Key Facts
Shopping Patterns
Shopping patterns in Glasgow have evolved over the past 200 years or so. The first recognised retailing centre developed around Glasgow Cross in the 1700’s, where arcaded streets developed primarily to serve the City Merchants. The steeple at the Trongate is a remaining feature of this covered walkway. During the Victorian era, the commercial heart of the City moved westwards to its present focus around Argyle Street, Buchanan Street and Sauchiehall Street. At the same time, main roads radiating from the City Centre became lined with shops occupying the ground floors of tenements. After 1945, new peripheral housing estates, such as Easterhouse, were built on the edge of the City, and each one required its own new shopping facilities. The associated inner-city clearance resulted in the loss of many traditional shopping areas, and several older shopping centres, such as Govan, Maryhill and Springburn, were partly redeveloped during the 1970s and 1980s.
Retail Trends
The retail sector is dynamic and further changes in retailing since the late 1980’s have had a significant effect on the pattern of shopping within cities like Glasgow. The changes are reflected in the types, scales and locations of development which emerge over time. Growth and mergers have led to the emergence of the large national retailers who tend to dominate high streets, and the combination of historic and more recent developments such as out of centre retail warehouse parks, food superstores, and the major expansions of Easterhouse and Pollok town centres, have resulted in Glasgow having a complex network of town centres and other retail locations which serve residents, commuters, and visitors to the City.
The City Centre
The City Centre provides a focus for large department stores and specialist retailers requiring a City-wide or regional catchment population. In recent years, extensions to pedestrianised areas, improvements to the public realm (the quality of street surfacing, lighting, planting and artworks), new retail development, the renovation of existing major stores and improved transport access have all contributed to the enhancement of the City Centre shopping environment.
Significant City Centre development took place in the 1980’s and 1990’s through the
development of the St. Enoch Centre, Princes Square, the Italian Centre and Buchanan Galleries. The Merchant City area is a focus for high quality interiors shops and smaller independent fashion retailers, while Ingram Street in particular is becoming a location for international fashion chains. Finally, a number of national supermarket operators are trading from smaller format food stores, and there are also discount foodstore operators serving the City Centre.
Town Centres
Glasgow’s ‘major town centres’, outwith the city centre, comprise Easterhouse, Parkhead, Partick/Byres Road, Pollok and Shawlands, and in addition to retailing, these provide a range of commercial, residential, and office uses, amongst others, and the centres are well served by public transport. There are also smaller ‘town centres’ serving areas such as Anniesland, Drumchapel, Duke Street, Govan, Maryhill, Springburn and Victoria Road. In addition to convenience shops which cater for everyday food shopping needs, the smaller town centres contain a range of facilities such as banks, building societies, cafes, and a range of more specialist comparison (non-food) goods shops and services.
Where appropriate, the Council works in partnership with developers and other agencies to promote the redevelopment and improvement of town centres, such as Pollok (Silverburn) and Easterhouse (Glasgow Fort). Some renewal initiatives have boosted the number of job opportunities for local residents, and form part of a wider strategy for improving these areas.
Further initiatives will generally come forward within the context of a Town Centre Action Plan. These are non-statutory local strategies, which can consider matters such as the appropriate mix of uses, improvements to the physical environment, traffic management measures, improvements to car parking, and public transport issues. In line with government guidance, the Council aims to protect and improve the quality of shopping and services provided within the City’s town centres.
Local Shopping Facilities
The City contains around 170 local shopping parades, which serve the important day-to-day shopping needs of the local community. They range in scale from centres containing a small supermarket, durable goods outlets and non-retail services, to isolated corner shops. These facilities are important in ensuring that communities have access to locally available shops and services without the need to travel longer distances. This can be particularly important to those who find it difficult to travel and it is, therefore, important that such facilities are supported.
Other Retail and Commercial/Leisure Centres
The City contains other areas of retail and commercial development (e.g., Great Western Retail Park) and 2 commercial/leisure centres (e.g. Springfield Quay). Retail warehouses provide opportunities for the purchase of predominantly “bulky” household goods, such as furniture, carpets, electrical goods and DIY equipment. While these tend to be developed in ‘retail parks’ where there are groups of similarly sized retail warehouses, some ‘stand alone’. Generally, the pressure for this type of development has reduced, but a ‘new’ retail warehouse park at Robroyston has been developed recently.
Major Food Stores
The number of major food stores (i.e. supermarkets, superstores etc.) within the City has increased over the years, with major supermarket operators having stores at various locations throughout the City. In line with national retail trends, these stores often provide a range of non-food goods, and some have increased their retail offer by extending their floorspace, including by means of installing a mezzanine floor.
The following table indicates the historic, current and projected retail floorspace within Glasgow.
|
|
FOOD or NON-FOOD |
GROSS RETAIL FLOORSPACE IN SQUARE METRES |
|
DATE |
CITY CENTRE |
OTHER CENTRES |
OUT OF CENTRE |
TOTAL |
|
2003 |
Food |
28,005 |
143,382 |
174,787 |
346,174 |
|
|
Non-Food |
423,404 |
188,881 |
238,746 |
851,031 |
|
2004 |
Food |
28,005 |
148,382 |
174,787 |
351,174 |
|
|
Non-Food |
423,404 |
226,980 |
245,117 |
895,501 |
|
2005 |
Food |
28,005 |
148,382 |
174,787 |
351,174 |
|
|
Non-Food |
423,404 |
226,980 |
245,117 |
895,501 |
|
2006 |
Food |
27,876 |
138,861 |
167,289 |
334,026 |
|
|
Non-Food |
417,786 |
237,528 |
278,404 |
933,718 |
|
2007 |
Food |
28,370 |
139,216 |
170,140 |
337,726 |
|
|
Non-Food |
422,433 |
301,528 |
279,203 |
1,000,164 |
|
2008 |
Food |
28,357 |
144,205 |
172,686 |
345,248 |
|
|
Non-Food |
422,433 |
297,348 |
281,401 |
1,001,182 |
|
2013 |
Food |
36,357 |
147,524 |
191,355 |
375,236 |
|
(Projected) |
Non-Food |
514,054 |
332,022 |
359,316 |
1,205,392 |
The total amount of food retailing floorspace increased between 2007 and 2008 by around 7,500 square metres (2%). While the level of food floorspace in the City Centre has remained constant, there has been a slight increase in other centres and at out-of-centre locations. These centres include the larger town centres and more local centres which serve smaller catchment areas. It is anticipated that the projected food floorspace provision will increase in each of the aforementioned locations by 2013.
The overall level of non-food shopping has been rising steadily since 2003. The most significant increase in this period has been in ‘other centres’. This can primarily be attributed to new developments at Easterhouse (Glasgow Fort) and Pollok (Silverburn). D
evelopments, such as the major extension to the St Enoch Centre and potentially to Buchanan Galleries both in the City Centre, indicate that further growth in floorspace is likely by 2013.
Projects
City Centre Developments
A major extension to the St Enoch Centre is under construction (March 2009), and once completed it will not only increase the Centre’s shopping floorspace, but it will also provide new leisure/entertainment venues, and bring transportation and public realm improvements. The Buchanan Galleries shopping centre is the largest city/town centre shopping development in Scotland, and it has (outline) planning permission to significantly increase its size, by expanding south and eastwards over the present 2,000 space multi storey car park and above the railway cutting at Cathedral Street.
Partick and Glasgow Harbour Developments
To the west of the City, there is planning permission for a superstore to serve the Partick area, and nearby there is also planning permission for new retail floorspace at Glasgow Harbour. The latter scheme is part of the regeneration of the Clyde Waterfront area, which has seen significant residential development, the lowering of the Clydeside Expressway and the construction of a new footbridge to improve pedestrian access between the site and Partick town centre.
Easterhouse Town Centre Action Plan
To the east of the City, the Council has approved the Easterhouse Town Centre Action Plan which establishes a framework for development in Easterhouse. The framework seeks to deliver an extension to Glasgow Fort and also replace the Shandwick Shopping centre, which serves the daily shopping needs of the local community. Planning permission for a replacement neighbourhood scale shopping development has subsequently been granted,
Maryhill Shopping Centre
In the north of the City, the Council has granted planning permission to allow the demolition of the existing Maryhill Shopping Centre, which is anchored by a superstore, and replace it and the other small shopping units in the centre with a larger superstore and new shop units.
Useful Links
See Glasgow
Buchanan Galleries
St Enoch Centre