In an exciting moment for retail and the South West, Robert Hitchins Ltd is on-site at a 180-acre mixed use development near the Cotswolds. Featuring a brand new premium fashion and retail destination and hundreds of new homes, the site marks the next step in a post-pandemic future for the UK retail sector and the area.
The site, delivered by the renowned Cheltenham-based property developer, will feature 850 much-needed new homes, a flagship Dobbies garden centre, a school, local facilities, and a 195,000 sq ft outlet village that will be known as Designer Outlet Cotswolds. The scheme will create more than 1,000 jobs in the South West of England.
Managed by European outlet giant ROS Retail Outlet Shopping in its first UK venture, Designer Outlet Cotswolds demonstrates the continued resilience of outlet destinations in the face of Covid and other challenges. With the first part of retail and leisure to open in 2022, the destination will be among the UK’s top shopping destinations, serving affluent towns such as Hereford, Worcester and Cheltenham, on the train line between Birmingham and Bristol, and benefitting from the millions of tourists that visit the Cotswolds each year.
Enthusiasm for the scheme among premium retail and fashion brands is clear, as seen by coverage of the announcement of works starting on site in titles including FashionUnited, pan-European placemaking publication ACROSS Magazine, and others across fashion, property, retail and F&B press.
