In a bid to improve the effectiveness of town centre policy, the Government has this month set out proposed revisions to Planning Policy Statement 6: 'Planning for Town Centres' (2005).

Most people in retail property are desperately trying to find ways of describing the current economic climate without using the 'R' word. But McArthurGlen chief executive Julia Calabrese is happy to face it head-on: "We like to feel we're recession proof," she says.

The current economic downturn is having a huge negative impact on retailers and retail property owners at present, and with so many new developments launching this year, the timing of the 'credit crunch' could not have been worse.

ING Retail Property Fund Britannica has signed three tenants at its Town Square and Spindles Shopping Centre in Oldham following the opening of H&M in March 2008 in the redeveloped Rotunda area. Cinnzeo and Alpha News have opened in Spindles and in Town Square ING Britannica has secured Poundworld in a significant unit.

Bristol Alliance partners Land Securities and Hammerson have secured two more catering users - Piccolino and Chandos Deli – for Quakers Friars, the aspirational retail and restaurant element of their Cabot Circus development.

Pizza Express and Frankie & Benny’s will join leisure anchor tenants Odeon and Tenpin at Wilson Bowden Developments 400,000-sq ft Eagles Meadow retail and leisure scheme in Wrexham ahead of its opening in October.

Hercules Unit Trust, British Land’s specialist retail warehouse fund has sold its Colne Valley retail park in Watford to Igal Ahouvi for £45.075m reflecting a net initial yield of 6.59 per cent

Orchard Street Investment Management has secured five new tenants for its 125,000-sq ft outlet centre on the M74 at Gretna, in the Scottish Borders.

The John Lewis Partnership has signed a pre-letting on a 275,000-sq ft store at the 1.5m-sq ft Eastgate Quarters scheme in Leeds city centre. The store will be one of three anchors in the centre, which is being developed by the Leeds Partnership, a joint venture between Hammerson and Town Centre Securities. Marks & Spencer has already signed up for a 196,000-sq ft store.

British Land has exchanged contracts with the private Irish investor Moyallen to sell its Peacocks shopping centre in Woking for £116m, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.75 per cent.

Shoppers are finally able to enjoy Europe's biggest city centre regeneration project after Grosvenor opened the first and biggest phase of its Liverpool One project at the end of May.

Knight Frank has substantially strengthened its retail exposure with the acquisition of specialist retail agency Markham Vaughan Gillingham.

Land Securities and Hammerson's Bristol Alliance has secured another 11 retailers at Cabot Circus, the one million sq ft retail and leisure destination set to open in Bristol in September 2008.

Plans for a £46m mixed-use scheme on the site of the former Outokumpu steelworks site in Stocksbridge, have been submitted to Sheffield City Council.

The Trafford Centre's new homewares-focussed extension, Barton Square, has signed a range of new brands including Marks & Spencer Home; the first HomeSense store in the north, a tri-branded Moben Sharps and Dolphin store, the first Natuzzi store in the north-west and a new branch for Laura Ashley. They join existing occupiers Dwell, Next Home, Bhs, and Habitat.

Hamleys is to open its first Irish store at Dundrum, Dublin. And Bose and Gerry Weber have also signed up for stores.

More than 1.25 million sq m of shopping centre space is due to open in the UK between now and the end of 2009 - equivalent in size to over eight Bluewaters - according to the new European Shopping Centre Development report from global real estate adviser Cushman & Wakefield.

The opening of Grosvenor's Liverpool One project has finally begun, with the completion of a million sq ft of retail in the heart of the city. At the end of May the centre's John Lewis and Debenhams stores opened, as did Paradise Street and South John Street, which connect them.

Developers are putting more shopping centre schemes on ice as the lack of funding and declining occupier demand undermine the viability of new centres, according to Colliers CRE’s annual Midsummer Retail Report.

