This event is brought to you by our friends at the Society for Property Research.
Retail has always been subject to change, and COVID-19 has only accelerated the transformation determining how much physical retail space is needed where and for what purpose. This first in the series of three webinars looking at repurposing retail will focus on the bigger picture, the holistic approach that is needed to get coordinated strategies in place, and deals with the repurposing of the high street first of all. Challenges such as fragmented ownership, costs and planning will be explored, as well as how the stores are used is changing.
The webinar will open with Matthew Hopkinson, co-author of The Grimsey Reviews looking at the future of the high street, and ex-founding director of the Local Data Company amongst others. He will talk about a real life example he has worked on to bring a high street back to life and the approach and leadership required. Matthew will set the scene for the webinar series as a whole.
Next up is the Future Cities concept promoted by Martyn Saunders, a planner at Avison Young, introducing the ‘15-minute city’ concept. The focus is on creating more local communities that function better and in a more sustainable fashion. Repurposing retail on the high street is an essential part of that. It can involve uses such as elderly living, community spaces or services including serviced office space or healthcare.
Driving footfall at a time when footfall has been in decline for years is a real challenge, but the next speaker, Justin Bass from Health Spaces, explains the project they are working on repurposing an empty high street unit – and many more – for a local hospital branch providing consultations and non-invasive procedures at a third of the cost of a new-build facility in a sustainable location.
Use this link for further information and speaker biographies. SPR members can use this link to register. However if you are not an SLA member, please email Rita Gosrani on rita@sprweb.com for more details.
| Chair Cleo Folkes, Founder, Property Overview Ltd Presenters/Panellists Matthew Hopkinson, Co-Founder, Didobi Martyn Saunders, Director – Regeneration & Spatial Planning, Avison Young Justin Bass, Director, Health Spaces by Inivos Panellists Brian Bickell, Chief Executive Officer, Shaftesbury View full biographies of our panellists here. |
Log-in details will be emailed to you before the webinar. This webinar is open to SPR and SLA members only. SPR members may be given priority if the event is oversubscribed. There is no fee to attend.