Haverhill Retail Park, Suffolk

Haverhill had a very weak town centre with a limited selection of lower quality retailers. Officers were very concerned about doing anything that might weaken it further, especially from having a discount retailer like Home Bargains out of centre.

Our message was that the proposal would complement, not compete, with the town centre. We demonstrated that large amounts of available expenditure was “leaking” outside Haverhill’s catchment area as people left the town to shop elsewhere. This was undermining the Town Centre and increasing traffic and emissions from cars. SP&D persuaded officers and, importantly, influential local members that by improving the town’s retail offer and encouraging more people to shop locally the proposal would actually strengthen the town centre.