Liverpool City Council has approved Land Securities' plans for the redevelopment of the St John’s Centre, Liverpool’s largest covered shopping centre originally built by the developer in 1969. The centre will now undergo a substantial refurbishment and extension which will increase its overall size from 360,000 to 480,000 sq ft.

Development Securities has bought the Atlantic Village outlet mall in Bideford, North Devon for £20m at an initial yield of 7 per cent. The scheme had been part of the REALM portfolio, and a conversion to a full-price format now looks on the cards.

Land Securities and Hammerson’s Bristol Alliance has secured another eleven retailers at Cabot Circus, the one million sq ft retail and leisure destination set to open in Bristol city centre in September this year.

Plans for a £46m mixed-use development on the site of the former Outokumpu steelworks site in Stocksbridge have been submitted to Sheffield City Council.

Shoppers were finally able to enjoy Europe’s biggest city centre regeneration project yesterday as Grosvenor opened the first and biggest phase of its Liverpool One project.

Westfield and Commerz Real have signed two more brands for the premium ‘Village’ area of the million-sq ft Westfield London scheme. Tiffany and Mulberry have taken stores, joining Louis Vuitton in the centre’s luxury district.

The Trafford Centre’s new homewares-focussed extension, Barton Square, has signed a range of new brands including Marks & Spencer Home; the first HomeSense store in the North, a tri-branded Moben Sharps and Dolphin store, the first Natuzzi store in the North-West and a new branch for Laura Ashley. They join existing occupiers Dwell, Next Home, British HOME Stores, and Habitat.

Dwell is to open its tenth UK store this Autumn with an 8,000 sq ft showroom at Cabot Circus, Bristol. The contemporary furniture and home accessories retailer is one of the latest latest signings at Glass Walk, the scheme’s focus for lifestyle shopping, alongside Starbucks, which has taken a 3,200-sq ft unit overlooking Broadmead, and Explore Learning, which has taken a 1,100 sq ft-unit. The three newcomers join Sony, and children’s toy retailer The Entertainer, which have already committed to the scheme.

Wonderbra, Past Times and Jeff Banks have signed to the Galleria – Land Securities’ 320,000-sq ft mixed-use outlet, restaurant and leisure destination in Hatfield. The deals mean 18 new units have signed at the scheme in the past year and other new arrivals include Nike, DSL selling Diesel, Calvin Klein Underwear, Gant and Le Creuset.

The Queensgate Revival project to transform a major part of Huddersfield town centre with a retail led, mixed-use scheme has taken a significant step forward with the submission of a planning application to Kirklees Council.

Thornfield Properties has started work on the 1.6m-sq ft regeneration of Bury town centre after securing a major new funding package with Bank of Scotland Corporate. The £300m deal means that the retail-led, mixed-use development, branded ‘The Rock’, is on target to open in 2010. CACI predicts it will catapult Bury up more than 100 places to 65th place in its UK town centre rankings.

Grosvenor has agreed deals with Ghost, Dune and L'Occitane five weeks ahead of the phase one launch of Liverpool One on May 29.

After a successful first two months of trading, six new stores are now open for business at Eden, High Wycombe. The new 850,000-sq ft centre opened its doors in March and has already attracted 350,000 visitors per week.

Land Securities' and Capital Shopping Centres' St David's Partnership has signed seven fashion retailers, all of which will be opening their first store in Wales when the 967,500-sq ft scheme opens next year.

Hermes Real Estate has sold the 114,542 sq ft Exeter Retail Park to CIT for £42.05m. The deal reflects a net initial yield of 6.19 per cent with five rent reviews currently outstanding.

After a successful first two months of trading, six new stores are now open for business at Eden, High Wycombe. The new 850,000 sq ft centre opened its doors in March and has already attracted 350,000 visitors per week.

Capital & Regional has moved to halt an alarming slump in its share price. On Thursday the shares lost 15 per cent of their value on rumours that the company’s Mall fund was in breach of its loan-to-value covenants. But in early trading on Friday the share price rallied slightly after a firm denial from the company.

