Vital & Viable Chorlton
Context
This report was commissioned by the City Council’s District Centre Sub-group in response to challenges faced by retailers and the traditional High Street, especially outside the city centre. It was written by the Institute of Place Management, at Manchester Metropolitan University.
It includes analysis of Chorlton District Centre’s trading environment, an audit of retail use and footfall patterns, and a benchmarking exercise against 25 key factors. The report then outlines a series of quick wins and longer-term recommendations for improvement. This project led to the installation of a footfall counter (July 2018), with regular data reports provided by retail analysts, Springboard.
Key recommendations
Repositioning – improve linkages, signage and synergy between the four clusters of commercial activity (district centre, Beech Road, Manchester Road and Barlow Moor Road). Better stakeholder engagement and more strategic communication.
Reinventing – ‘identity and offer’. Poor street scene and pavements, lack of open space, traffic congestion – a general ‘sprucing up’ needed.
Rebranding – Although Chorlton has a largely positive image, this can be strengthened by collaborative promotion to residents and visitors. Also a coherent brand offer, place identity and message needed.
Restructuring – There’s a sufficiently engaged core of stakeholders to work together to create a more unified plan to improve Chorlton’s district centre. This might be organised around MCC’s neighbourhood team