Rethinking Southampton and town centre futures

Purpose Designed to update research work carried out in the early 2000s on the development and impacts of Southampton's West Quay retail development on the urban milieu of the city. Design/methodology/approach Summarises the findings of detailed research work carried out at West Quay over a five year period. Findings Suggests that developments that have taken place at West Quay have been overwhelmingly positive for the city and that, as such, the Southampton example supports the case for retail‐led urban regeneration. Practical implications Southampton's position – as one of the first cities in the UK to embark on a city centre retail‐led regeneration scheme – finds it extremely well‐placed to provide important lessons to other local authorities currently in the process of developing large‐scale retail developments in their city centres. Originality/value This paper updates a detailed study of the history and development of the West Quay retail scheme in the city of Southampton. It seeks to draw a series of wider conclusions from the case and is offered in the spirit of generating debate on this issue.