Goodman Property Investors has sold Apsley Mills Retail Park in Hemel Hempstead to clients of Invesco Real Estate for £29.32m, reflecting an initial yield of approximately 6.25 per cent. The vendor stands to gain a further top up payment on completion of the outstanding rent review on the Homebase unit.

Invista Foundation Property has signed four new tenants at Victoria Plaza on Oxford Street, Bolton.

Grosvenor has agreed deals with Ghost, Dune and L’Occitane five weeks ahead of the phase one launch of Liverpool One on May 29.

Land Securities’ and Capital Shopping Centres’ St David’s Partnership has signed seven fashion retailers, all of which will be opening their first store in Wales when the 967,500-sq ft scheme opens next year.

Outline planning consent has been granted to St Modwen for the £13m redevelopment of the Fford Llanarth Neighbourhood Centre in Connah’s Quay, Flintshire.

Joe O’Reilly’s Chartered Land has lodged the planning application for its 1.7 million-sq ft Dublin Central project, linking Henry Street and O'Connell Street in Dublin’s Northside.

Hammerson has confirmed that Highcross, the £350m shopping and leisure destination being developed in partnership with Hermes in Leicester will open to the public on 4 September 2008.

Modus has announced that the new Houndshill shopping centre in Blackpool will open its doors on 21 August 2008. And the formal launch will take place on September 6.

Shopping Centre has teamed up with retail destination marketing company Fox Kalomaski to update its survey of professionals' attitudes within the shopping centre industry, last carried out in 2006.

Land Securities has submitted a planning application for 'Evolution Corby', the second phase of its development in Corby town centre. Willow Place, the £35m first phase, opened in October last year.

The picture on page 2 of the March edition of Shopping Centre showed Modus's Trinity Walk shopping centre in Wakefield, and not Multi's SouthGate in Bath as captioned.

After a flurry of successful shopping centre openings this spring, the engines are now revving up for the completion of numerous schemes in the UK before the end of the year.

Land Securities’ Princesshay in Exeter won the award for the best medium-sized new development at the ICSC European conference in Amsterdam last night.

Land Securities' and Hammerson's Bristol Alliance has secured another eight retailers to open stores at the million-sq ft Cabot Circus in Bristol, taking the scheme to 85 per cent let ahead of its Autumn opening.

Thornfield Properties has started on site at the Pavilion Shopping Centre in Thornaby Town Centre, Stockon-on-Tees. The 270,000-sq ft refurbishment and new build scheme, anchored by a 100,000-sq ft Asda, will elevate Thornaby into the top 25 centres in the North East.

Thornfield Properties has started on site at the Pavilion Shopping Centre in Thornaby Town Centre, Stockon-on-Tees. The 270,000-sq ft refurbishment and new build scheme, anchored by a 100,000-sq ft Asda, will elevate Thornaby into the top 25 centres in the North East.

Debenhams has agreed heads of terms to become the anchor tenant at the proposed 70,000 sq ft retail development at Springfield East in Elgin, Morayshire. The new development by Elphinstone, in association with Property Investment Partnerships, is expected to receive final planning permission in June 2008, with trading commencing in Spring 2009.

Four more fashion brands are to make their trading debut in Leicester this Autumn. Ghost, G-Star, Henleys and Lacoste are the latest fashion retailers to sign up to Highcross, the £350 m shopping and leisure destination being developed by Hammerson and Hermes.

Land Securities has signed Primark to complete the anchor store line-up at Willow Place, the 175,000-sq ft scheme in Corby town centre which opened in October last year. Primark is to open a 48,000 sq ft store within the £35m retail scheme in September.

Capital & Regional chief executive Martin Barber has stepped down from the company he co-founded 30 years ago. Amid rumours of a boardroom rift after the share price slumped 70 per cent in just under a year, the company has brought in Hugh Scott-Barrett as Barber's replacement.

