BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Eagle One, an Exeter-based property development company, has achieved planning permission for an outdoor pursuits shopping centre near Evesham. Work is due to commence on site later this year.
The development is next to Evesham Country Park and will consist of 46 retail units on a 140,000 sq ft site and forms part of a 125 acre mixed-use development.
Eagle One hopes to attract outdoor leisure retailers include cycling, fishing, equestrian, skateboarding and golf as well as clothing and footwear. There will also be a number of restaurant units. The developer will provide an on-site ‘try before you buy’ areas where retailers will be able to offer practical demonstrations. The pix don’t show an MTB track but retailers such as Tisos have added such features to their indoor stores.
Evesham Country Park attractis 1.24million visits per year and benefits from 1.5 miles of frontage to the river Avon. Cycle routes, nature trails, footpaths, fishing lakes and 60 holiday lodges are to be sited throughout the park.
The scheme is adjacent to the A44 and A46, two miles to the north of Evesham and 30 miles from Birmingham.
Simon Tothill, of Eagle One, said: “This will be the first of its kind in the UK. Being able to offer a retail experience where customers can take part in activities and ‘try before they buy’ as a leisure experience is the way forward and one which can’t be offered via the internet."
Nigel Thompson, head of retail agency, Knight Frank, said: “The initial tenant interest so far has given Eagle One the confidence to push ahead with a view to opening during winter 2013. The occupational market is still very buoyant for schemes where there is a real point of difference and where the tenant mix will deliver a truly unique shopping and leisure experience for a wide catchment area.”
