Unlocking Opportunities

SITE CONTEXT

Over many decades, town centres everywhere have been dominated by retail with other uses being forced out of town. Many of these ‘clone’ towns that are so dependent on retail have declined as our shopping patterns have shifted. In East Kilbride, a once thriving shopping destination, this decline has led to a significant level of vacancies and a town centre ready to rediscover its identity and purpose. While these vacancies represent a problem, they are also an opportunity.

The first move is to consolidate the retail offer into the better performing parts of the centre and target the void space to create development areas that have sufficient critical mass (scale) to be transformational in their repurposing and redevelopment.

This diagram shows the areas with the greatest concentration of vacancy and best opportunity for transformation:

• Site A: The Bingo Hall area
• Site B: Centre West
• Site C: The Olympia site and car parks
• Site D: Princes Mall & Bus Station entrance