Placemaking Project by Giles Membrey, Managing Director of Rioja Estates
NAME OF PROJECT: Grantham Designer Outlet Village
DEVELOPER: Rioja Estates
OWNER: Rioja Estates
PROJECT HIGHLIGHT: The outlet will follow the very successful blueprint we created at Malmö Designer Village when it comes to sustainability, brands and customer experience. We are targeting BREEAM excellent status to make it one of the most sustainable outlet centres in the UK. With 750m of frontage to the UK’s fourth busiest motorway it will have up to 250 EV charging points and a purpose-built hotel.
The Grantham Designer Outlet Village site commands one of the best locations in the UK, with 750 metres of frontage to the A1, the fourth busiest motorway in the country and approximately 28 million vehicles passing the site either on the A1, the A603, or the A52, every year. There’s also a real lack of full price retail in the immediate vicinity, and especially the 30-minute catchment. Given its highly visible location, significant frontage, wide catchment area, excellent brand support, and lack of competition, I fully expect it to become a dominant outlet in the Midlands and very quickly become one of the top 10 outlets in the UK.
The 60-minute drivetime catchment area is sizeable – around 4.32 million with an estimated 32.7 billion pounds of disposable income – and as a result we expect sales densities of around 550 pounds per sq ft per annum, probably more given the line-up of high-quality brands already signed up, with more in the pipeline. The estimated annual spend of consumers in the catchment area is 12 billion pounds.
Sustainability is central to the development which aims to bring regeneration, investment and greater visibility to the region whilst providing an effective platform for tenant brands to maximise their ESG policies. The British Research Establishment’s Green Guide to Specification has been used to choose materials with a low environmental impact (rated A or A+ where feasible) and there is also a focus on materials with low embodied energy.
The energy strategy includes building fabric U-values above the standards defined in Part L of the Building Regulations; high efficiency mechanical ventilation with heat recovery; energy efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; energy efficient light fittings and controls; high performance solar controlled glazing; internal layouts and facades designed to promote suitable daylight, and PV panels on roofs, hidden from public view. Rainwater will be recycled, whilst beehives on the roof and a wormery in the service yard will further enhance sustainability.
We know that there are many attractions in the area so including a hotel will allow visitors to stay over and visit these should they so wish. And being in an area with a rich tradition of farming we will also have a farm shop on site – not something I am aware of as part of any other outlet. We’re also providing a unit that local businesses can take for up to a year as a form of “pop-up”, giving them an opportunity to benefit from the 2.5 million visitors we expect to attract to the outlet on opening.
F&B will be another big part of the development. We already have several restaurants committed to the scheme offering cuisines such as Italian and Asian, as well as coffee shops throughout so customers can relax before they continue shopping.
We aim to attract 3 million-3.25 million visitors each year on completion of phase two, by which time we expect to have created somewhere between 1200-1500 jobs. This is one of the best physical locations for an outlet in Europe with a fantastic profile, frontage to the A1 and exceptional access to the motorway network.
Find more top placemaking projects here.