German fashion and lifestyle brand Gerry Weber has become the latest retailer to sign up for Grosvenor and USS's 450,000-sq ft Grand Arcade development in Cambridge ahead of its opening on March 27.

Multi Development has let two of the MSUs at its £360m SouthGate development in Bath to Swedish fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz and Boots. The 400,000-sq ft regeneration scheme is being developed jointly with Morley.

The retailer line-up for the Eagles Meadow shopping centre in Wrexham has been boosted with five new signings. Wilson Bowden Developments' 400,000-sq ft shopping and leisure scheme is now 75 per cent let ahead of its October 2008 opening.

Land Securities has submitted a planning application for the £100m redevelopment of the St John's Centre, Liverpool's largest covered shopping centre. The proposed extension will increase its overall size from 360,000 to 480,000 sq ft.

Westfield has signed six retailers from the Arcadia Group for its £340m Bradford development. Topshop/Topman, Evans, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Wallis and Miss Selfridge will take 43,341 sq ft in the new centre which is being anchored by Debenhams and Marks & Spencer.

Wakefield Metropolitan District Council has given the go ahead for a 100,000- sq ft extension to the Moorfield Group's Ridings shopping centre. The three-storey scheme will extend the mall onto a site between Rodney Yard and the existing service yard entrance.

Multi Development launched its first UK retail-led mixed-use scheme this month when it opened the long-awaited for Victoria Square in Belfast on March 6.

Land Securities has taken a step closer to break-up with the appointment of three non-executive directors who will chair the retail, office and outsourcing businesses and pilot them through demerger.

Modus has announced that the new Houndshill Shopping Centre in Blackpool will open its doors on Thursday 21 August 2008. And the formal launch will take place on Saturday 6 September.

Capital Shopping Centres has secured five new lettings at Lakeside, Thurrock, refreshing the fashion offer and completing the letting programmme in the Boardwalk catering area.

The introduction of empty property rates on Tuesday 1 April will drive down commercial property values, disincentivise development and reduce the availability of property in the marketplace, according to a new survey conducted by Lambert Smith Hampton.

ING Real Estate has completed its £120m extension at County Square Shopping Centre in Ashford, Kent. The development has doubled the size of the centre’s existing space to create a 435,000-sq ft shopping destination. It brings the total number of units at the centre to over 50 and will also include a 620 space multi-storey car park.

Five new retailers signed up at the 450,000-sq ft Cambridge Grand Arcade as the centre opened its doors to the public this week, taking the scheme over the 90 per cent-let threshold.

Eden, the 850,000-sq ft shopping centre in High Wycombe which opened on Thursday 13th March is on target to welcome its millionth visitor by the end of the month. Over the first four days of trading alone, 350,000 shoppers visited Eden.

The East of England Co-operative Society has bought the Triangle shopping centre in Frinton-on-Sea, Essex.

The Park Place development in Croydon has received a further setback with news that developer Minerva has failed to meet a key condition of its part-sale of the site to Lend lease.

Weeks before opening, Errigal’s 45,000-sq ft Ravensthorpe Shopping Park in Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury is now 85 per cent pre-let following deals with Au Naturale, Home Bargain, In-Store, Greggs, Subway and Netto.

Grosvenor has signed another eight new brands, occupying a total of 60,000 sq ft, for its Liverpool One regeneration scheme, where more than a million sq ft of retail space will open to the public on May 29.

Richardsons Capital, the developer behind Merry Hill, Westwood Cross in Kent and the Printworks in Manchester, has formed a joint venture with Wilson Bowden Developments to bring forward the million-sq ft Ravenscraig development in Lanarkshire.

ING Real Estate has been selected to redevelop a substantial slice of Maidenhead town centre. The mixed-use project will link the existing retail core with the town’s railway station, providing up to 350,000 sq ft of new retail space as well as 1,250 parking spaces and 80,000 sq ft of offices.

