Bailey Streetscene was appointed by Bowmer and Kirkland to deliver a complete external furniture range for a new extension to Fosse Retail Park. Bowmer & Kirkland have a long history with the location having built the original shopping destination in 1989.

The development has 9 new retail units, a newly redeveloped food court with space for 16 food & drink establishments and a large car park to facilitate including electric car charging bays.

Bailey Streetscene’s knowledge and guidance was key for the project with the need for cycle parking and shelters, bespoke litter bins, bollards, seating, and a number of substantial Inspira Planter units to run along the front of the newly built retail units.

The flexible design of the Inspira Planter System played a huge role in meeting the aesthetics and environmental aspect of the scheme. The planter system can create planter beds to most sizes required.

Here at Fosse some of the planter’s span over 36 metres in length and can hold up to 64 tonnes of soil providing 103m² of planting beds for all year-round foliage to provide a biodiverse and visually attractive outcome. When combined with the green walls, insect hotels and wildflower areas form a large part of the 54,000 sq ft of greenery at the site.

The curved Inspira Form design was also utilised to surround the circular retail spaces - Inspira Form allows for more organically shaped installations creating a visually attractive and unique planter bed.

The chosen finish for the planters was Corten, a natural weathered steel that requires little or no maintenance and is fully recyclable at the end of its lifespan. Corten can be a divisive material within the construction industry, but here at Fosse it stands up well and complements the surrounding architecture alongside the Timber cladding of the buildings.

The planter beds are also dotted with integrated timber topped seating elements - some of which serve a multipurpose as storage units for power outlets and sprinkler controls.

To continue its environmental considerations, the retail park specified a considerable number of cycle parking spaces to encourage and promote travel to the area via bicycle. Bailey Streetscene’s Heron Shelter provides cover for the bikes. It is one of the most popular shelters and features a simple cantilever design with ample space beneath for manoeuvrability.

A custom Litter Bin was designed for the location using the principal design of the Ascot Litter Bin. This bin features a powder coated frame with a timber fronted door with laser cut lettering to identify its waste type. The bin units stand together in rows of 3 to divide waste up appropriately.

Deacon Cube timber benches are dotted around the park. These cubes are a fairly recent addition to our product range and are ever growing in popularity and are selected on most projects due to their durability and clean design.

The opening of the extension was unfortunately delayed in 2020 due to the Pandemic until April 2021. The 140,000 sq ft extension has expanded capacity at the shopping park by 40 percent with a £168m investment. The whole site supports more than 2,000 jobs and the new-build saw almost £2.5 million of contracts given to local suppliers.

Now home to Next’s UK flagship store, as well as TK Maxx, Clarks, The Perfume Shop, Soho Coffee, Costa Coffee, Nando’s, KFC, Greggs, EE and many more as shoppers return and the restrictions are lifted. Fosse Park is already one of the UK’s most successful shopping parks, and hopes to continue in popularity with more than 11 million visitors a year.