Pedestrianisation was
often linked to housing improvement programs in the inner cities.
Conversion of the roads in the city centre was sporadic until the late 1980s.
British planners initiated more pedestrianisation schemes from 1988
following the German examples. The process resulted in contiguous
shopping areas in the city centre with the complete seclusion of motorcars.
Town planners in Leicester followed the national trends. In 1949, tramcar
transportation service was ceased and replaced by buses. Motorcars had free
access to the city centre until the early years of the 1960s. The first “no
waiting” restrictions came into effect in the Granby Street in 1959.
Congestion resulted in critical situation on main roads in the peak hours and
increasing number of vacant shops in the High Street. (Fig. 1)
The Buchanan Report had considerable effect on local traffic planning
and management: in 1964, a Traffic and Transportation Plan was prepared
for Leicester. The main purpose of the plan was saving historic values and
local identity. It was a computer design plan (the first one in Britain) that
followed American methods of traffic design. A new type of comprehensive
32
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Discussion Papers, No. 26.
land use and traffic survey was carried out in the city: residents were
interviewed about their travel habits.
The proposals included the construction of interchange car parks to
relieve the city centre and radial roads. Car parks were to be linked to
suburban shopping and entertainment centres. In the Central Area,
pedestrian conveyors along the routes of main pedestrian movement were
planned that would have contained walkways down the centre of the main
shopping streets (Gallowtree Gate and the surrounding streets of the Retail
Market). Motor traffic was limited to commercial vehicles, limited shopping
traffic and buses. The plan suggested 22,500 car park sites for short-term
parking. The plan included a sketch for a one-way circulation system as
well.
The construction of the Central Relief Road and car parks was going on
in line with traffic calming and pedestrianisation in the city centre that was
considered as the most congested and endangered area in the traffic
management plan. Constructions transformed the view of the urban core
considerably between the 1960s and the 1990s. Free parking sites were
ceased in the 1960s, the northern section of the Central Ring was
constructed and a one-way system was set up in the Central Area. In the
1970s and 1980s, the Ring (completed in 1992) was being built up and new
multi-storey car parks were constructed on the edge of the city centre. (Fig.
5) The majority (about two-third) of new car parks were private
developments attached to office and shopping schemes. They were
constructed on cleared sites (e. g. on the Abbey Street) or old buildings were
converted (Halford Street, wholesale warehouse) into parking houses. They
are concentrated along the Central Ring Road or on the edge of the
Pedestrian Preference Zone. Although, construction of car parks was a vast
investment, the Central Area is still far behind the new suburban shopping
facilities: there are only 4,4 park sites/100m2 selling floorspace in the
former. Multiples are required to provide at least 10 sites/100 square meter
floorspace at the new stores or shopping centres. (In Greater Leicester, there
are 10,3 sites/100sqm near the Asda superstore, Hinckley and 10,2 at the
Woolco, Oadby.)
33
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34
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Despite the increasing number of private cars, public transportation was not
abandoned in Leicester. The local public transportation company operated
by the city until its re-privatisation in the early 1980s was considered one of
the most successful enterprises of this kind in the country. Although, the
number of passengers was declining like in other British cities, its role
remained significant in the accessibility of the city centre. About 40% of the
visitors of the city centre use public transportation recently. It is important
for women, because family car is usually not available in the opening hours
for them.28 Furthermore, immigrant families with low income, having no car
use this device for their shopping and combined trips to the city centre. For
this reason, public transportation became part of local social policy that
makes accessible a wide range of goods and services to disadvantaged
sections of the urban population.
Local transportation policy encouraged the use of public transportation.
Private cars were prohibited on an expanding area from 1977 but buses were
allowed to pass through most of the main shopping streets. Buses were
preferred by planners to carry on the pedestrianisation process. The first
element of the pedestrian shopping area was the Gallowtree Gate from 1971.
Until 1990, there were new streets added: Eastgates (Clock Tower) in 1977;
Belgrave Gate, Haymarket and Church Gate in 1985; Cank Street and
Cheapside in 1986, and Market Street in 1988. It was piecemeal
development, there was no contiguous, safe area for walking shoppers.29
(Fig. 1)
In 1990, traffic restrictions were extended on new streets30 and an
adjacent pedestrian zone was formed. In 1996, traffic restrictions were
extended on all weekdays. At the same time, the city council adopted a
Transportation Choice Strategy in 1990, to improve and extend public
transportation. The other condition that encouraged pedestrianisation was
the completion of the Central Ring Road that eliminated the traffic that had
crossed the city centre before.
Until the late 1980s, traffic was increasingly controlled in the city centre
that probably diverted consumers from the main shopping area, particularly,
from shops selling convenience goods. Pedestrianisation was carried on in
35
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Discussion Papers, No. 26.
relation to the completion of the central relief road that resulted in piecemeal
retail development. Adjacent pedestrian zone was formed only in the 1990s
as a result of changing attitude towards the city centre.
The need for preservation of historical values and the functions of the
city centre as the focus of community life was stressed in the local plans
from the 1960s on, but it was realised in the City Centre Action Programme
between 1987 and 1995. Objections of retailers and car owners and the shift
of retail investments towards the suburbs slowed down the process of
pedestrianisation and traffic control that might enhance the townscape and
save city centre retailing in long term.
