Palace Gardens/Palace Exchange
The following summary is reproduced from the Enfield Society website.
The owners of both Palace Gardens Shopping Centre and the more recent Palace Exchange (Deutsche Bank), are asking the public for their views about making changes. This survey is separate to the recent Let's Talk Enfield Town but clearly relates to the wider discussion about Enfield.
Plans are at an early stage, although there have been preliminary discussions with the Council. The consultation seeks views on how the community would like to see Palace Gardens & Exchange improved.
You can access the survey at palaceshopping.co.uk/survey/
Background
Palace Gardens Shopping Centre and Palace Exchange are privately owned by Deutsche Bank. As the land owner they are conscious that Palace Gardens is looking tired and they are having difficulty letting empty units.
The Enfield Town Plan sees the development of the evening economy as a key opportunity to revitalise the Town Centre. Deutsche Back want to open up the shopping centre which is currently inward looking and detached from Church Street. They want to reconfigure the development, open up the entrance to Church Street (beside Waterstons), create a new route through the development towards the westbound bus stops on Cecil Road (in place of the rather narrow alley beside M&S), create a new pedestrian link to Library Green, introduce more family restaurants and possibly a small cinema.
A important priority is to retain Waitrose, M&S and Boots as key retailers. At present Waitrose has one of the lowest sales per sq metre in the London area. This is mainly because there is no evening opening. By opening up the shopping centre and increasing evening use they believe that it will strengthen Waitrose and all the other retailers. The amount of car parking places are likely to be reduced, although usage is currently much lower than the capacity.
The provision of residential units above the shopping centre is one option being considered. The conversation between the Enfield Society and the developers and their architects has stressed that height and designs need to be sympathetic to the conservation area.
Though Pearsons is not part of the holding of Deutsche Bank, the developers are working closely with the store and are very keen to ensure their continued presence in the town centre.
Edmonton Green shopping centre
Any redevelopment will be guided by the following principles:
- Edmonton Green will remain an affordable local shopping centre, catering to the needs of the local community.
- The market will continue to be a focal point of Edmonton Green.
- It will be a phased development that will happen over a considerable number of years with the South Car Park envisaged to be developed first. The phasing will ensure that the shopping centre continues to be operational throughout as well as maintaining sufficient parking for shoppers and residents.
- The residential tower blocks will be retained.
- We are committed to working with local people to understand how we can enhance the character of the town centre.