17 & Central: The London shopping centre championing convenience and community

Battersea has transformed its power station to be an attractive draw to locals and tourists, while Elephant and Castle is undergoing a huge regeneration project.

Similarly, Walthamstow's 17 & Central started its redevelopment several years ago, but this is much more focused on bringing in regional customers to offer a local alternative to the larger London destinations.

Owners NewRiver is continuing this transformation by extending the retail, leisure, and hospitality offering into an additional mall for major retailers and smaller independent stores.

Retail Week was given a tour, led by NewRiver's chief executive Allan Lockhart, to find out how the regional shopping centre is capturing north was London's custom.

Upon arriving at 17 & Central, Lockhart begins the tour by pointing to the new mall extension being built alongside some new homes.

The centre is still operational while work continues, but he is excited at the prospect of having more retail space.

Although he refrains from divulging which brands may join the new mall, he says there's "really strong demand from fashion, food and beverage, and grocery".

The current shopping centre hosts retailers such as TK Maxx, Waterstones, Boots, JD Sports, Superdrug, The Works and The Perfume Shop, as well as coffee chains and restaurants.

It is also anchored by what Lockhart dubs "a very successful Asda" on one end and a Lidl on the other end.

"We're really trying to focus on customer experience in the forms of having a positive, safe environment and having the right range and choice for convenience and for something exciting to spend your money on.

"Quite a number of our tenants also offer incredible value for money. We are an essentially led centre where people visit a couple of times a week for daily essentials and we serve the local community."

In fact, around 85-90% of customers travel less than five miles to get here to get to the centre, and it offers services such as key cutting, opticians, banking, and a gym, to bring all amenities together in one place.

NewRiver's portfolio, which consists of 48 regional shopping centres and 30 retail parks, is currently 95% occupied with a 92% retention rate.

With an annual footfall of around 8.4 million and the area of Walthamstow becoming a more attractive place to live, Lockhart says he is seeing "increased demand" from non-retail operators.

"Given the government's strategy around bringing more medical care directly into neighbourhoods and taking pressure off of NHS staff, there's a massive opportunity to bring in diagnostic centers and multi practice medical centers into the heart of communities where shopping centres are," he explains.

"Customers can do their shopping, see a doctor, then pop into Boots for a prescription. It's all about connected trips and a better experience, and this is a huge opportunity."

He emphasises the importance of bringing "social cohesion" to the community in the form of a well developed shopping centre offering value, convenience, leisure, food, and essential services.

"We're hoping there will be decent reform on business rates soon to protect these assets as the value they deliver to the local community is incredible".

As 17 & Central gears up for its next stage of growth with new homes and a new mall, this is set to cement itself as the thriving hub for the community in north east London.