6.2 The 1952 General Plan
The 1952 plan had to deal with a number of decaying houses, expanding
manufacturing, increasing needs for road building and improvement of the
environment (i. e. need for more open green space). Substantial population
growth was predicted and the city centre was considered insufficient for the
expanding town. The 1952 structure plan proposed the transformation of the
area into a modern shopping, business and administrative centre. Dwellings
and industrial estates were considered as inconsistent uses of central
locations. Small shops satisfying daily needs were also undesired and to be
replaced by small local shopping centres. Redevelopment of industrial and
residential areas as offices, public buildings and shops of higher standards
was suggested. The greatest increase was proposed retailing (50%) on
distinct areas of the city centre. (Fig. 8)
Planners had to consider the presence of industrial and wholesale activities,
as well. They suggested the permission of limited expansion of light
industry and warehouses. The former was to be concentrated along the new
Ring Road and the latter was to be extended towards the eastern part of the
Central Area. Regarding the population growth rate and increasing car
ownership, urban sprawl and a substantial growth of vehicular traffic was
36
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Discussion Papers, No. 26.
predicted. To improve the accessibility of shopping facilities and offices in
the city centre, construction of a central relief road was proposed in this plan
first time. (One section, the widened Charles Street was ready in 1952.)
Building of such a spacious road involved substantial land acquisition by the
local authorities and clearance of dwellings that was supported by
thegovernment (see the 1947 and 1957 housing acts). Construction of the
central relief road facilitated the limitation of vehicular traffic in the city
centre, and the first steps towards a one-way system were done. Building of
multi-storey car parks had been started by the local government (Lee
Circle). The accessibility of the city centre was improved by the unified
public transportation system: special bus lines linked the suburbs and the
inner city with the main shopping area.
In the 1960s, proposed changes had been started: slum clearance
programs involved the transformation of land use on the northern and north-
eastern parts of the Central Area: obsolescent dwellings were replaced by
modern, multi-storey office buildings. As a result of the deconcentration of
industrial activities, the area occupied by such activities was shrinking (by
25%) in the 1960s. The number of shops was declining as a result of
increasing rents particularly, in the sector of convenience goods. Large-scale
stores occupied Gallowtree Gate, the main axis of the shopping area.
Increasing demand for convenience and durable goods and the
improvement of the physical conditions of the city centre involved
substantial rise in the needs for retail floorspace. Although, number of shops
was declining, their average selling space was growing and there was an
increasing pressure on local authorities to carry on re-development
programs to promote the expansion of retail functions. Large-scale shopping
centre schemes offered a new, planned framework for such extensions
without destroying the fabric of the traditional shopping hierarchy.
37
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6.3 The first generation of shopping centre schemes in Leicester: the
Haymarket development
Two distinct groups of major shopping centre schemes exist in Britain by
location: city centre schemes and out-of town developments. The former
type of shopping centres was evaluated as a progressive change of shopping
streets after the World War II. The first schemes of this sort were
constructed in the provincial towns in the late 1960s. The Midlands region
became extremely well supplied by the end of the 1970s (Bennison, Davies,
1980).
The new model of post-war shopping centre developments was
American. The primary role of downtown retailers was challenged by large
suburban malls in the 1950s. Suburbanites spared time by not travelling to
the downtown, they preferred out-of town malls. The downward spiral of
city centre retailing and social and physical consequences of the process
encouraged British planners to construct shopping centres on central
locations, incorporating certain elements of the mall culture such as weather
protection/climate control, idealised image of streetscape, elimination of
disorder and traffic, that resulted in a pleasant and safe environment and
predictable mix of goods and services provided by outlets of large national
chains and small specialist shops). The carefully planned environment is co-
ordinated by a single management organisation that means uniform opening
hours and quality of shopping conditions (Dawson, 1980).
In Britain, property development companies, multiple retail groups, local
authorities and interest groups (retailers, conservationists, etc.) participated
in the construction of city centre shopping malls. The motivation of such
developments was the increasing purchase power and changing shopping
behaviour. The role of political and environmental factors was also
important: developers constructed purpose-built shopping centres that were
marked in the long-term plans by local authorities31 for face lifting of city
centres. The role of local government as a developer was increasing in the
1970s (Bennison, Davies, 1980).
The number of new schemes was decreasing in the 1970 however, their
scale was growing. The average floorspace of the outlets inside was
38
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increasing as well. Most of the centres were enclosed32 that resulted in
complete isolation of the shoppers from the rest of the shopping street. The
inner space was dominated by the retail function, but offices and
entertainment facilities were also included at limited scale. Service and car
park facilities were situated underground or at roof-top, in lack of available
land.
The physical structure of new shopping centres was introverted, their
effect on the environment of the main shopping was not considered. The
prevailing layout of such centres was a multi-storey, single mall usually of a
rectangular shape following the precinct idea), without a focal area for rest
or entertainment facilities. The building material was concrete and the
attached multi-storey car park destroyed the townscape. Brick was often
used for covering the facade to make the building more friendly-looking.
