Development pressure and retail planning: a study of 20-year change in Cardiff, UK

Abstract

This article describes and explains changes in the retail landscape of a major British city over the last 20 years. It thus serves to continue the survey of change initiated in 1989 with a comparative analysis of the retail structures of Cardiff (UK) and Charlotte (USA). The changes reviewed in the present study are shown to exemplify broad trends in UK retailing, as well as the growing influences of town planning and urban regeneration policies.

Keywords:

• Cardiff superstores
• retail parks
• district centres
• retail planning

Acknowledgements

This review would not have been possible without the willing help of officers of Cardiff County Council, especially Caren Richards and Richard Butler, in providing reports and unpublished tabulations. Neither the Council nor its officers should be held responsible for any opinions expressed in this article. Thanks are also due to Janice Edwards for preparing the Figures.

Notes

1. It is not possible in this article to analyse changes in retail sales in the city as a whole or any of its retail areas, due to a complete lack of reliable data.

2. The main food outlets in the city centre are a Sainsbury Central store, the food section of Marks and Spencer and the covered market.

3. In this and the following tables, data includes some development at Culverhouse Cross which lies within the neighbouring local authority area (Vale of Glamorgan) but which is included within the Cardiff County Council reports.

4. This is often specified as the minimum size of a superstore (UK usage) or hypermarket (remainder of Western Europe).

5. This total would have been 13 but for the closure of two Kwik-Save stores.

6. Before 1996, the town planning function in Wales was split between County Councils (having, broadly, a strategic function), and District Councils such as Cardiff (having a more local function).

7. These were defined with regard to a list of items typically sold in such stores.

8. This policy occurs in a section separate from that on retail planning policy.

9. This stance has been strongly supported by Land Securities, the city centre developer.