Fresh fears city shops will move 'out of town'

9:10am Thursday 4th October 2012 in News

The company behind Hereford’s new multi-million pound retail development says it doesn’t want high street clothing giant Next to move to a city retail park because any impact on the city centre has not been assessed.

Stanhope, which masterminded the £90 million Old Market scheme set to get underway this month, says it is worried that Next’s attempts to set up a temporary base on Holmer Road will open the floodgates to other retailers wanting to move to ‘out-of-centre’ sites.

Next has submitted a planning application to move into the former Dunelm site once its lease in the Maylord Shopping Centre expires.

The fashion giant said the move would be temporary as it was due to re-locate to the Old Market once construction finishes in 2014.

But Stanhope says Next’s planned move will “set a precedent” for unrestricted retail use outside of the city centre, adding no proper assessment of the impact on the “vitality and viability” of the city centre has been carried out.

The company also claims, in an objection letter to Herefordshire Council’s planning department, that there are many better city centre sites available in Bewell Street, Berrington Street and Gaol Street.

Related links

  • News of Stanhope’s opposition comes in the same week Property Week magazine says TK Maxx, currently in Maylord’s, and H&M, based on Commercial Street, are looking to follow Next, Waitrose and Debenhams on to the Old Market.

City stores to move out of town - read more

Comments(22)

bobby47 says...
9:44am Thu 4 Oct 12

You really can't blame Next for wanting out. They are like all business, they watch the profit line and they want to make money and survive and if they are to survive this national recession and Herefords distinctly different economic decline, then they have to do something to protect their presence in Hereford and the jobs of their employees.
Let Next do what they must do without interference from Stanhope who's judgement on this issue I have little faith in.
To the Stanhope person who released this thread of news, I'd say, walk into High Town and ask yourself, 'would I want to do business here'.

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RuralJester says...
10:09am Thu 4 Oct 12

As if Stanhope actually care about the impact on the vitality and viability of the city centre. The new retail park (if ever completed) is certainly going to impact on this as well. I seem to think that Stanhope might have an issue with bigger retail outlets setting up further out of town as they are then unlikely to pay the ludicrous rates that will inevitably be charged once the retail park is complete. Unlucky Stanhope, maybe if you and Hereford Futures were less incompetent we wouldnt be having this discussion.

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silentbull says...
10:15am Thu 4 Oct 12

.,....and with the waiting and waiting for even a shovel to enter the site i wouldn't be surprised if NEXT considered moving out of Hereford completely until the new complex was finished (whenever that will be)

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Lukio says...
10:52am Thu 4 Oct 12

And yet there are people on here who can't contemplate the effect that this will have on the centre of town. They happily nod and smile at whatever spin HF and HC spoon feed down their necks. The centre of town is already circling the plughole and the fabled OLM development will surely send it down the drain.

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RogerLFC says...
11:17am Thu 4 Oct 12

How will 'Next' moving to the old Dunelm site off Holmer Rd set any sort of precedent? It's a retailer proposing to move to a site which has already been used for retail. Or am I missing something?

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Grid Knocker says...
11:50am Thu 4 Oct 12

Pretty bloody rich for London-based developer Stanhope to start telling retailers where / where not they may set up shop, isn't it?

Those of us with long memories will recall the Stanhope-inspired debacle last year when planning officers were forced to reverse their recommendation for Sainsbury to enlarge its Barton Road store with a non-food section.

Why? 'Cause Stanhope feared Sainsbury selling furniture would harm the prospects of the Grid's blue-chip tenant John Lewis, and so the planning application was duly thrown out!

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Andrew Warmington says...
12:12pm Thu 4 Oct 12

A giant edge-of-town retail development starts blighting the town centre. Fancy that!

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Mrslawrence66 says...
12:53pm Thu 4 Oct 12

I'm glad NEXT are moving there lets face it the size of the shop at the moment is way too small, even Malvern have a bigger store than us!

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bobby47 says...
2:07pm Thu 4 Oct 12

Sometimes, when I reach the end of the M50 at the Travellers Rest in Ross-on-Wye I often think, 'If only they'd carried the road on to Hereford. Our lives, hopes and our future would have been so very different.
Now,... High Towns future will be to evolve into Herefords Charity Shop Quarter. It really is spinning down the plughole.

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Lukio says...
3:02pm Thu 4 Oct 12

@RogerLFC - there were strict planning restrictions on any clothing retailer setting up business on the Holmer Road estate. HC are now bending the rules to suit them thus setting a new precedent. Unless Next are contractually committed to the OLM, I can't see them making two big moves in such a short space of time. But then I'm getting more cynical by the day.

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RogerLFC says...
3:14pm Thu 4 Oct 12

Lukio wrote:
@RogerLFC - there were strict planning restrictions on any clothing retailer setting up business on the Holmer Road estate. HC are now bending the rules to suit them thus setting a new precedent. Unless Next are contractually committed to the OLM, I can't see them making two big moves in such a short space of time. But then I'm getting more cynical by the day.
Thanks for clearing that 'planning' caveat up. I was unaware of it. ;-)

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richybeaver says...
3:37pm Thu 4 Oct 12

If someone wants 30,000 square feet they ain't gonna get it in High Town.

These dumbhead councillors who think High Town is full of 'local' retailers need psychological help.

Join the 21st Century and shaddup your face!!!

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bobby47 says...
3:52pm Thu 4 Oct 12

Lukio, Your back. Good. This is where you belong.
Now, your comment, about 'some on here being spoonfed by the Council'.
Tell me you dont mean me comrade.
My warmest regards.

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bobby47 says...
6:29pm Thu 4 Oct 12

Lukio, I've offended you kiddo. For that I am sorry.
Sometimes when you generate this form of message the reader fails to see the humour. I've read my postings relating to Belmont Voice and I can see that I come across as terse and sarcastic. That wasn't my intention Lukio.
I do know I have a biting tongue and I can only say I am sorry for hurting your feelings.
Now you have to accept my apology, say, fair enough and we carry on holding our Council to account.
Are we ok now?

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Lukio says...
6:52pm Thu 4 Oct 12

Bobby - chill man! You've never offended me...your posts brighten all our lives. About the BV thing...was only a suggestion and it was good to hear everyone's opinion on the matter. Lets leave it at that. Forward brother to the breach or summat like that ;)

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bobby47 says...
7:21pm Thu 4 Oct 12

Lukio, Good lad.

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fordshire77 says...
9:53am Fri 5 Oct 12

"masterminded the £90 million Old Market scheme" that comment worries me!

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fordshire77 says...
9:54am Fri 5 Oct 12

"masterminded the £90 million Old Market scheme" that comment worries me!

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fordshire77 says...
9:54am Fri 5 Oct 12

"masterminded the £90 million Old Market scheme" that comment worries me!

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julu12 says...
9:55am Fri 5 Oct 12

How can having more and bigger shops relatively close by be bad for the city centre?
At present there is nothing to attract people to Hereford so they go elsewhere.
Surely having Next at the old Dunelm site is better than them withdrawing from Hereford completely?

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fordshire77 says...
9:58am Fri 5 Oct 12

"masterminded the £90 million Old Market scheme" this comment worries me!

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richybeaver says...
10:32am Fri 5 Oct 12

How about some decent retail south of the river, instead of dumping more houses on us?

Why are there no campaigning councillors in this neck of the woods who would welcome such initiatives?

When Tesco wanted to take over 'The Game ****' they vehemently tried to stop it! Unbelievable.

Snout, trough. Nuff said.

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