The Planning Issues

Our aim is to try to reflect as closely as possible what the community tells us they want for Archway, so please Contact us.

Rebuilding or Regeneration

Who Should Develop the Site

Type and Scale of Redevelopment

Buildings and Open Space

Dominant Type of Accommodation

Types of Retail Units and Space

Other Types of Retail Unit (non-food)

Leisure and Community facilities

Public Transport

Road Layouts and the Roundabout

Strategic changes to improve the wider area

Types of Retail Units and Space

The council reports that a big redevelopment would not be possible without a large supermarket because the prices the big chains are willing to pay for retail space would ensure that a private developer would make a profit.

Redevelopment options	Pros	Cons
Hypermarket At the proposed 4,000 sq m this would be a food superstore selling not just a wide range of food items but also newspapers and magazines, a range of non-food items such as clothing and toys, and possibly including a pharmacy and dry cleaning service. There would have to be a sizeable car park.	The large supermarket would enable people living in the area to make shorter car journeys to do a single big shop. Some shoppers like the shopping experience offered by big chains and their clean, spacious environments. The larger the branch the wider the range of goods on offer, and there are always loss leaders on special offer. If big enough the car park could be a facility for all visitors to the area. Creates local unskilled jobs (shelf stacking etc).	Such a large outlet, run by a business in a position to keep prices low until the opposition has diminished, could cause between a quarter to a third of the shops in the Archway area to close (Arkle Pharmacy, Stagnells bakery, Yildiz greengrocers, MS supermarket etc) and affect shops some distance away in Highgate and on the Holloway Road. Prices in the supermarket - except for loss leaders like sliced white bread and baked beans - would probably then rise. The area could end up with a lot of vacant shops if existing retailers were put out of business. Local residents would be left with little local choice but the new supermarket. A supermarket of this size would attract an average of around 120 extra cars per hour to the area for 12 hours of the day, more at peak shopping times. Supermarket car parks can generate queues of cars waiting to get in, slowing up existing road traffic when coming out. Where would a car park go? Underground tube station and lines could compromise/prevent a below-ground car park. A multi-storey car park could be visually unappealing, especially for residents of Girdlestone Estate. Large supermarkets take deliveries of food by large truck throughout the day and into the night. This would bring more heavy goods vehicles into the heart of the area, probably Macdonald and Vorley Roads, causing particular problems for the Girdlestone Estate. It is hard to do a ‘quick shop’ in a very large store - long checkout queues etc. Money spent in store does not stay in local economy - it goes to head office . A multiple supermarket is less likely to buy support products/ services from local businesses. Jobs created tend to be mainly low-wage.
Medium size supermarket	There would be enough of a range of goods to do a regular shop. There would still be parking. Other advantages as listed above.	Could still harm trade to independent food shops in the area (MS Supermarket, Stagnells, Yildiz etc).
Tesco Metro or Sainsbury’s Local Small multiple store chain supermarket.	Prestige of using a famous name supermarket. More modern, less crowded environment than most independent stores. Good for ready-meals and fizzy drinks. Checkouts usually faster than independent stores.	Always more expensive than their main stores (3-10% more). Mostly branded goods rather than own-label. Very limited range, esp. compared to independent supermarket of similar shop size. Tend to have mostly smaller sizes of things.
Independent local supermarket (e.g. MS Supermarket but probably bigger than current shop).	Local owners/managers know and cater to the needs/preferences of local clientele, e.g. more specialist products for local ethnic groups.	Fewer own-label goods.
	Local shops often stock a range similar to that of larger chain stores.	You just have to find it because the layout is not as spacious.
	Management often know most customers personally. Pleasant to deal with shop staff who greet customers individually. Will do best to oblige individual requests. Create neighbourhood atmosphere. Tend to use other local businesses for own requirements, e.g. printing, stationery, repairs and servicing. Money spent by customers therefore goes on to be spent with other local shops/businesses, keeping money within the local economy. Prices, particularly in an area like Archway, are often very competitive.	Checkout queues can form behind particularly chatty customers.

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