Large retail developments are increasingly focusing upon attracting a wider range of retailers to benefit customers as the economic recovery continues to gather pace. At The Octagon shopping centre in Burton, the owners feel that this will be best achieved by refurbishing the centre and providing an increase in trading space as a means of encouraging consumers to spend in the local area rather than travelling further afield.
Fresh from a successful Christmas trading period which saw retail tenants enjoy an increase in footfall numbers, Octagon owner Vixcroft has announced an investment of hundreds of thousands of pounds into the planned redevelopment of the centre. The work, it claims, will be in the form of a “rolling programme”, allowing retail tenants to continue trading with minimal disruption while the construction and refurbishments are being carried out.
Centre manager Peter Hardingham welcomed the news of the investment, saying; “This is very good news and we are delighted.
“We look forward to the first phase being achieved sooner rather than later, which will be good news for retail in Burton.”
The first phase will see the rear entrance of the centre transformed in order to give customers of the existing Iceland store direct access to the car park, which will in turn create space for an additional retail unit to be constructed on the ground floor. Refurbishment works will also be conducted in the main entrance lobby and surrounding shop units to provide a more spacious feel to the centre.
Following on from that, Vixcroft intends to draw up plans for a redevelopment of the first floor of The Octagon, extending the current space in order to create numerous new retail units. This, Vixcroft chairman Ian Coleman claims, will make The Octagon a more desirable destination for national retail brands looking to extend their reach in Burton.
Mr Coleman also states that the plans have been received positively by a number of big name retail brands who have already expressed an interest in taking up units within the centre.
He says; “We do have interest from bigger names but we are still in talks so it would be premature to reveal them, but there are quite advanced discussions with a particular retailer who we would be seeking to conclude arrangements within the next year or two.
“The work will cost a few hundred thousand pounds but the investment will mean we will attract bigger names.
“It is not our intention to knock the shopping centre down – we want to regenerate it with a rolling programme of improvements and we are really enthusiastic about the plans.”
