COMMENT Imagine… It’s a cold winter night. You’re coming home late. You’re tired, you’re hungry and you know your fridge is empty. Thankfully, the ground floor of the old John Lewis building in which you live has vending machines selling fruit and veg produced in the vertical farms on the third and fourth floors. This is what could prove to be a very practical reinvention of the struggling icons of the high street: department stores.
Last week, John Lewis announced the closure of eight more stores. This was in addition to 124 Debenhams stores that will disappear from our town centres.
There was a time when department stores were the height of sophistication – places to shop, socialise and dine. But as we shifted to online shopping, their demise became predictable. Their offer was so specific that it prevented them from evolving in a way that suited modern consumers. And Covid proved fatal. So what to do with those empty giants?
Winds of change
Owners and investors will be tempted to turn to residential developments, but is this the right long-term solution? Of course, that’s where the highest immediate commercial value is to be found, but it would be foolish to ignore the growing social concerns of consumers.
People want their high street revitalised. They want to be part of lively communities, and to take care of the environment. Investors are seeing this and are themselves increasingly concerned with ethical, sustainable investment. You only need to look at the number of companies announcing new policies to safeguard the environment to understand that the winds of change are well and truly here.
At Hydrock we’ve been giving this some thought, and we’ve been drawing on our cross-sector experience, from retail and energy to residential and logistics, to come up with a model that could truly revolutionise the British high street.
Our vision benefits all involved, from the developers to the occupiers, while giving social value centre stage and optimising the space to generate revenue from unexpected sources.
It starts in the basement, configured as a last-mile delivery hub, generating revenue through consumer deliveries, while space will be kept for logistics linked to the farming activity on the upper floors.
On the ground floor we’ll find interactive space where people of all ages will be able to get familiar with the farming tech used upstairs, as well as sample the goods through a couple of food outlets. This is potentially a serious earner, which could include a ticketed attraction and fine dining options.
Upstairs, students and scientists will be able to develop their understanding of indoor farming techniques and put it into practice before sending it up to the third and fourth floors, where the actual growing takes place. There, thanks to technology, we will be able to recreate the perfect conditions for healthy, nutritious fruit and veg.
Finally, another three or four floors of residential spaces will allow for immediate return on investment, while the roof will be used for community spaces, with interesting initiatives such as urban beekeeping already quite commonplace.
Pragmatic solution
Vertical farming isn’t just a whim. Conversations around food supply are becoming increasingly regular, and this model would give the local community access to food, as well as bringing homes, skills and job opportunities to town centres across the UK, and in a sustainable way.
As well as reducing food miles, the usually large footprint of department stores means we could fit many solar panels, generating extra energy which could be stored in batteries and either used at a later time or sold, generating additional revenue. Rain could also be harvested, leading to what could effectively be a carbon-neutral farm.
Most importantly of all, it is all possible. This vision isn’t a pipe dream. It’s a pragmatic solution to some very real problems. Now all we need is people brave enough to invest in it.
Chris Bowie-Hill is director of innovation delivery at Hydrock
