After ‘home shopping’ comes ‘shop homing’ - David Alexander comment

When John Lewis – that doyen of British retailing – announces store closures you know, if you didn’t already, that the high street is in serious trouble.

There must have been relief when John Lewis announced its Aberdeen store was to reopen. Picture: John Devlin.

And when one of those targeted was opened by the company just a few years ago in Birmingham city centre, then it became reasonable to assume that just about every store around the country was vulnerable.

Therefore there must have been a big sigh of relief when John Lewis announced its Aberdeen store was to reopen after the Scottish Government relaxed the retail trading rules on the high street and in shopping centres. JL Aberdeen will not be part of the plan to convert some of the company’s closed stores to residential use, either in whole or part. Just as Amazon exemplifies “home shopping,” John Lewis may become famous for “shop homing”.

However, this trend is already happening in Aberdeen, the latest example – as this newspaper reported last week – being the opening of high-quality flats on former disused floors on a block in Union Street, whose previous occupants included Virgin Megastore and Boots.

The six properties, by specialist developer City Restoration Project, are part of the Aberdeen City Centre Masterplan, the local council’s regeneration blueprint for Union Street and the surrounding area. This is the company’s second build on Union Street and it would be unusual if other developers were not eyeing up similar prospects either on the thoroughfare or just off.

As for John Lewis, the possibility that it might seek to transform former stores to residential units, or perhaps hive off surplus space in stores still trading, seems sensible, especially with relaxed planning procedures to enable changes to be made much quicker, making them more affordable and, therefore, more viable. It will not, however, always be a silver bullet.

Stores were built and designed for a purpose – mass retail sales to the public on a face-to-face basis, and the result is not always conducive to an easy conversion to residential use. Shopping layouts (and indeed office ones) can restrict the internal design possibilities, leading to flats of a shape and size that the developers would not have created had they had a “clean sheet” to play with.

Modifications

For example, flats in a converted commercial building may have to be designed around the lift shafts rather than the other way round as might be possible with a new build. And, of course, there are numerous health and safety rules to be worked around. This certainly isn’t true of every conversion; for example, flats created from redundant retail/storage space just off Princes Street in Edinburgh (for which we acted as agent) sold quickly as soon as they went on the market.

But I think we should be aware of the challenges, as well as the opportunities, of converting commercial buildings to residential use. Another factor is demand. Up to now, city-centre living has been extremely popular, mainly among younger buyers and tenants, and some older couples.

Back in Aberdeen, Adrian Watson, head of the city’s Business Improvement Bid, said the Union Street flats fitted with the policy of bringing people into the central area to live, work “and of course enjoy the many attractions and amenities on offer”. That’s fine as long as there are sufficient “attractions and amenities” to enjoy.

There’s a danger the retail retreat from the high street may start to infect the bars and restaurants that rely, in part, on shoppers for daytime business, especially at weekends. Trade will be further reduced if more office employees are permitted to work from home rather than commute. This raises the possibility of what the Americans (after bitter experience) call “doughnut towns” where everything is on the outside and nothing in the middle.

Retail/office conversions in the heart of town are only likely to work if they continue to offer a vibrant commercial and cultural environment. For many, city centre living is great – just so long as it’s a city centre worth living in.

David Alexander is MD of DJ Alexander

SCOTSMAN.COM

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