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The vitality and viability of Wellingborough town centre derives in large from its continued diversity of use; shops, entertainment, restaurants, financial services and offices says commercial property agent prop-search.com
The changes seen in the town centre over the past 50 years make it barely recognizable today, with the Swansgate Centre dominating the prime retail offer. The Centre was built in the 1970s as a result of the 1960s London overspill which saw the town’s population soar from approximately 47,500 in 1960, to 63,000 by 1980, and from the 2001 census stands at 72,519.
Today it is home to a wide variety of national retailers and this trend is continuing with the recent letting of the former Adams childrenswear premises to the women’s fashion retailer Internacionale. The unit has been acquired to complement its existing 150 stores throughout the UK which specialize in ‘fast fashion’ - allowing the latest catwalk trends to their shops floors as quickly as possible and at affordable prices. Earlier this year, Argos also agreed to lease a further 5,800 sq ft of space to extend its store to 15,880 sq ft.
Internally, vacancy rates within the shopping centre are at their lowest for a number of years with just a small kiosk available to rent and the former Passion for Perfume unit opposite M & Co.
Just outside of the Swansgate Centre on Midland Road, the former Burton’s unit which closed in September is again occupied. The 3,076 sq ft unit is now home to Union Clothing, a regional ladieswear and menswear designer clothing chain. The site was identified as a prime location in the town with the aim of selling brands including Levi’s Ted Baker, Firetrap and Duck & Cover at prices that all local residents can afford.
Wellingborough also has a strong mix of independent retailers which further add to the diversity of the town making it distinct and unique. To support these businesses in a challenging economic environment, they have been treated to a free event - hosted by the Borough Council in conjunction with Business. The event, inspired by Mary Portas Mary Portas's 'Mary Queen of Shops' television programme offered retailers the opportunity to gain some sales and marketing tips and tricks and to learn how to maximise the things that make them special - a wide range of products, great customer service and expertise.
A new independent retailer has just moved into a Listed building at 28 Church Street which once used as a fire station for horse-drawn fire engines. Over the past year the building has been subject to a major £500,000 extension and refurbishment by the Borough Co uncil of Wellingborough. These works are now completed and the 1,500 sq ft property has now opened as a gourmet sandwich and coffee shop - Bewiched. The proprietor, Matt Fountain had previously been looking for premises in Northampton but when he discover this site in Wellingborough decided it offered great potential. Bewiched serves good quality coffee, sandwiches, salads, deli platters and cakes, with ingredients sourced locally and as much as possible made to order.
Just around the corner, the Kingfisher public house on High Street has also been subject to a major refurbishment having been bought from pub chain Punch Taverns by local company Tick Property Limited. The owner, Sanjai Tailor is a life-long resident of the town and aims to offer great value to customers by means of competitively priced drinks, regular weekly entertainment and a safe environment for its patrons.
The particular strengths of Wellingborough town centre, in addition to its diversity, are its compact nature, ease of access, free car parking, and potentially attractive market town character. Qualitative improvements are, however, required and some of these have already been realised.
Work began on the Council’s 2020 Vision earlier this year with improvements made to Sheep Street and Silver Street - these included laying high quality paving on footpaths and pedestrian crossings, creating a pedestrian-friendly environment, as well as the introduction of a dedicated bus lane and bus priority to encourage public transport use. The second phase of these £2.2m works to improve access to Market Street and Gloucester Place are now underway with completion scheduled for Spring 2011.
Demolition work to make way for a new access road to serve a potential new town centre development are also underway. The Borough Council received £1m of growth funding from the Government create the two new roads around the site surrounded by West Street, Oxford Street, High Street and Jacksons Lane. It is understood that the Council has now hired an external agency to approach developers which may be interested in building on the eight acre site and by having the infrastructure in place will make it a more attractive proposition.
Moving out-of-town, planning has now been given for proposals to build a new supermarket on the site of the former Gloveralls factory fronting London Road. The German company Lidl is set to construct a 15,000 sq ft outlet on the site to fill the gap between its Northampton, Rushden and Kettering stores. It is believed that the new store in Wellingorough would create some 40 new employment opportunities.
A further 40 plus jobs also look set to be created following plans by one of Wellingborough’s oldest companies to expand. Whitworth Bros has secured planning to build a new cereal processing plant with storage and distribution buildings at its existing Victoria Mills site on London Road. Planning permission to build the original flour mill was granted in 1886 and this new plant will operate over six floors and complement the existing operations. Sustained growth and market demand for flour and wheat produce account for the expansion need of the business with the physical development increasing job opportunities in skilled, unskilled areas as well as training opportunities.
In conclusion, businesses are generally very busy whether for retail, office or industrial space. However, this is not to say that the organic growth of businesses is a sign that we are coming out of recession but demand is starting to impede on supply. Whilst this is not as yet at a critical level, it is becoming increasingly difficult for many companies looking for alternative premises to find the right building.
Notwithstanding this, there are still opportunities for tenants to secure ‘good, competitive deals’ with landlords keen to have ‘bums on seats’. The impeding supply and demand imbalance is not yet biting values - prices have not started to go up but physical availability of stock is of growing concern. This coupled with the continuing problem of access to finance means that speculative development to address any imbalance is still a long way off. There is not an immediate solution for those businesses looking to relocate, although this could lead to a hardening of values as we move into 2011 and a more liquid lending culture, and maybe new development, although we suspect this may be at least 12 months away.