Garden fresh
Published: 25 May, 2010
A new development in Peterborough is bringing a new approach to out-of-town retail by putting a garden centre at the heart of its tenant mix
On a 10-acre site to the north of Peterborough, a new form of retail development has emerged from the fenlands. Anchored by a massive garden centre, Peterborough Garden Park provides 90,000 sq ft of retail space, and its developers hope it will become the template for unlocking other edge-of-town sites across the country.
The 50,000-sq ft garden centre, plus another two acres of outdoor sales space, is occupied by Van Hage, a Hertfordshire-based independent that aims to bring John Lewis-style retail standards to the sometimes chaotic world of garden centres.
The store, designed by Lyons Sleeman Hoare, is modelled on the new glasshouse at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Wisley gardens, and the bright, spacious interior is well merchandised with up-market brands. There is an in-store florists and unusually the store includes a food offer operated by the award-winning Hambletons of Rutland and specialising in local produce.
The store also boasts the biggest catering offer in Cambridgeshire with a coffee shop, a pizzeria and a creperie.
Edward Olley, chief executive of the developer Garden Park Investments, says Van Hage spent £6m on the fit-out. “We wanted it to be as far apart from B&Q as possible,” he says.
Another innovation is the fact that Van Hage was willing to take a lease on its store. Traditionally garden centres own their properties outright, which has made it difficult to incorporate them into wider retail developments. “Going down the tenancy route is taking the garden centre industry in a different direction. They’re becoming more sophisticated,” says Olley.
The Garden Park Investments team grew out of BAA and McArthurGlen, and its chairman is ex-BAA property chief Gordon Edington. “We saw garden centres as an interesting area,” Olley says. “They combine retail and leisure, they capture the increasingly important grey pound and they are in tune with the current media focus on ‘nesting.’ But there are issues over their seasonality. The solution for us was to stretch the trading year by placing a range of complementary retailers alongside.”
The centre’s terrace of retail units has attracted brands like Cotton Traders, Le Creuset, Hobbycraft, Pets Corner and Cotswold Outdoors.
Hobbycraft trades from 10,000 sq ft which effectively forms the scheme’s second anchor. “Hobbycraft is particularly important because their peak trading period is almost exactly opposite the garden centre’s,” notes Olley.
Olley says the space is now 85 per cent let, and letting agent Cushman & Wakefield has just placed two more units in solicitors’ hands, meaning just four remain available. The tenant mix is controlled by the restricted A1 planning consent. “We wanted to be totally upfront with the council about our tenant mix,” explains Olley.
Partly reflecting the developers’ background in airport and outlet retail, units are leased on turnover rents, and this puts the onus on the developer to adopt a hands-on approach to management.
Already preparations are under way for a regular events programme with a climbing wall, a dog show and a military display that will reinforce the site’s destination status. “It’s all about creating word-of-mouth,” says Olley, “and we expect it will take two to three years for brand awareness to grow.”
And according to Olley it’s already becoming clear that the 600 car parking spaces may not be sufficient at peak times so another 1.5 acres of adjoining land has been bought to provide 150 overflow spaces.
So can this innovative model be replicated elsewhere? “We’ve already got planning permission for a smaller version in Andover,” explains Olley, “but first we’ve got to get Peterborough working. Then we’ll look at others.”
