Hammerson and Standard Life Investments have revealed new plans for their redevelopment of Brent Cross Shopping Centre, NW4 and submitted a detailed planning application for the £1.4bn project.
Seven years after securing outline consent in 2010, the final plans for the development have now been submitted to Barnet Council. The full refurbishment and extension of the existing 1974-built property will see it double in size to 2m sq ft and include 200 new shops, 60 restaurants, cinema, hotel, new town square and bus station. It will be one of the largest retail developments in London and will form part of the wider £4.5bn regeneration plans for the Brent Cross and Cricklewood area.
The original shopping centre is now 41 years old – it was the first shopping centre in the UK. With the property’s historic value in mind, the original structure of the centre will not be demolished but refurbished and extended.
“It was the first shopping centre of its kind, and after more than 40 years it still remains one of the best in the country and continues to be a success,” says Robin Dobson, Hammerson’s director of retail development. “The development will only enhance that. The fact that it has stood the test of time and that it is one of the most successful schemes in Europe means that there is no reason why we should change the structure.”
Intrinsic to the detailed plans is ensuring that Brent Cross continues to stand the test of time and remains relevant for future generations to come as the UK’s retail habits and consumer base continues to evolve. The first task will be to increase its leisure offering. With restaurants covering only 4% of the existing shopping centre’s floorplan, this needs to be improved and increased to meet current consumer demand.
“It is all about the leisure,” says Dobson. “We will increase the leisure element to 30%. We know from our other centres that retail and leisure have to be integrated – it will drive sales, increase footfall and create the largest retail destination in North London.
The 60 restaurants will range from 6,000-10,000 sq ft with one of the plans’ stand-out features being the dedicated rooftop restaurant area and food quarter. To keep the retail element relevant, plans have been put in place to allow for flexibility with the size of the shop units.
Dobson says: “We recognised that retail moves quickly and we have to design a building which can change internally so we have to make sure that there is flexibility in the planning permission so that we can change the scheme to reflect retailers’ demands.”
The current three anchor tenants, which have been trading at the mall since 1976, will all stay on in addition to the 200 new shops. It is also likely that the majority of the other 120 existing tenants, including Body Shop, Office Shoes and River Island, will remain. One advantage that Hammerson and SLI have over other retail developments is that they already have a good indicator of what the demand is in the area from the existing retail line up. Having the upper hand with tenant selection as well as having three anchors already secured should assist them in what is often viewed as the most challenging stage of any shopping centre development process.
“We hope to keep everyone,” says Dobson. “We are working with the existing retailers to ensure they are fully informed on the development plans – many want to stay and upsize. One of the reasons we know it will be so successful is that we know that the existing footprint works and to get the right tenants and line up is very hard work.”
The developer will aim to keep disruption to a minimum throughout the process and will aim to keep Brent Cross open for business during development. “There are people who we will have to relocate, but we hope to keep everyone” says Dobson.
The latest plans reflect the results of extensive community and stakeholder consultation in the Brent Cross area. On average, 88% of those who commented on different aspects of the development plans were supportive of the proposals put forward by the development partners.
“The biggest challenge we had through the consultation process was the affection that the community has for the existing centre,” he says. “A lot of people said that they did not want it to become a soulless shopping centre so we are going to keep the character and enhance it.”
He adds that following many enquiries regarding original features, such as the wooden animal play area and the centrepiece fountain, the development team is considering ways to keep or redevelop these in the plans.
In addition to the planning progress, the joint venture partners are also working with Morgan Stanley to find a funding partner (http://www.egi.co.uk/news/funding-partner-sought-for-brent-cross/) to bring forward the development. The works are expected to cost between £475m and £550m. It is likely that a new partner will take on a 25%-50% stake in the overall project in exchange for an investment of around £500m. It is currently owned 41% by Hammerson and 59% by Standard Life’s Shopping Centre Trust.
Subject to planning consent, preliminary work on the development could start as early as summer 2018 and complete in 2022.
Comment: Developing the next generation of London retail
David Atkins, chief executive, Hammerson
Whilst it’s true that technology and digital innovation will continue to impact all sub-sectors of the commercial real estate market, nowhere is it more apparent than the retail sector. Evolving store formats, consumer preferences and the growing sophistication of true multichannel retailing are turning the old model on its head. These changes are not only informing the way we look at physical space and future requirements, they also have a bearing on how retailers identify and plan for the requisite resources in the workforce. Only this week the British Retail Consortium held a conference, Retail2020, exploring how the rapid advancement of technology will impact the jobs market and career opportunities for the next generation of retailers. The assumption is that, whilst there will be fewer jobs as a result of automation in more manual and process-driven functions, the focus on harnessing data and analytics and investing in customer service in-store to enhance the overall experience will lead to better and more varied career opportunities in the retail sector. And to facilitate these customer experiences, we need to ensure that the physical infrastructure and environment remains one step ahead of consumer demands.
This has been the guiding principle of our redevelopment plans at Brent Cross shopping centre in North London. Against a backdrop of rapid renewal and modernisation, it’s testament to the original design and vision for Brent Cross that it has retained its status as one of the UK’s most popular shopping destinations for over four decades. Welcoming over 12m visitors every year, the centre has evolved in line with consumer trends, complementing a leading mix of international retail brands with dining and leisure experiences to appeal to the whole family. As the first covered shopping mall in the UK, Brent Cross’ iconic status is undeniable, but in such a dynamic retail environment we cannot afford to be complacent. That is why, together with our joint venture partners, Standard Life Investments, we have submitted detailed plans for the redevelopment of Brent Cross to ensure that the centre remains at the forefront of London retail for future generations.
The plans, which seek to more than double the size of the existing centre, will offer more than 200 new retail stores and transform the leisure offering, including a state of the art cinema complex. A major new addition will be the creation of a food market level on the upper floor, paying tribute to London’s popular foodie heritage. Crucially, the redevelopment will incorporate seamless digital technology which will enable the very best multichannel experience for customers, and provide the flexibility to evolve and adapt as new technologies influence the way we shop, travel and socialise. The development will also include hotel accommodation, a new town square and much improved public spaces and transport links. Brent Cross London will thus form the northern element of a wider £4.5bn regeneration of Brent Cross and Cricklewood, with plans for a living bridge to span the North Circular and create a walkway connecting people to the south of the centre for the very first time. At close to two million square foot, the completed development will not only be one of the largest retail destinations in the UK, it will also set new standards for retail, not just in London but arguably across Europe.
The regeneration, which is currently the largest retail-led scheme in London, will become an exemplar in sustainable development, in line with our objective to become net positive across our four key pillars of carbon, waste, water and socio-economic impacts by 2030.
Our plans, which involve a capital investment of £1.4bn over the coming years, demonstrate our commitment to physical retail as we look ahead to the next generation.
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