MALTON- LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
Roddy Bushell, estate manager, Fitzwilliam (Malton) Estates
Fitzwilliam (Malton) Estate Shops to let in Malton Malton must change in order to compete as a shopping centre. It is often said that there is a lower level of retail activity in the town than five or ten years ago. Whilst this is a cause for concern, some comfort can be drawn from the fact that this is a national trend affecting many market towns and not just Malton.
Twenty years ago, Malton and Norton had a captive audience for their trade. This is not true today. On the outskirts of both York and Scarborough there are new retail formats attracting shoppers from the towns.
In addition, Malton has lost a fair share of trade through relocation of businesses and retailers to other locations.
Clearly, Malton must now compete for its trade. To do so, we must address what the Action for Market Towns calls the three 'As'.
Accessibility - Dealing with road congestion, making the car parks more welcoming, easier and preferably free to use. The absolute ideal to improve accessibility for the town would be free parking. All the effective competition, out of town retail and supermarkets, without exception, have free parking. However, the financial problems in achieving this for Ryedale District Council must be recognised.
Amenity - Making the town attractive to people when they arrive. If the town looks and feels like a pleasant place to spend more time, people are far more likely to make that visit, park and use the town's facilities.
Attraction - Once we have made it easier and more pleasant to visit the town, there must be a series of attractions that make the trip worthwhile. This means vibrant, interesting and competitive shops, a range of restaurants, pubs and leisure outlets.
The Estate is often tackled about the issue of empty shops, which, it is accepted, do have a negative impact on the town. Empty shops are a financial burden on any landlord because, apart from the loss of rent, they have to be cleaned, maintained,
insured and the business rates paid. Rest assured, as soon as we can let Estate owned shops to attractive retailers, we will do so.
The Estate undoubtedly has a responsibility to do anything it can to help the town to compete, and the following is currently being undertaken...
* To help Accessibility in the town, the Estate is looking at creating car parks on four areas of rough land in the town centre. This will create parking for retailers, office users and residents and should leave more spaces available for shoppers.
* Amenity. We have a programme of keeping empty shop fronts clean. Estate tenants are encouraged to do the same and the Estate is also supporting the Town and District Councils in the launch of 'Malton and Norton in Bloom 1999'.
* Attractions. The Estate will continue to invest money to produce good quality property for operators running attractive businesses. We will promote these properties to attract high quality retailers to the town.
In addition, we have funded research into how other towns have sought to attract more shoppers. This included taking 27 people, councillors, council officers, business people and the general public, to Keighley to see the work of a town centre manager. We are now supporting, and willing to back financially, the appointment of a town centre manager who will be able to work full time on addressing the 3 As and promoting Malton and Norton as a place to shop and visit.
The level of support received from people in the towns over the last few months is much appreciated. Whilst there is a lot more work to be done, it is important to confirm that the Estate is committed to helping both Malton and Norton compete as thriving shopping and business centres.
We are prepared to work in partnership with other organisations and individuals in the towns to help attract more visitors and shoppers, and look forward to developing these partnerships in the coming months.
Fitzwilliam (Malton) Estates, 88 Old Maltongate, Malton, Y017 7EC Tel 01653 692849 fax 01653 693455
