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Retail Activity Centres Report

Summary

In May 2002, Charter Keck Cramer Strategic Research, in association with Virginia Kneebone and Associates (VKA), were commissioned by the City of Yarra to assess the performance, function and future direction of the five major activity centres within the municipality. These centres are Swan Street, Bridge Road, Victoria Street, Smith Street and Brunswick Street.

This Study is particularly timely given the nomination of these five centres as major activity centres under Melbourne 2030, being the Victorian Government’s framework for future metropolitan growth. Similarly, this Study provides a valuable insight into the current role of each of these centres following a period of relatively intense gentrification in Melbourne’s inner urban areas. Suburbs such as Richmond and Fitzroy have been transformed from traditional working class suburbs with strong links to the manufacturing sector, into locations which are now sought after by higher income professionals working either within the Melbourne CBD or locally.

With strong linkages to the wider metropolitan area via Melbourne’s freeway and public transport network, and key strategic attractions such as the Melbourne sports precinct, it is apparent that the activity centres covered by this Study are unique. The roles of these centres reflect the diversity of visitors to the City of Yarra, with a mix of retail, commercial and residential activities that provide a basis for ongoing economic growth and sustainability. The City of Yarra’s Economic Development Strategy identifies strategic principles, which express a range of issues and objectives for economic development within the municipality. These include a number relating to activity centres that are directly addressed in this Study.

The underlying objective in undertaking this Study is to enhance Council’s understanding of the retail sector within the City of Yarra. In doing so, the capacity of Council to address urban management issues is greatly enhanced to the benefit of local businesses and residents.

The key study objectives as contained in the Study Brief are:

To provide Council with an analysis of the current and future function and performance of identified activity centres;
To Identify retail issues and trends affecting retail with a focus on retail strip centres;
To establish and analyse a data set of key retail performance indicators that will provide a basis for ongoing monitoring of Yarra activity centres. Key performance indicators are to include centre rent levels, size and composition;
To gain an insight into the retail performance and consumer characteristics and sentiment in each retail catchment area;
To clearly identify competitors and competitive influences such as car parking, tenancy mix and consumer amenity on Yarra activity centres; and
To analyse the impact of the Victoria Gardens centre on the surrounding Yarra activity centres.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Executive summary & 2. Introduction
3. Methodology
4. Summary of In-Centre Survey Results
5. Land Use Surveys and Analysis
6. Analysis Of Geographic Catchment Visitor Groups
7. Retail Industry Analysis
8. Food Retailing Sector
9. Clothing And Soft Goods Retailing Sector
10.Café And Restaurant Sector
11 Retail Property Sector Analysis
12.Melbourne 2030: Implications for City of Yarra Activity Centres
13.Victoria Gardens and The Future Supply of Retail Floorspace
14.Future Directions

Appendices

15. Appendix 1A: In-Centre Visitor Survey
16. Appendix 1B: Survey Results - Combined Brief And In-Depth Interviews
17. Appendix 1C: Survey Results -In Depth Interviews
18. Appendix 2: Demographic Profile of Suburbs 2001
19. appendix 3: Catchment area: Demographic profile 1996 vs 2000
20 Appendix 4: Forecast Demographic Structure - City of Yarra.....
21. Appendix 5: Land Use Maps
22. Appendix 6: Sentiment Towards Activity Centres.

Retail Activity Centres (Full report - 3MB)

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Information supplied by: Electronic communications & design officer - 9205 5214 - 20 January 2006