Forex Investment

THE owners of the Gyle Shopping Centre say the only way to keep shoppers coming back to the Capital is to allow them to expand the complex.

William Ewart Properties today said that the regeneration of Princes Street could take more than double the forecast ten years to complete.

With the added upheaval caused by the trams project, it predicts Edinburgh will lose ground to rival towns and cities, such as Glasgow. It has now urged the city council to relax strict planning rules on the expansion of out-of-town shopping centres.

But the comments have angered business leaders, who have accused the firm of being “self-interested and opportunistic”. The Federation of Small Businesses also said that centres such as the Gyle had been the “kiss of death” to areas such as Princes Street.

Maryanna Robinson, a consultant for chartered surveyors Drivers Jonas, wrote to the council on behalf of William Ewart in response to the City Centre Development Framework, which is due to go before the city’s planning committee this week.

She said: “We consider that by allowing extensions to the Gyle Centre, the council would, in part, provide a solution to the issue of un-served retail spend to 2015, and consequent potential net outflow of retail spend to other centres.”

A recent study found the city needed an additional 52,000 sq metres of retail floor space, and forecast this meant it would miss out on 544 million of retail spending by 2015 - in other words, “un-served retail spend”.

Ms Robinson argues the council’s estimate that the Princes Street regeneration will be completed by 2016 is inaccurate, and claimed it was more likely to take more than 20 years. She said: ”

Where retail spend targets are not being achieved in the city centre, opportunities to sustain retail spend elsewhere in the Edinburgh area, including existing commercial centres such as the Gyle, should be sought.”

But Graham Russell, chairman of the Edinburgh branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, hit back. He said: “If you allow them to do that (expand) it will be the kiss of death to Princes Street.

“I can see that it is better to retain spending in the metropolis of Edinburgh but it is these out-of-town shopping centres that have been the kiss of death to the high street for the last ten years

. It is horrifying to hear such narrow-minded, self-interested and opportunistic comments.”

No plans to expand the Gyle Centre are currently lodged with the council’s planning department. However, DIY chain B&Q was told in January it could not expand its Longstone store, close to the Gyle, because it would infringe policies on out-of-town shopping.

The council said today developments were allowed in existing “modern commercial centres” such as the Gyle or Ocean Terminal, only if they were unsuitable or unavailable in the city centre.

A spokeswoman added: “A limited amount of development in such centres is not ruled out if the city centre is demonstrably achieving its potential.”