Kirkstone Property Ventures - the property company set up by ex-Stannifer directors Paul Blyth and Gavin Munn - has made its first purchase, teaming up with JP Morgan Asset Management to buy the Old Market Centre in Taunton , Somerset. The centre was sold by Standard Life Investments for close to £50m, representing an equivalent yield of 6.35 per cent.

Land Securities has submitted a planning application for ‘Evolution Corby’, the second phase of its development in Corby town centre. Willow Place, the £35m first phase, opened in October last year.

Northern Ireland’s First Minister, Dr Ian Paisley, and Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, lead the opening ceremony of the long awaited Victoria Square retail led regeneration scheme in Belfast.

Shares in Liberty International, owner of Capital Shopping Centres, soared 6.63 per cent to 1005.5p in early trading on Wednesday amid press reports that the company is in merger talks with Westfield to create the world’s largest shopping centre group.

Wakefield Metropolitan District Council has given the go ahead for a 100,000-sq ft extension to the Moorfield Group’s Ridings shopping centre. The three-storey scheme will extend the mall onto a site between Rodney Yard and the existing service yard entrance off Southgate.

Land Securities has submitted a planning application for the £100m redevelopment of the St John’s Centre, Liverpool’s largest covered shopping centre. The proposed extension will increase its overall size from 360,000 to 480,000 sq ft

German fashion and lifestyle brand Gerry Weber has become the latest retailer to sign up for Grosvenor and USS’s 450,000-sq ft Grand Arcade development in Cambridge ahead of its opening on March 27.

Work has started on the redevelopment of Freeport Hornsea Outlet Shopping Village, the first outlet shopping village to open in the UK. On completion of the £6m three-phase redevelopment almost 50,000 sq ft will have been added or remodelled at the centre.

Henderson Global Investors has secured Debenhams as a new tenant at the Weavers Wharf Retail Park in Kidderminster, Worcestershire. Debenhams has signed a new 15-year lease on the Slingfield Mill building which is to be refurbished.

Westfield has signed six retailers from the Arcadia Group for its £340m Bradford development. Topshop/Topman, Evans, Dorothy Perkins, Burtons, Wallis and Miss Selfridge will take 43,341 sq ft in the new centre which is being anchored by Debenhams and Marks & Spencer.

The Leeds Partnership, a joint venture between Hammerson and Town Centre Securities, has chosen six architectural practices to deliver Eastgate Quarters, its 1.6 million-sq ft retail-led regeneration scheme in Leeds city centre.

Multi Development has let two of the MSUs at its £360m SouthGate development in Bath to Swedish fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz and Boots. The 400,000-sq ft regeneration scheme is being developed jointly with Morley.

Starbucks has stepped up its UK acquisition programme with a string of deals in the North East and East Anglia.

Two more units have been snapped up at the newly extended Priory Centre in Worksop. Body Shop has signed a ten-year lease on a 2,200-sq ft unit and household goods store BrightHouse has taken a 3,000-sq ft unit, again on a ten-year lease.

Cosgrave Property Group has acquired 50,000 sq ft of prime retail space at 1–10 and 44 - 52 Swan Walk, in Romford town centre in east London.

Capital Shopping Centres and Newcastle City Council’s £170m redevelopment of Eldon Square in Newcastle has reached a key stage with the completion of the second phase of work, Eldon Square North. The latest phase includes a new mall - St George’s Way - offering 48,000 sq ft of new retail space on the site of the centre’s former bus station.

Resolution Asset Management has sold the 116,851-sq ft Lancaster City Retail Park to Resolution Property Advisors for £26.9m, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.7 per cent.

The retailer line-up for the Eagles Meadow shopping centre in Wrexham has been boosted with five new signings. Wilson Bowden Developments' 400,000-sq ft shopping and leisure scheme is now 75 per cent let ahead of its October 2008 opening.

