As the High Street recovery continues to build, with sales of non-food items growing steadily for the first time since the recession, local authorities and shopping centre owners are keen to examine opportunities to further lift footfall levels within town centres.
It is for this reason that Knight Frank Investment Management (KFIM), owner of the Princes Mead Shopping Centre in Farnborough, is now in the process of laying out plans for an extension which, if successful, could see a number of new retailers enter the local market.
On Friday the 20th June, KFIM submitted an application for a screening option to Rushmoor Borough Council which will allow the shopping centre owner to work with planning authorities in order to judge what type of extension plan would most benefit the local area.
At present, it is believed that a desirable extension would create space for an additional three retailers on the ground floor of the shopping centre, with tenants having the option to install mezzanine floors for extra selling space.
Furthermore, a new service yard would be installed to the rear of the centre which would allow for greater ease when existing and potential tenants receive deliveries from suppliers.
Although no tenants for the extension have yet been confirmed, KFIM has confirmed that it would be interested in offering one of the units to a national toy retailer to fill a gap in the market in Farnborough.
Agent for KFIM, Montagu Events, pointed out in the application that as the proposed space is currently used as a car park, an extension would have minimal impact upon the local environment.
It said; “The proposal is for an extension to an existing shopping centre in a previously developed town centre location.
“There are no nearby proposed or permitted developments with which impacts of the proposed scheme would cumulate.
“The site is not located within an identified area of ecological importance or sensitivity, nor would the proposals have an impact upon any nationally or locally designated landscape areas.”
At present, there has been no further information regarding the date for a formal planning application to be submitted, although early statements from councillors have indicated that KFIM is highly unlikely to run into problems with the proposal.
In part, this is because the proposed plot has been identified as a key development site within the council’s Farnborough town centre supplementary planning – meaning that this extension has been considered viable since the document was drawn up in 2007.
Chief executive of Rushmoor Borough Council, Andrew Lloyd, says; “The master plan for Farnborough town centre includes the proposal for the potential extension of the shopping centre as a way of enhancing the town’s retail offer.
“The council is aware the owners have been looking to develop it and I see this as a step forward.”
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