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5.0 LEIGH PARK DISTRICT CENTRE
6.1 Leigh Park District Centre provides
shopping facilities for the extensive residential areas to the
north and west of Havant. It is a purpose built centre,
constructed as part of the post-war expansion of Havant in the
1950s and 1960s to meet the slum clearance and over-spill housing
needs of Portsmouth. It is a fully pedestrianised centre
surrounded by extensive surface level public car parks. Its
retail offer is orientated towards meeting the day-to-day
convenience and lower order comparison shopping needs of its
immediate catchment area. The centre is built in a U-shaped
form.
The principal retail elements of the centre are located in two
parallel precincts with a narrow mall which connects the two at its
western end. In total the district centre contains 85 units
with a gross floorspace of 15,497 sq m (166,800 sq ft).
Convenience retails occupy 11.7% of all units and
comparison retailers 48.2%. Service and vacant unit comprise
the remaining 40%. The centre lacks representation in a
number of retail categories namely men and boys wear, gifts, china
and leather goods, florists, travel agents and jewellers.
Non-Food Market Share
6.2 The market share of expenditure
captured by the district centre in 2003 was 5.9%. In 2001 the
figure stood at 6.8% representing a 13% decline in market share
over the intervening 2 years. In 2003 there were 65 Class A1
retail shops and by 2007 the total number had declined by 7 to
58. The centre’s comparison Class A1 profile now stands at
47% whereas the UK profile for all centres is 55% and is a
reflection of the poor retail offer and lack of certain retail
categories outlined in para 6.1. The fall in market share is
also a consequence of the competition from the rebuilt Asda/Walmart
hypermarket. In 2001 the hypermarket’s trade draw from the
Leigh Park wards stood at 3.5% but by 2003 this had increased to
14.4% as a consequence of trading patterns becoming established,
after the rebuilding of the store in 2001. It is now likely
that the trade draw rate will have risen further since 2003.
Retail Representation
6.3 The primary frontages are located
along both sides of Greywell and around Greywell Square. The
secondary frontages are located along both sides of Park Parade and
a short section of Greywell, which links with Park
Parade. All the 85 units in the centre are located within
either the primary or secondary frontages. Of these 42 (49%)
are located within the primary frontages and 43 (51%) are located
within the secondary frontages. Since the last survey was
undertaken in 2003 there has been a fall in Class A1 retail
representation within the primary frontages. In 2003, 83% of
all units were classified as Class A1 but by 2007 this has fallen
to 71%. This fall is partly attributable to the owners of
Greywell amalgamating units to provide large retail shops which are
more attractive to chain stores. Since 2003 4 units have been
lost as a result of this process. In the secondary location
Class A1 retail representation has risen from 61% to 65%. As
the Class A1 figures stand at 71% in the primary frontages and in
the secondary 65%, these meet the HBDWLP
monitoring target to maintain a threshold of 60% representation in
primary areas and 40% in secondary.
6.4
Retail representation by trade category as a whole shows
convenience retailers over represented compared to other shopping
centres in the UK. Because of the incompatibility of the
Experian Goad centre report with earlier reports it has not been
possible to provide specific floorspace data for this centre at
2007. The unit profile data has been obtained from the 2007
Experian Goad Centre Map. The unit profile data for Class A1
shops shows the centre under represented compared with the UK
average by some 14%. This is partly accounted for by the
absence of certain trade categories as outlined in earlier
paragraphs.
Proportion of Vacant Shops/Units
6.5 The vacancy rate data included
in this report has been obtained from an Experian Goad centre
report based on a field survey conducted on 15 January 2007.
This survey showed that 15 units were vacant out of a total of 85
representing a vacancy rate of 17.5% which is well above the UK
average. A 17.5% vacancy rate contravenes the HBDWLP
monitoring target for vacancy level profiles to match or beat the
UK average.
Public Perception Rating Scores 2001
and 2003
|
Indicator
|
2003
Score
|
2001
Score
|
%
change
+ or
-
|
|
Range of Shops - food
|
30.1
|
51.4
|
-41.4
|
|
Range of Shops - non-food
|
8.4
|
7.5
|
+12.0
|
|
Total Combined
|
38.5
|
58.9
|
-34.6
|
6.6 The above table shows the public’s
perception of the centre’s shopping facilities has dropped
significantly since 2001. Once of the reasons for the decline
is the reduced range of food shops. In 2001 Leigh Park
District Centre was the highest rated centre in the Borough for its
range of food shops. Since 2001 two foods shops, one of which
was Kwik Save, closed down and this has impacted on the public’s
perception of the centre as a shopping destination.
Nevertheless the centre’s unit profile for convenience units
remains above the UK average and this will be further enhanced once
the new Lidl supermarket currently under construction is open for
trading next year. Lidl are not currently represented in the
centre and their new store, which will have a gross floor space of
1,286 sq m, will make an important contribution to the viability of
the centre of the whole.
6.7 The public’s perception of the
centre as a comparison shopping destination improved by 12% despite
a slight fall in the number of Class A1 shops and the competition
faced by this centre from competing stores and nearby
centres. The owners of Greywell have amalgamated a number of
smaller units to create larger units and this has helped attract
new retailers to the centre not previously represented.
Pedestrian Flows
6.8 The 2006 pedestrian flow counts were
undertaken on Friday 25 August and Saturday 26 August. The
weather on Friday was warm and again on Saturday, except for a
shower in the afternoon. The total weekly equivalent number
(WEN) for all locations amounted to 61,575 persons, a rise on the
2004 figure of 18%. The highest pedestrian flow is recorded
outside 79-81 Greywell East (Tesco) and the lowest outside 35 Park
Parade (Numark Pharmacy). Despite the rise recorded in 2006
pedestrian flows have declined in the centre since 2000 by 27% when
the WEN stood at 85,016 persons. Nevertheless the latest
survey shows an 18% increase in footfall outside Tesco and
therefore meets the HBDWLP
monitoring target for an increase in footfall at the 100%
pitch.
Rents
6.9 The average Zone A rent for premises
situated along the 100% pitch (along Greywell East where the
highest pedestrian flows are recorded) is £242 per sq m. The
rents have decreased from £323 per sq m in 2004 when the previous
rental tone survey was undertaken. This represents a 25%
decline in headline rents, a negative figure which contravenes the
HBDWLP
monitoring target that Zone A rent should be maintained or
increased within the primary shopping frontages.