As the spring shopping centre opening season draws nearer, significant letting landmarks have been achieved on at least two of the new crop of malls. This spring will see major openings in Belfast, High Wycombe, Cambridge and Liverpool.

Multi Development has overcome the last major hurdle on its third UK project, the £300m Summer Row development in Wolverhampton, and work is expected to start on site within weeks.

Three major international brands have shrugged off doubts about the UK economy and decided to enter the market for the first time. The moves will be good news for developers looking to lease new malls.

Land Securities has sold the Coppergate shopping centre in York, plus an adjoining development site, to LaSalle Investment Management.

Coventry city council is preparing a radical initiative to transform its city centre, including the possibility of doubling the amount of retail space by linking the four existing shopping centres. Working in partnership with key landowners and retail developers, the council has selected US-based architects, The Jerde Partnership, to create a masterplan for a new city centre.

The Mall has secured TK Maxx as an anchor tenant for its St George's Square development at The Mall Luton, just as the scheme is about to start on site. And Marks & Spencer has committed to relocate within the centre, doubling its presence to 70,000 sq ft.

Miller Developments might have sold its 50 per cent stake in regeneration specialist Centros Miller to joint venture partner Delancey, but the company insists it remains committed to retail development.

T his year will see more shopping centre space completed than ever before in the UK, and one developer in particular, Grosvenor, is delivering two of the most significant schemes. Liverpool One and Grand Arcade, Cambridge, will provide almost 2 million sq ft of retail space between them. And opening day is now just weeks away.

More often than not these days, retail developments in city centres are centred around regeneration. There are a huge number of regeneration projects currently ongoing across the UK - all in various stages of build.

Harlow District Council has selected Stockland Halladale as its preferred developer for the regeneration of the Town Centre North site, incorporating the Market Square Quarter of the Essex new town.

Marks & Spencer has signed up as the anchor tenant for a new town centre redevelopment scheme in Morpeth, Northumberland, leasing a 31,500 sq ft store which will trade over two storeys.

ING Real Estate has signed Argos and Lidl for Palace Exchange, its 160,000-sq ft shopping centre development in Enfield, North London. The scheme is now over 96 per cent let or under offer.

Modus has signed New look as one of the fashion anchors for its externsion to the Houndshill Shopping Centre in Blackpool. The retailer has agreed a new 15-year lease on a 23,200-sq store at £390,000 pa.

Parkridge Holdings has returned to the UK shopping centre market with acquisitions in Southampton and Dorchester. These deals follow last year’s appointment of former ING Development head, Ben Rainford, to spearhead a drive into the sector.

As Belfast’s Victoria Square shopping centre nears completion the city’s next major project - The Royal Exchange in the North East Quarter of Belfast City Centre - has reached a key landmark.

Liberty International – parent company of Capital Shopping Centres – has bucked the gloomy trend for property stocks with a relatively small valuation hit in the year to December 2007. Its portfolio of prime regional shopping centres saw a 3.9 per cent cut in value, against a 10 per cent fall in the benchmark IPD index.

Eden, Multiplex and Aldersgate Investments’ 850,000-sq ft retail and leisure development in High Wycombe, has seen a late flurry of lettings with only six weeks until opening day.

Multi Development has overcome the last major hurdle on its third UK project, the £300m Summer Row development in Wolverhampton, and work is expected to start on site within weeks.

British Land has seen £80m wiped off the value of its Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield as the credit crunch continues to disrupt the investment market.

Land Securities has sold the Coppergate shopping centre in York, plus an adjoining development site, to LaSalle Investment Management. The REIT has spent the past decade trying to extend the centre but now it has thrown in the towel. The new owner intends to revive the proposals and it has brought in regeneration specialist Centros to act as as development manager for the scheme.

Five new fashion retailers have signed for Grosvenor and USS’s Grand Arcade development in Cambridge ahead of the scheme’s opening on March 27. Three of the latest signings – LK Bennett, Fraser Hart and Swarovski - are new to Cambridge. They are joined by Warehouse and Phase Eight which already have a presence in the city. Other recent signings of include Coast, Links, G Star and Thomas Sabo.

