The Central Business District (CBD) plays an integral role in virtually every town and city’s business development and growth. However, as Newcastle residents are aware, several businesses have opted to rather operate in residential suburbs instead of the CBD, but why?
Hutten Heights and Pioneer Park are two of the main suburban business hubs, with a concentration of businesses, particularly along Victoria Road and a significant number more located on Gemsbok Avenue.
The question, however, now stands, why have these businesses opted to move into residential areas and what is the Newcastle Municipality planning to do to enhance the CBD to attract business development to the area?
With this in mind, Newcastillian News took to the streets to approach a number of businesses operating in Hutten Heights and Pioneer Park to establish the reasoning behind their decision to move away from the CBD and into residential areas to gain some form of understanding.
One of the businesses was Harcourts Newcastle, a well-known real estate agency. Reflecting on the business’s decision to move, Harcourt’s Quinton van der Hoogen explained that one of the reasons Harcourts moved onto Paddock Avenue was due to accessibility for its clientele. “Location is always important. Also, there is parking to take into consideration, as parking in the CBD can be a nightmare,” he noted.
Additionally, van der Hoogen explained that moving into Pioneer Park also allowed the business to evolve and expand without worrying about limited space. “There is bigger office space to accommodate the staff, which is not always possible in the CBD. Then there is the condition of the buildings in the CBD which are not all that great,” said van der Hoogen.
He further noted that client safety was a key factor in relocating from the CBD, as certain areas were notorious for crime. By moving to Pioneer Park, he explained, both staff and clients would benefit from a safer environment.
Furthermore, van der Hoogen noted that businesses such as Harcourts did not need to be situated in the CBD to do business. “If you sell goods and products where you need foot traffic, the CBD is the place where you want to be. However, with us, people are fully aware of what services we provide and as it is mostly administrative, people who are estate agents or lawyers can work from a suburb, as our clientele usually comes to us when they require our services,” he explained.
DHL Express Newcastle is another company that decided to move away from its previous premises on Paterson Street, choosing rather to operate on Victoria Road in Hutten Heights. Delving into the decision made to move away from town and head to the suburbs, the company’s Robert Whitlock explained the following.
“We wanted to purchase a property with more available space for the business. Then there is the matter of parking, which is better on Victoria Road,” began Whitlock, noting that the need for space was not the only reason for moving from Paterson Street.
As Newcastle residents are aware, Paterson Street is known for the number of prostitutes that work along the road.
According to Whitlock, these women often left a terrible mess outside their previous premises, with rubbish ranging from condoms to the leftover remains of a fire that would often mar the former premise’s doorway. With the prostitutes leaving the area in a deplorable state and attracting unsavoury individuals to the CBD, Whitlock noted that moving from the CBD proved to be a wise decision. “Not only do we not have the same issues we did before, but we are now also more visible than before and it is much better for us,” concluded Whitlock.
Furthermore, several businesses did not wish to have their names mentioned, but these businesses highlighted that failing infrastructure, a lack of cleanliness and crime played an instrumental role in the decision to rather operate from suburbs such as Pioneer Park and Hutten Heights. “There are constant sewage leaks in the CBD, the roads are terrible and there is always the chance of being robbed if you work late or go out for lunch. Also, the town area is filthy and not much is being done to keep it clean,” noted one business owner.
Discussing the matter and why businesses have opted for residential areas, the Newcastle Municipality’s Communications Unit stated that it is important to first understand that this was not an unusual phenomenon in spatial planning.
“In urban planning, there is a concept of activity and development corridors characterised by diverse land uses such as a mix of commercial activities offering employment and residential opportunities in medium densities. These activities are located along arterial roads serving as major transit routes. In the context of Newcastle, Victoria Road simulates such a concept design of planning.”
Moreover, the Municipality’s Communications Unit emphasised that the concept of activity corridors is intertwined with activity nodes which are areas where commercial, retail, and entertainment facilities are concentrated, and such areas are found outside the city centre, for example, the Amajuba Mall and Newcastle Corner.
“These are founded on the polycentric urban planning approach which aims to create multiple centres of activity and connectivity within a city area, rather than relying on a single dominant core being the Central Business District (CBD). The Municipality is indeed promoting the proliferation of activity nodes and corridor development in a regulated manner and within the limits of applicable prescripts,” elaborated the Communications Unit.