The most successful centres are the large enclosed ones. Proportion of
retail outlets is high and that of service units is low. They are well served by
transportation facilities (buses and car park sites). The main factor of their
success is the presence of the main “magnets”, large stores operated by
multiple companies (Hillier Parker, 1979).
The Haymarket Centre in the hart of the main shopping area of Leicester
is a product of this stage. The centre was built in the 1960s (finished in
1971) as a single mall to house specialist shops and multiple outlets. It is
considered as a fairly small development (13300m2). The structure of the
Haymarket area includes shops grouped along shopping arcades and a large
pedestrian concourse. An entertainment centre was planned on the upper
floor and an underground service area was provided with 467 car park sites.
The development was a joint venture of the City Council and a private
developer.33
The area had been in poor conditions before the redevelopment that was
part of the local structure plan. It was constructed as a concrete fortification
where shops were linked to the rest of the shopping area by long and
monotonous corridors. The necessity of the recent refurbishment was
proved by the shoppers' rather poor opinion about the environment revealed
in the 1988 shopping survey.
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The impact of the centre was not revolutionary. The number of specialist
shops and service outlets was small and the site was dominated by the
outlets of multiples. The presence of the latter probably accelerated the
decline of small businesses in the city centre but did not turn the trends. In
the early 1970s, the centre enhanced the physical environment of the main
shopping area and strengthened its position as a nodal point in the hierarchy
of the retail sector.
The spatial pattern of shopping was effected by the new centre. The
majority (more than 70%) of local population purchased durable goods in
the city centre in the 1970s. Two of the most visited stores were located in
the Haymarket Centre (Littlewoods, Woolworth). The shopping mall was
constructed at the end of the Gallowtree Gate (considered as the main
shopping street in the 1970s) and nearby the Clock Tower that became a
focal point for the shopping area in the 1970s. In this way, Leicester's first
shopping centre supported the shift of the gravity centre of the main
shopping area northwards.34
Environmental deficiencies were emphasised as weaknesses of new
shopping centre schemes. Architects criticised them for the poor standards
of construction, their bulky size and boring facades throughout Britain.
Historical townscapes were often destroyed by their masses. (Although,
there were successful smaller schemes carried out e.g. in Salisbury and
York.) The environmental effect was not favourable on the periphery of the
main shopping area either: the process accelerated the blight of secondary
shopping streets and the decline of small shops (Bennison, Davies, 1980).
In Leicester, the new centre was marked in the modernist master plan
prepared for the city centre at the beginning of the 1970s. The re-designed
pedestrian area of the Clock Tower was the planned centre of the intensive
pedestrian circulation with stepped walkways around. The buildings in its
vicinity were to be used for shopping and entertainment (upper floors). The
central role of the Gallowtree Gate was to be maintained. The street was to
be filled up with kiosks, flowerbeds and seats. In long term, an elevated
covered walkway with moving floor and frequent pedestrian bridges to
department stores on both sides were planned. The secondary centre of
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shopping was to be formed in the High Street. The Retail Market (under a
permanent roof) was planned to be one of the foci of the main shopping area
and linked to the Town Hall Square by shopping arcades. (Fig. 1) The latter
was considered inadequate in size and construction for the proposed civic
centre. The main shopping area was to be dominated by high rise towers
linked by pedestrian routes and shopping arcades to the market and the main
shopping streets.
Planners did not seek for preserving the historical shopping core. Their
purpose was to create a safe and pleasant environment and provide
sufficient space for new office and shopping developments. The Haymarket
Centre’s bulky size was not to disturb the view of the planned high rise
towers, it was fitted in the plan of a new and modern city centre. It was a
potential focus of shopping trips linked to the other destinations of
pedestrian routes. The idea of the main, extended shopping area rested on
department stores as the most dynamic forms of retailing and the increasing
purchase power that provided growing demand for the goods sold in the
stores.
The Haymarket development was criticised by planners for the blight of
secondary shopping streets. This effect of the new centre was more
significant in the years of depression of retailing, in the late 1970s and early
1990s. The centre had an unfavourable impact on the liveliness of the city
centre as well: it was closed in the evening and the whole area became
„dead” in the heart of the city. Such unfavourable effects were experienced
in the 1970s and supported the shift of planning philosophy towards
preferring smaller scales and saving historical and aesthetic values of the
city centre in the 1980s.
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6.4 Controversial approaches towards retail planning: the 1970s and
1980s
As a consequence of the depression of the late 1970s, demand for durable
goods was declining. The growth rate of population was moderated, and
local authorities had to consider two characteristic trends: increasing
deconcentration of inhabitants and rising proportion of ethnic minorities in
the inner cities.
The City Centre suffered from heavy job losses in the 1970s as a result of
the decentralisation. Master plans prepared for the area were dominated by
smaller schemes that served the whole population, such as the improvement
of the environment of the market, subsequent extensions of the
pedestrianised area and face lifting of historical buildings in shopping
streets. Transformation of land use was also encouraged. Industrial use of
land was shrinking and factories were re-used for service purposes. Local
government intended to stabilise such trends and consolidate the urban form
in the 1970s and 1980s (even by rising the residential density) that was a
complete reversal of the expansive plans of the 1950s and 1960s.