Adam Cohen and Darren Sharpe, both former directors at Everard Goodman’s Tops Estates, have made their return to the shopping centre market with the £34.5m purchase of the 130,000-sq ft Marketgate shopping centre in Lancaster. The deal shows an initial yield of 6.3 per cent.

The Mall has secured TK Maxx as an anchor tenant for its St George’s Square development at The Mall Luton, just as the scheme is about to start on site. And Marks & Spencer has committed to relocate within the centre, doubling its presence to 70,000 sq ft.

The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham has selected a joint venture between Helical Bar and residential specialist Grainger as preferred developer for the town hall site on King Street, Hammersmith.

Following the arrival of Ikea and Ilva, a third Scandinavian retailer is to take on the UK home furnishing market. The Danish chain Jysk has secured its first two sites in Lincoln and Mansfield and plans to open them in Spring 2008.

The French retailer Myatt International has taken its first space in the UK at the new Westfield London scheme in White City, West London. It will trade its high end ladies fashion brand, Etincelle from 1,186 sq ft as part of Westfield London's aspirational tenant mix.

Spanish fashion and homeware retailer Inditex has chosen Grosvenor’s £950m Liverpool One project as the first UK location for its youth fashion brand Pull and Bear.

Arcadia is to open three of its most popular fashion fascias at Highcross Leicester, the million-sq ft shopping and leisure destination being developed by Hammerson and Hermes.

Land Securities' chief executive Francis Salway has warned that commercial property values have further to fall, but he said an increasing number of investors - including his own company - were beginning to look for opportunities to buy.

Indoor ski operator Chill Factor is gearing up for expansion across the UK following the successful launch of its first scheme beside the Trafford Centre in Manchester.

Delancey, the private property company headed by Jamie Ritblat, has bought out Miller Developments’ 50 per cent stake in regeneration specialist Centros Miller, giving it 100 per cent ownership of the company.

The Bristol Alliance has attracted ten more retailers to Cabot Circus, the million-sq ft city centre retail and leisure destination being developed in the centre of Bristol.

Coventry city council is preparing a radical initiative to transform its city centre, including the possibility of doubling the amount of retail space by linking the four existing shopping centres. Working in partnership with key landowners and retail developers, the council has selected US-based architects, The Jerde Partnership, to create a masterplan for a new city centre.

With less than two months to go until opening day Multi Development has signed another tranche of retailers for its £400m Victoria Square development in Belfast city centre. Free Spirit, The Pier, Pepe Jeans, Pumpkin Patch, Douglas & Grahame, Hobbs, O2 and Starbucks will join the list of over 40 tenants already signed up to the scheme.

The government’s decision to grant strategic centre status to Brierley Hill in the Black Country will trigger a £1bn investment, according to Westfield, joint owner of the Merry Hill shopping centre. The Waterfront business park, the High Street and Merry Hill will all be expanded to create one, integrated town centre.

As Liverpool’s starts its year as European Capital of Culture, Land Securities has unveiled £100m plans for the St John’s Centre, the city’s largest covered shopping centre. The extensive refurbishment and extension of the centre will increase the overall size from 360,000 to almost 480,000 sq ft.

Warner Estate has unveiled the tenant line-up for the Market Hall extension to the Market Place shopping centre in Bolton. Zara, H&M, Principles and Warehouse will lead the revamped fashion line-up.

Hammerson has reached two significant landmarks on its next generation of schemes, winning a 600,000-sq ft project in Swansea and securing the second anchor for its Leeds scheme.

Regeneration specialist St Modwen has made significant progress on three substantial schemes.

New research underlines the challenges facing the property market - and more specifically shopping centres - in the year ahead. Both King Sturge and CBRE have adopted a bearish stance as the new year begins.