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Retailers Circle Resilient King's Lynn
One of Britain’s most resilient shopping centres Vancouver Quarter, King’s Lynn is attracting attention from those thriving retailers who are looking to grow in the current climate. The recent availability of space including the 42,000 sq ft ex-Woolworths store has presented a fantastic opportunity and is causing a feeding frenzy among retailers bidding to open new stores. The town has already had a succession of visitors from asset teams running a slide rule over vacant properties. Vancouver Quarter Centre Manager Brad Curcillo states “King’s Lynn benefits from a lack of strong competition and therefore enjoys a high market share (86.6%) within the core catchment area. The centre has proved resilient in the current climate with a record number of shoppers visiting the centre over the Christmas period and a 10% increase in footfall figures for the year. Furthermore retailers have reported exceptional sales figures for 2008, one particular store was ranked number one out of 52 stores in the East Anglia region for it’s remarkable sales figures and was awarded a company ‘Strictly Sales Incentive’ Award” Vancouver Quarter is an open-air, pedestrianised shopping complex that links into the main town shopping area. The scheme was re-developed and expanded in 2006 as part of a major £26 million regeneration project which also saw the construction of an award-winning multi-story car park to the town. The new-look Vancouver Quarter is about 250,000 sq ft bigger than its predecessor with many of the units being expanded in the redevelopment which has attracted larger national retailers such as TK Maxx and TJ Hughes. The centre now consists of a varied retail mix from high street stores such as New Look and Ann Summers to independent stores, family businesses and supermarket giant Sainsbury. Other retailers in the town include high street brands M&S, Debenhams, River Island and Next. The town has seen expansions with high street giant Marks and Spencer extending in September 2008 with an extra 6,400ft of shopping space, and a new café. Supermarket giants Sainsbury and Tesco have also both revealed plans to expand their stores. The redevelopment of Vancouver Quarter has therefore enhanced King’s Lynn’s appeal as a major shopping destination. Ambitious plans were revealed in the summer of 2008 for a multi-million pound project to create new retail and recreational facilities including a new cinema complex and hotel. The plan also includes an extension of the shopping quarter, a redevelopment of the bus station and plans for a pedestrian link to the town centre from the railway station. The scheme is likely to attract major new retailers making King’s Lynn a vibrant central shopping destination with a varied retail and leisure offer. In a recent comment from Councillor Jason Law, West Norfolk Council’s cabinet member for regeneration he stated “The project is another important and exciting step towards ensuring that Lynn remains a vibrant and competitive shopping destination in the future. Lynn is already a successful retail centre with increasing footfall, it is important that any new developments in the town centre builds on this and complements the existing retail circuit”. The future is bright for Kings Lynn with the Government announcing in May 2008 that King’s Lynn has been designated Growth Point status and has awarded the town £2.85 million in funding to support the implementation of Growth Point for 2009. It is predicted that the population of the urban area will exceed from 41,500 to 50,000 people by 2021. The Council of West Norfolk and its partners have developed a clear vision for King’s Lynn and are investing in several regeneration projects that will see the transformation and economic rebirth of the town. The vision for King’s Lynn is that; ‘King’s Lynn will be an attractive, vibrant and prosperous town, where people will choose to live, work and visit’
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