The 1971 Structure Plan for Leicester proposed saving the primary role
of the city centre in the shopping hierarchy as the centre of retailing of
durable goods. “Proposals for shopping development elsewhere must have
been reviewed in the light of the effect on the potential of the city centre to
fulfil its primary role.”35 Attractiveness of the city centre was to be
increased through environmental improvements (see the proposals of the
master plan for the city centre). The idea of forming shopping precincts
dominated the proposal that included the main shopping street, the
Haymarket Centre and the Market Place as primary centres of retailing. The
1971 plan considered the process of population growth and urban sprawl as
well. Shopping facilities for new suburbs were planned as extensions of
existing centres or additional facilities in locations with good private and
public transport access.
The plan suggested a substantial increase in shopping floorspace in the
central area (78000m2 until 1991). It was a slight over-estimation of the
future growth rate. Since the plan was prepared before the trends towards
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decentralisation of bulky food and non-food goods occurred, it would not
allow for the expansion of floorspace that has happened in suburban centres.
As a consequence, retail planning policy shifted from the original (1971)
proposals to more flexible attitude towards suburban developments. The
new stores provided mainly convenience goods and could not compete with
the city centre on the market of durable goods.
The 1976 Structure Plan Written Statement proposed new suburban
shopping facilities to meet areas of need for convenience goods in the north-
east, north-west and south-west of Leicester. This need has been matched
with the development of the Co-op superstore at Thurmaston, the Tesco
store at Beaumont Leys and the Asda store at South Braunstone. (Fig.4) The
reason for permitting such schemes was the increasing demand of suburban
population for convenience goods as a result of the urban sprawl. New
large-scale developments eliminated the deficiencies in food provision of
the population. They were carried out by the largest national chains
(Sainsbury, Tesco, Asda) that have been increasing their share on the market
of convenience goods significantly since the late 1960s. The stores operated
bus services that corresponded with the 1971 Structure Plan proposals.
Deconcentration of shopping facilities resulted in declining share of the city
centre on the market of convenience goods: superstores were closed on the
main shopping area (e.g. the Tesco supermarket in the Lee Circle) and new
ones were opened in the suburbs.
Since the attitude of the central government became more flexible
towards the out-of town schemes in the 1980s, new large- scale covered
centres were built on the periphery of cities along arterial roads throughout
Britain. They included multiple outlets and specialist shops selling
convenience and durable goods. Variety of goods and services and the
generous provision of car parking facilities diverted the demand of
suburbanites from traditional inner city shopping centres. Local planners
predicted an increasing demand for durable goods.36 They considered
American shopping malls as great commercial success. The downward
spiral of retailing in the downtown as a result of sprawl of shopping
facilities and the high costs of bringing this function back to the city centre
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inspired the planners to rely on planning control over developments on
peripheral locations.
In Leicester, the only major out-of-town shopping centre scheme
(London and Edinburgh Trust Scheme, the Fosse Park) was carried out at
the junction of the A46 arterial road and the Inner Ring, in the vicinity of
the M1 Road. The new centre became extremely popular among retail
investors: national and international chains occupied the area, but proportion
of small specialist shops of the selling floorspace remained low. It became
the main rival of the main shopping area as well. Shoppers preferred it for
the good accessibility and the generous car park provision (96% of the
contributors used motorcar in 1994) that made the Fosse Park the largest
magnet of food shopping. Since the importance of combined shopping trips
was increasing, the new out-of-town centre increased its share on the market
of durable goods as well but the primacy of the main shopping area was not
endangered severely in segment of the market. Other regional shopping
centres such as City Centre of Nottingham, Loughborough, Hinckley and
Belgrave Road also had considerable part in the non-food shopping trips.
Local planners had consider their attraction in planning shopping facilities.
The development resulted in a considerable loss for a group of city centre
retailers. The Marks & Spencer’s (the most visited store in the city centre in
the early 1980s) suffered a substantial (about 20%) loss of turnover after the
opening of the Fosse Park. The company suspended the plans of the
extension of the floorspace on the Lewis’s site. Secondary shopping streets
(outside the central core) were also effected: the floorspace for selling
comparison goods decreased by 23% between 1984 and 1992. The impact
of the shopping centre on the central area has been estimated as much as
10% recently.37
To stop the decline of retail turnover in the city centre, local authorities
objected each application for the extension of the Fosse Park in the 1990s.
The actions of local planners and the boom in retail investments in the
1980s weakened the impact of the Fosse Park. As a consequence, the
number of vacant shops was decreasing in the city centre.
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6.5 Actions for preserving the city centre
New developments on the periphery of the city (such as the Fosse Park
scheme) and its consequences challenged local planners. Preservation of the
city centre and its retail function was emphasised in local plans in the 1980s
already. Governmental policies towards housing, country and town planning
and retailing were criticised by local planners in the late 1980s because
major out-of-town shopping centre developments reinforced the
decentralisation process and involved social issues such as the increasing
differences between the supply of white suburbanites and disadvantaged
social groups (immigrants, elderly and poor households).
