The space given over to service yards has been significantly reduced over the past 10 years, but new centres must continue to give consideration to matters such as headroom, better management control, waste disposal and remote storage.

BCSC's last Service Areas for Shopping Centres report was carried out in 1995. The new research document takes forward research last conducted then on 13 centres which recommended that new and refurbished centres should then aim for a provision of between 5.5 and 6.5 spaces per 100,000 sq ft GLA (5.9 to 7.0 spaces per 10,000 sq m).

Our new research indicates that centres with a reduced provision down to 4.3 spaces per 10,000 sq m can still operate satisfactorily but only with high levels of management control. Anchor department stores should not be included within the calculations but allowances should be made in case they are converted into unit shops at some future date.

Until 1995 we were in a situation where local authorities often wanted very large service yards. The 1995 study identified the amount of space needed to deal with unconstrained demand, which was generally a lot less than previous requirements. Since then, a number of centres have demonstrated that they can operate with even smaller service yards, provided these are tightly managed.

It's also worth noting that the new study takes into account factors such as Sunday trading and waste recycling - both of which can impact on service yard operations but which are seen as having 'minor' effects at the moment.

Sunday trading has not had an impact as delivery and logistics operators are not undertaking deliveries in any substantial way on Sundays. Recycling could potentially have a growing impact in terms of compacting and waste storage operations.

A more significant impact has been seen from the implementation of more uniform management of service areas, the use of entrance barriers and CCTV, and communications with shop staff via mobile phones in order that delivery vehicles can be met and despatched more quickly and efficiently.

And there's one further factor that I think will become part of the operational thinking for shopping centre and other retail destination owners in the near future - Freight Consolidation Centres. FCCs, as they are sometimes known, are typically located on the edges of cities and are essentially processing points where supplier deliveries are consolidated into containers (eg wheeled cages) for onward delivery to the retailer.

Where space is limited or there are strong environmental reasons for reducing the volume of delivery movements to a shopping centre, the FCC method of operation should most certainly be considered. The operation of an FCC can potentially reduce the number of delivery trips by up to 75 per cent. There is the added bonus of being able to send cardboard and plastic back in the empty cages. Only limited experience of this currently exists but initial feedback is positive.

The study included interviews with centre managers, but any further feedback from anyone involved in these operations would always be welcome.

BCSC members can obtain the report by visiting their website http://www.bcsc.org.uk. Non-members can purchase the report via the website or by calling BCSC Publications 01677 458910.

Peter Mynor, Consultant, Capital Symonds

Author, Servicing Areas for Shopping Centres

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend