3.2. A Hierarchy Of Shopfront Works
These are three tiers of interventions that should be considered when improving a shopfront:
- Cosmetic refresh
- Repair & reinstatement
- Renewal
Nearly all shopfronts can be improved. Within a conservation area even minor improvements have a major effect on local character. This guide recommends that all shopfronts should consider the first level of improvements. If, subsequently, more is required then the option to move onto stages two or three should be considered.
1. Cosmetic refresh
A cosmetic refresh is an affordable and effective way of improving a shopfront’s appearance without needing planning permission or building regulations approval. Normally, this should be the first option you consider.
How?
- Keep signage to a minimum.
- Keep window displays simple but interesting.
- Avoid window vinyl advertising that blocks out whole windows and doors.
- Avoid unattractive wiring and ensure necessary features such as burglar alarms are sensitively located.
- Repaint stallrisers, pilasters and window frames.
2. Repair and Reinstatement
Sometimes a building that has lost its architectural details or is in a poor state of repair can be given a new lease of life through a programme of repair and reinstatement.
By showcasing how long-lived and well-integrated within the local area a building is, new tenants or potential purchasers can be assured that their building has character, will work for their brand and business, and will encourage customers who are attracted to the historic frontage.
Collectively, well conserved and maintained historic shopfronts add to an area’s ‘place appeal’ and its ability to attract pedestrians and shoppers. Restoring architectural features can also indicate that an area is ‘on the rise’. Supporting and enhancing a neighbourhood’s established character can demonstrate that a business is making a serious local commitment and is likely to ‘stick around’. By contrast, less well integrated commercial frontages can often indicate impermanence and detract from the local sense of place.
Repair and reinstatement involves limited changes to the existing shopfront, depending on the scale of modifications to the original design. regulations approval depending on the degree of change. Reusing existing features is a cost effective and environmentally friendly method of upgrading a shopfront. It is also an effective way to ensure modifications are well integrated into the existing frontage. It is important to always repair or replace on a like-for-like basis with any original shopfront details being reinstated. This is particularly important where shopfronts contribute to the character of conservation areas or are listed. The exception to this being that some changes for greater sustainability may be desirable. Technical drawings from library archives and photographic records online can help identify original shops design and details if lost. If original records cannot be found, use designs that are in-keeping with the character and detail of similar buildings and shopfronts.
How?
- Repair and reuse existing features.
- Smaller repairs, sanding, repainting, or paying a joiner to reinstate a lost detail should be less expensive than installing a whole modern shopfront. It is also more likely to meet planning requirements.
- Check online and in local library archives for authentic original shopfront designs that could be reproduced or photographic evidence of lost features.
- Select appropriate materials in coordinated colours.
- Remove or relocate roller shutters or grills inside.
- If there is a step or slope, consider ways to improve accessibility.
- Upgrade doors to be assisted opening for mobility aid users.
3. Renewal
Shopfront renewal usually involves significant, sometimes structural, changes. It will almost certainly requires planning permission and building regulations approval.
How
- Start by considering the shop’s proportions. Think about the symmetry of the overall design.
- Design windows to balance the shopfront. Windows on a single shopfront should all be the same in design.
- If there is not separate access to the upper storeys of the building, consider if it is possible to create new access at street level without compromising the appearance of the shopfront. This will increase the useability and value of the building as a whole. Reinstating residential use above and reducing the shopfloor size can significantly reduce the rates payable for a shop premises.
- Select appropriate materials and colours. This is particularly important in conservation areas. Where appropriate bright colours can be used, but saturated colours may be overly garish. A consistent colour palette should normally be used with a limited number of
coordinated colours. - Ensure fascias are proportionate to the rest of the shopfront, where possible using the proportions of historic shopfronts as a guide.
- Ensure projecting and hanging signs are appropriately located and sized not protruding more than 750mm from wall to sign edge. There should be no less than 3m in height from the ground to the top edge of the sign. The dimensions of the sign should not exceed 750mm by 750mm.
- Avoid using bulky internally illuminated box signs. Externally illuminated signs and hanging boards may be more acceptable, although wiring and lamps will need to be carefully located. Halo illuminated individual letters may also be more acceptable. The latter could, for example, reflect the signage used for some inns and ‘warehouses’ (actually just larger shops) in Ryde and Newport in the late nineteenth century.
- Design the doorway and inside of the shop to ensure access for all including wheelchair users and prams and to be easily identified as the entrance for users with visual impairments. Using a slight recess to the doorway can help to make it’s location more evident and help to accommodate a ramp in the entrance if needed.
- Ensure canopies and awnings suit the character and period of the building. However, any brackets need to be sufficiently visible and at a height that they will not impede pedestrians.
- Keep shop windows visible at night, preferably by using security glass windows and window displays illuminated by low level LED lighting.