In the 1980s, local authorities supported suburban developments of
private developers (the Fosse Park had been approved by the local
authorities as well) and they spent considerable amount of public money on
saving the City Centre from the consequences of such decisions. To
improve the access to the city centre shops and stores, local public
transportation system was re-organised and an extensive pedestrianisation
was initiated in the Clock Tower area and the main shopping streets
between 1985 and 1993. Such steps resulted in a spatially continuous
pedestrian shopping precinct.
Small scale retail development schemes were carried out in the 1980s as
well. They were redevelopment and infill schemes38 improve the built
environment. They were related to traffic regulations, increasing capacities
of car park sites39 and pedestrianisation. The St. Martin’s speciality
shopping precinct built in the second half of the 1980s provided smaller
units for specialist shops, crafts, boutiques and tourist shops. Such schemes
have been carried out permanently in the city centre since the 1960s as a
result of the redevelopment of obsolescent buildings. The new precinct was
made a focal point of shopping trips in the city centre extending the main
shopping area from the surroundings of the Gallowtree Gate westwards, to
the Market Street. (Fig. 1)
At the end of the 1980s, the coincidence of changing governmental
policies and investment boom in the retail sector, there was an increasing
interest in the future of the main shopping area. The City Centre Action
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Programme (1987-1995) in Leicester targeted the revival of the city centre
functions. The plan included pedestrianisation, a new purpose-built
shopping centre, covered market, frontage refurbishment, more attractive
and better parking facilities, new housing in the Central Area, establishment
of speciality and festival shopping areas, organisation of exhibitions and
cultural events, promotion of speciality shopping and development of
leisure and catering services. The Haymarket Centre had been bought by a
consortium led by Arlington Securities in 1988 that intended to invest in the
improvement of the internal and external appearance. The transaction was
inspired by the increasing uncertainty of the future of out-of-town
developments and it was encouraged by local authorities as well, because
the planned renovation met their purposes.40
As a result of the program, retail floorspace increased by over 45000
m2(1988/1992) in the City Centre. Proportion of durable goods was growing
further. The program proposed an extension of the pedestrian area and the
complete exclusion of vehicles (even the buses) from the Clock Tower area.
The result was a quality open space that links the southern and northern
parts of the main shopping area. The actions for the renewal of the
environment of the Haymarket centre, increasing support for small
restaurants and cafés were initiated to sustain the viability of the city centre.
Retaining the residential function of the centre was also stimulated through
conversations (i.e. “living over the shop” programs). To encourage the
transformation, the City Council used compulsory purchase orders and
grants for residential schemes. To gain sufficient space for the extension of
shopping and residential area and satisfy the increasing demand for modern
office floorspace, local authority initiated a renovation program of industrial
and old office buildings as well.
The most important step towards improving shopping conditions in the
city centre was the implementation of the Shires scheme. It was a
redevelopment scheme in the vicinity of the Clock Tower area. The modern
mall was opened in 1992, on 45000m2 floorspace with a substantial car park
provision (i.e. 1000 sites on the top floor). Since then, it has been extended
by 48000 sq. ft. and car park facilities were also enhanced (by 900 sites). It
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was undoubtedly the largest scheme since the World War II that has taken
up a lot of new retail growth in the City Centre and its success provided a
new focus for the central shopping core. (Fig. 1)
The implementation of the scheme was started in the years of prosperity
of the retail sector. Additional developments were planned such as the
redevelopment of Lewis’ Place in the vicinity of the Haymarket centre41,
refurbishment of the Retail Market and construction of a shopping precinct
between the latter and the Shires. Such combination of shopping
developments and their location at the focal points of the main shopping
area resulted in an extension of the central core with the Shires in its focus.
The streets linking planned nodes were “filled up” by shops, restaurants and
cafés. As a result of the developments, the number of shops has not declined
since 1992 that is a significant deviation from the national trends.
The success of the Shires rested on the presence of multiples such as the
Debenhams and House of Fraser that occupied almost 60 % of the
floorspace. Number of smaller shops specialised mainly for fashion goods
are housed in the centre as well. The mix of goods and different types of
shops attract the majority of shoppers.
Conditions of shopping centre developments changed in the 1980s.
Improvement programs for inner cities were initiated by the central
government and more attention was paid to the future of the main shopping
area. There was a political indication behind the policy change that
coincided with the aims of local programmes: to save the city centre as a
focus of community life and improve shopping facilities for the population
of inner cities. The prosperity of the sector provided private capital
resources for the schemes in the late 1980s.
The indirect effect of the developments was an increase in private
investments outside the planned centres. Both multiple companies and local
speciality shopkeepers (selling durable gods) may be considered as winners
of the process occurred in the 1980s and 1990s. Multiples considered town
centre as the most desirable place for their outlets, because the new schemes
accommodated small businesses that have important complementary role
attracting specialised demand. But many of the independent retailers were
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effected by the developments badly. The gravity centre of the main
shopping area shifted northwards that had negative micro-regional impact
on the secondary shopping streets of the southern shopping area (i.e. the
Granby Street and its surrounding). This part of the city witnessed a
growing number of vacancies and increasing role of services.42 (Fig. 1)
Results of shopping surveys made in 1984 and 1995 proved a
considerable improvement of the image of the main shopping area.
