Guildford - Traditional city centres across the UK are changing as high street shops collapse due to the tighter economic landscape. However, reimagining existing spaces, revitalising commercial assets and incorporating residential ones can prevent this decline, says a leading civil engineering expert.

City centres across the UK are struggling as consumers spend less and move online. However, this trend does not signal the end of the traditional city centre, but a turning point for struggling urban areas, says the boss of the civil engineering company Perega in an article for Construction News. Steve McSorley explains in his article that embracing the so-called circular economy is an increasing priority for planners.

The circular approach – which includes repurposing abandoned and derelict buildings in town centres – allows developers to “sustainably increase their stock” and helps councils “revitalise their neighbourhoods”, he writes. This improves the quality of life in town and city centres, encourages a revival in urban offices and retail, and promotes home ownership and affordable rental properties. 

On the one hand, repurposing requires expensive specialist services, such as decontamination. However, according to McSorley, these challenges should not deter progress. He cites the example of Middlewood Locks in Salford, where a new neighbourhood for more than 1,000 residents is under development on a brownfield site. 

McSorley believes that repurposing cities is essential for both social and commercial reasons. He says: “Redeveloping closed town-centre department stores to become mixed-use developments will almost certainly have a knock-on effect on all elements of construction, increasing both social and private housing and rejuvenating commercial areas.”