Assessment of Planning and Retail Issues - Renfrewshire Council

1 INTRODUCTION
The Proposals
1.1 Braehead Retail Park is a well-established retail warehouse park which forms an
integral part of the range of facilities which are available at Braehead, and which
contribute substantially to meeting the retail, leisure, business, housing and
employment needs of Renfrewshire.
1.2 For many years following its opening, the retail park was not fully let, despite the
popularity of Braehead as a retail destination. The closure of the B&Q warehouse
further increased the vacancy levels within the retail park. Fortunately, as a result
of extensive marketing efforts by Capital Shopping Centres (CSC) and with
considerable assistance from Renfrewshire Council, the retail park is now fully
occupied, and has benefited considerably from the relocation of Sainsbury’s into
the former B&Q unit.
1.3 Despite the recession, the retail market has held up reasonably well. Competition
between retailers is strong, and so also is competition between major retail
destinations. The coming on-stream of Silverburn has exerted competitive
pressures on Braehead, and the prospect of major new retail development at
Glasgow Harbour has made it imperative that Braehead should be able to respond
to internal development pressures and to accommodate the needs of its tenants,
as well as providing new opportunities where possible.
1.4 With the retail park now fully let and trading well, with existing tenants looking to
improve their offer and a number of prospective new tenants expressing interest
in Braehead, there is a need to provide some additional expansion space to cater
for these interests. CSC have identified an opportunity to strengthen the retail
park and improve its efficiency and appearance by providing two new units at
either end of the existing run of units, with each unit providing an additional 1,679
square metres of gross floorspace on two levels.
1.5 The new easternmost unit will reflect the design of the existing units and will have
a new landscaped area adjacent to it. The proposal for the westernmost unit
involves realignment of the adjacent roadway out of the bus station to create
additional land for the new development and associated landscaping. The front
past of the side wall of the new unit will be angled to follow the alignment of the
roadway, and will incorporate a substantial area of glazing to enhance its side
elevation, in recognition of the fact that this elevation faces across to the main
Braehead Centre - effectively creating a ‘side frontage’ to the western end of the
retail park units. This will greatly improve the view of the retail park from the