Particularly, a wide range of goods, good accessibility, safety, high quality
of the layout and the extension of the covered shopping facilities were
highly appreciated. The Shires became the most visited place in the city
centre (it is a primary aim in 42% of the cases). Other developments such as
St. Martin shopping precinct (21%) and the Retail Market (18%) also must
be considered successful according to the shoppers and retailers as well.
The empirical results proved that the pattern of shopping trips inside the
city centre is dependent on household incomes and ethnicity. The Shires is
in the centre of white middle-class shoppers’ trips. The City Centre is
attractive for the majority of young people with no regard to ethnicity or
incomes. The Retail Market is also a popular destination, but the proportion
of Asians and elderly is higher. The Haymarket centre is specialised for the
demand of lower income groups, particularly, for ethnic minorities. Multiple
outlets, such as Sainsbury’s and the C&A are in the focus of shopping trips.
Such division of shoppers and their movements was formed by the new
developments. The lower prices of the Haymarket centre or the Retail
Market that are favourable for households with lower income is a result of
the competition reinforced by the Shires scheme. The main shopping centre
became more colourful, offering more durable and specialised goods for
each group of shoppers.
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7 Final findings
Deconcentration of urban population and economic activities involved a
dispersal of services satisfying the needs of residents throughout Europe.
Increasing rents and congestion of the central areas of cities inspired
investors to move their plants to the periphery of cities. Deconcentration of
consumer services (including retailing) and manufacturing has been started
in the 1960s and such activities were followed by producer services in the
1980s and 1990s. Business services, institutions of public services of higher
order remained in city centres and so did the restaurants and speciality
shops. The process of dispersal of urban population and services was
particularly advanced in Belgium, the Netherlands and in the western lands
of Germany.
As a result of the suburbanisation process, shopping centres on peripheral
sites were constructed in the 1970s throughout the western part of the
Continent. The process was supported by the developments of national
chains that had an increasing share on the retail market and formed
strategies at international scale in the 1980s to answer the challenge of the
Single Market. The impact of organisational concentration, spatial dispersal
of shopping centres and increasing scale of stores involved the decline of
corner shops and decline of city centre functions until the late 1980s. The
increasing role of international chains raised the issue of local identity in
this period: European cities feared of losing it and the problem was
associated with the spiral decline of inner cities that effected the viability of
the city centre as well. Extensive pedestrianisation and re-development
schemes (widely using the precinct idea) were implemented throughout
Europe particularly, in Germany. Town planning turned towards small scale
schemes in inner cities and city centres but American-type shopping malls
and out-of-town food stores remained in regional plans.
The British case has always been considered as a particular one.
Although, organisational changes occurred just like on the Continent, new
forms of retailing were present on the market to less extent. Furthermore,
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British retail companies established less outlets and branches in Europe than
Germans, French or Dutch organisations did. Britain represented a different
way of control over the expansion of large retail companies, as well: spatial
consequences of the developments have always been highly considered.
The peak of planning control over the sprawl of retail stores was in 1968
in Britain. The planning act set up a framework for planning retail provision
at larger scale for an entire region. The planners’ purpose was to save the
existing shopping hierarchy in behalf of the residents of inner cities and
provide sufficient supply of convenience goods for the suburbanites. Such
attitude resulted in a fairly compact spatial form of retailing compared to
Germany, the Netherlands or Belgium: the majority of new stores remained
in the inner area of cities and construction of new shopping malls was
allowed only on central sites.
The reversal of this policy occurred in the 1980s: the Tory government
limited the activity of county planning bodies and at last, the organisations
were dissolved. As a consequence, the only adequate level for planning
regional shopping centres in the framework of regional structure plans was
deceased. Central governmental control was taken over retail developments
and the entire planning process in the 1980s. Direct intervention was known
in Europe in the case of building out-of-town shopping centres (see Jacques
Chirac’s steps against the construction of shopping malls in France in the
1980s). The British control was rather strict compared to other countries of
Europe and the decision-making process was slow and bureaucratic. In this
way, the relatively small number of large scale peripheral developments was
implemented.
There was an increasing need for renewal programs of city centres as a
consequence of the urban sprawl, financial difficulties of local authorities
and lack of planning control over retailing at regional and county level (e.g.
Fosse Park development). The high number of disapproved schemes and the
increasing demand for durable goods turned the investors towards city
centres again in the late 1980s. Local planners received financial support for
the revitalisation programs in the way the Tory planning policy allowed it:
private capital was used not only for gaining profit and stimulate economic
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growth of cities but also for the benefit of the residents. Improvement
schemes of inner cities supported by the central government (as a
consequence of the social unrest of urban poor) also contributed to the
enhancement of city centre retailing.