Delving deeper into the matter, the Communications Unit explained that, in general, activity nodes and corridors promote optimum use of land in the area due to their proven capacity for the high intensity of activities and high levels of access. “Activity corridors have positive spin-offs as they are associated with high densities which may provide thresholds of various economic activities. These economic activities and services are set to benefit local communities as more money would be spent in the local area than outside. Furthermore, activity corridors promote efficient movement systems within the area in terms of public and private transportation, as well as pedestrians,” highlighted the Communications Unit.
Moreover, the development of activity nodes and corridors, according to the Communications Unit, may result in a wide variety of social opportunities integrated with high-density residential activities; in that, numerous other activities and facilities will be accessible to residents, thereby promoting social interaction in the area.
“However, one cannot shy away from the fact that this whole concept has potential to counteract growth within city centres,” noted the Communications Unit.
While the concept of activity nodes and corridors may seem to bring positive energy within a specific neighbourhood and the city at large in terms of expansion, the Municipality’s Communications Unit pointed out that there is a backside that must always be guarded against.
“It is crucial in this context to also understand the concept of decentralisation, which refers to the movement of population and businesses away from the established city centre towards the urban fringe, leading to a distribution of urban population and employment over a larger area. Oftentimes, activity nodes and corridors leave city centres drained in terms of businesses and consumers. This may result in low levels of occupancy in terms of shops within the city centre, thus attracting undesirable activities such as vandalism and crime. This exacerbates the rate at which businesses migrate to activity nodes and corridors due to safety reasons,” explained the Communications Unit.
Furthermore, the Communications Unit explained that another factor that worsens the situation is human behaviour, which tends towards always wanting to associate with new things. “People will always want to associate with new development and new spaces; therefore, upcoming activity nodes and corridors will always draw people from city centres,” said the Communications Unit.
Therefore, the Communications Unit highlighted that the Newcastle Municipality has programmes in place to prevent urban degeneration within the Newcastle CBD.
“As part of the long-term vision of the Municipality (‘Vision 2035’) to become a metropolitan by 2035; the Municipality has packaged a development programme. Within the Vision 2035 Development Programme, the Municipality has identified various catalytic projects and programmes, and some are geared towards ensuring that business in the CBD is sustained. The Municipality aspires to establish a government precinct within the CBD in efforts to re-inject energy into the CBD. This is intended to bring people back to the CBD and rebrand it as an investment destination amid the economic drain currently occurring. This will comprise of a building adjacent to the Municipal Tower Building where different government departments and entities will be concentrated to create a one-stop-shop for the community.”
It should be noted that, as explained by the Communications Unit, the Municipality has prepared designs for the government precinct, and an application for funding towards its establishment has been made to the National Treasury under their Budget Facility for Infrastructure grant (BFI). The BFI grant aims to support the execution of priority infrastructure projects and programmes through a more rigorous planning, appraisal, and selection process.
To this end, the Communications Unit said this project has been shortlisted for further assessment by the National Treasury, and the success of this funding application will assist the Municipality in realising this concept. “Furthermore, pursuant to the National Development Plan and the Office of the President’s intention to maximise the use of technological revolution in streamlining and speeding up government processes to swiftly implement projects and programmes, the Municipality intends to pilot the use of the internet within the government precinct for this intention and also as a strategy to draw people back to the city centre,” said the Communications Unit.
Considering the above, the Communications Unit explained the Municipality is aware of businesses that have been established in Hutten Heights and Pioneer Park, noting that they have done so in a regulated manner.
“Where there are unauthorised activities, there are enforcement measures that are taken to resolve such issues. It is crucial to understand that the Municipality ought to manage growth and development within the city whilst ensuring that balance and integration are maintained amongst various precincts of the city to achieve maximum efficiency. Not all businesses that have been established in Hutten Heights and Pioneer Park have moved from the CBD; in some instances, their scale and market require such an area for them to function optimally,” concluded the Newcastle Municipality Communications Unit.
Wrapping up, as the Newcastle Municipality attempts to take proactive steps to revitalise the Central Business District (CBD) amidst growing decentralisation and business migration to suburban areas, what are your thoughts on the above?
Share your views in the comment section below.
Comments 1
It is a great initiative that business have moved into the suburban areas and as stated by some, it is a lot safer than being in the CBD and there is ample space compared to being in the CBD.
Every turn you take you are at risk of being robbed.
While it makes things a lot easier for residents and businesses in the surroundings areas, one has to ask, what will happen to the safety of us in the suburban areas? Eventually there is bound to be more customers/cars etc coming in and robberies start to happen.