The decline of city centre retailing endangered community life and the
supply of disadvantaged social groups of inner cities. The decay of
traditional shopping streets might involve the fall of other functions of the
city centre in favour of out-of-locations. The problems were recognised and
remedied by the re-invention of retail planning, successful renewal schemes
and co-operation of settlements in large scale developments in Britain. To
avoid harming public welfare, spatial consequences of decisions of
enterprises and multiple companies must be considered and integrated into
long-term planning proposals by local leaders. Lack of co-ordination and
planning strategies may involve urban decay, fading identity, losing sense of
community, and social unrest. This is a lesson that the East European
countries should learn from: there is a need for long-term planning at local
and regional level, as well.
Notes
1 I interviewed six retailers on the declining Granby Street and five in the High Street, that
is considered to be increasingly prosperous.
2 The term “inner city” is used as the area between city centre and the suburbs. In functional
terms, it could be identified as the “transition zone” of Burgess’s concentric model.
3 It is defined as a shopping centre situated outside the built-up area of the city, providing
most of the goods and services available in the main shopping area in the city centre. It
includes at least one department store and the whole retail floorspace takes at least 400
000sqft with substantial car parking facilities.
4 Hypermarkets are self-service shops of more than 10 000sqft floorspace selling food
predominantly.
5 Without considering the boundary change in 1966 that resulted in 15500 rise in the
number of inhabitants in Leicester.
6 Population density was (and still is) extremely high in Wycliffe.
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7 In 1991, the proportion of households having no car was 72,4% in this ward.
8 Particularly, in Castle Ward.
9 According to the shopping survey prepared by the City Council in 1992, 29% of the
interviewed city centre shoppers did their weekly shopping on their way home from their
workplace.
10 Convenience goods are sold by grocers and provision dealers and other food retailers.
Durable goods are provided by clothing and footwear shops, household shops, other non-
food retailers and general stores. Nomenclature of the 1971 Census of Distribution was
used.
11 The national average was 61% in 1991.
12 In the 1970s, number of city centre commuters increased by 11% in Leicester.
13 Source: Shopping Survey of Leicester City Council, 1988.
14 The source of data was the Census of Distribution, 1961 and the Shopping Survey of
Leicester City Council, 1992.
15 Their number increased from 367 up to 7000 between 1961 and 1980 in the UK. They
are self-service stores selling convenience goods.
16 Their selling technique and range of goods sold is similar to that of supermarkets but
their floorspace is over 10.000 sq. m.
17 Superstores are large retail units with at least 2500 m2 of selling area, situated outside
conventional commercial centres. Food and non-food goods are sold by self-service and
extensive car park facilities are provided.
18 Retail enterprises having less than 10 branches
19 Sainsbury, Tesco, Dee Corporation, Argyll (Fine Fare/Lo Cost/Safeway), Asda
20 ST. Matthew’s East/Humberside Road, St. Matthew’s Wes/Belgrade Gate,
Blackfriars/Highcross Street: the vacancy rate far exceeds the city average. Physical and
social environment is being eroded.
21 Superstores are single level, self-service stores offering of food and non-food
merchandise with at least 25.000 sq. ft. sales area and supported by car parking.
22 The source of the data is the City of Leicester Local Planning Papers by J. Dean city
planning officer, Nov. 1992
23 Retailing in Inner Cities. National Economic Development Council, Economic
Development Committee for the Distributive Trades, 1981.
24 „The Future Pattern of shopping”, prepared by the National Economic Development
Office in 1971.
25 The expression is used as a synonym of the main shopping area.
26 A. H. Tripp 1938: Road Traffic and its Control. London: Edward Arnold
27 „Traffic in Towns”, 1963
28 Source: Shopping Survey, Leicester City Council, 1992.
29 The first step of pedestrianisation was always a temporary traffic exclusion between 7.30
a.m. to 6.00. p.m. From Monday to Saturday that was followed by full time restrictions
with exceptions (buses, taxi, loading vehicles) and as a final step, banning all vehicles.
30 In 1990, Belvoir Street, High Street, Carts lane, Guildhall Lane, Silver street, in 1991,
Horsefair Street, Halford Street, Granby Street, Bishop Street, Market Place, Market Place
South and Market Place Approach, in 1993, Charles Street and Loseby Lane were added.
31 They were redevelopment schemes in local plans. The land was acquired by the local
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authority using its right for compulsory purchase. Vast areas transformed in this way like
the Victoria Shopping Centre in Nottingham, Eldon Square in Newcastle-upon-Tyne or the
Haymarket Centre in Leicester.
32 In the 1960s and 1970s, many of them were planned as shopping precincts. Although, the
precinct has never been defined, it was widely used by urban and traffic planners after the
World War II.
33 Taylor Woodrow Property Devp. Ltd.
34 Source of data: Shopping Survey, Leicester City Council 1984
35 Shopping Survey, Leiceseter City Councli, 1988 Part 2.2.
36 They were right: there was a bom in the demand for durable goods in the second half of
the 1980s.
37 An estimation by J. Dean, City Council of Leicester, 1992.
38 Royal Hotel/Sun Alliance in the Horsefair Street, 12-18 Belgrave Gate and 53-57 Church
Gate, in fill development with car parking, Picture House, in Granby Street, an infill
development, Furnitureland, Church Gate, a retail warehouse.
39 Car park tariffs were the lowest among the regional shopping centre in the East Midlands
Region and the car park supply was exceeded only by the level of the car park provision in
Nottingham.
40 Central Governmental policies shifted towards a more rigid and stricter control over such
developments from the late 1980s.
41 In the original plan, the new development and the Haymarket Centre were to be linked by
a covered shopping arcade. The plan was abolished because of the declining demand and
retail investments in the 1970s.
42 This phenomenon is considered as a symptom of decline of shopping streets.
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Discussion Papers 1999. No. 26.
Fall and Revival of City Centre Retailing:
Planning an Urban Function in Leicester, Britain
The Discussion Papers series of the Centre for Regional Studies of the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences was launched in 1986 to publish summaries of
research findings on regional and urban development.
The series has 4 or 5 issues a year. It will be of interest to geographers,
economists, sociologists, experts of law and political sciences, historians and
everybody else who is, in one way or another, engaged in the research of spatial
aspects of socio-economic development and planning.
The series is published by the Centre for Regional Studies.
Individual copies are available on request at the Centre.
Postal address
Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
P.O. Box 199, 7601 PÉCS, HUNGARY
Phone: (36–72) 212–755, 233–704
Fax: (36–72) 233–704
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Gyula HORVÁTH
Editor
Zoltán GÁL
* * *
58
Discussion Papers 1999. No. 26.
Fall and Revival of City Centre Retailing:
Planning an Urban Function in Leicester, Britain
Forthcoming in the Discussion Papers series
Changes in the Politico-geographical Position of
Hungary in the 20th Centuryby Zoltán HAJDÚ
Papers published in the Discussion Papers series
No. 1 OROSZ, Éva (1986): Critical Issues in the Development of Hungarian
Public Health with Special Regard to Spatial Differences
No. 2 ENYEDI, György – ZENTAI, Viola (1986): Environmental Policy in
Hungary
No. 3 HAJDÚ, Zoltán (1987): Administrative Division and Administrative
Geography in Hungary
No. 4 SIKOS T., Tamás (1987): Investigations of Social Infrastructure in
Rural Settlements of Borsod County
No. 5 HORVÁTH, Gyula (1987): Development of the Regional Management
of the Economy in East-Central Europe
No. 6 PÁLNÉ KOVÁCS, Ilona (1988): Chance of Local Independence in
Hungary
No. 7 FARAGÓ, László – HRUBI, László (1988): Development Possibilities
of Backward Areas in Hungary
No. 8 SZÖRÉNYINÉ KUKORELLI, Irén (1990): Role of the Accessibility in
Development and Functioning of Settlements
No. 9 ENYEDI, György (1990): New Basis for Regional and Urban Policies
in East-Central Europe
No.
10 RECHNITZER, János (1990): Regional Spread of Computer
Technology in Hungary
No. 11 SIKOS T., Tamás (1992): Types of Social Infrastructure in Hungary (to
be not published)
No. 12 HORVÁTH, Gyula – HRUBI, László (1992): Restructuring and
Regional Policy in Hungary
No. 13 ERDŐSI, Ferenc (1992): Transportation Effects on Spatial Structure of
Hungary
No. 14 PÁLNÉ KOVÁCS, Ilona (1992): The Basic Political and Structural
Problems in the Workings of Local Governments in Hungary
No. 15 PFEIL, Edit (1992): Local Governments and System Change. The Case
of a Regional Centre
No. 16 HORVÁTH, Gyula (1992): Culture and Urban Development (The Case
of Pécs)
59
Discussion Papers 1999. No. 26.
Fall and Revival of City Centre Retailing:
Planning an Urban Function in Leicester, Britain
No. 17 HAJDÚ, Zoltán (1993): Settlement Network Development Policy in
Hungary in the Period of State Socialism (1949–1985)
No. 18 KOVÁCS, Teréz (1993): Borderland Situation as It Is Seen by a
Sociologist
No. 19 HRUBI, L. – KRAFTNÉ SOMOGYI, Gabriella (eds.) (1994): Small
and medium-sized firms and the role of private industry in Hungary
No. 20 BENKŐNÉ Lodner, Dorottya (1995): The Legal-Administrative
Questions of Environmental Protection in the Republic of Hungary
No. 21 ENYEDI, György (1998): Transformation in Central European
Postsocialist Cities
No. 22 HAJDÚ, Zoltán (1998): Changes in the Politico-Geographical
Position of Hungary in the 20th Century
No. 23
HORVÁTH, Gyula (1998): Regional and Cohesion Policy in
Hungary
No.24 BUDAY-SÁNTHA, Attila (1998): Sustainable Agricultural
Development in the Region of the Lake Balaton
No. 25 LADOS, Mihály (1998): Future Perspective for Local Government
Finance in Hungary
No. 26 NAGY, Erika (1999): Fall and Revival of City Centre Retailing:
Planning an Urban Function in Leicester, Britain
No. 27 BELUSZKY, Pál (1999): The Hungarian Urban Network at the End
of the Second Millennium
No. 28 RÁCZ, Lajos (1999): Climate History of Hungary Since the 16th
Century: Past, Present and Future
60