Bradford on Avon Town Centre Benchmarking – Results

3. Bradford on Avon Town Centre Benchmarking – Results • Area designated as Town Centre • Outline of methods used • Brief summary of the 12 key results (KPI) • Some ideas

4. Something philosophical to share:- “greater common sense" naturally emerges from our deeper wisdom

5. Town Centre businesses invited to complete the benchmarking study Ground floor businesses in designated town centre outlined by the following markers: • The Bunch of Grapes • The Grocery Basket • Our Green Room • Health and Dental Practices – Church Street • 86 Businesses invited to complete survey • 60 Fully completed and returned

6. Town Centre users and footfall survey • Interviews conducted near to four sites: • Three Gables • Red Post-box in Shambles • Masonic Hall • Allins • Footfall taken on market and non-market days close to Post Office in Shambles

7. The method used • AMT Market Town Benchmarking Toolkit • 60+ Large & Small Towns took part in 2011 • We all captured data on the same 12 KPI’s • Comparisons against SW Region, National (over 250) Small (less than 250) • Typology analysis – similar towns to BOA • Analysis of data and reports after 31st December

8. A shared endeavour • BoACAN - www.boacan.co.uk • Mike Reid and team at AMT-i (Research) • WfCAP and Volunteers • Town Council and Area Board interest • ‘Town First’ Team • Town Centre Users and Businesses

9. ‘Town First’ Team Caroline Philpott  Tillions Ruth Warren  Fetch Lee & Christine Orton   Ortons Jackie & Paul Stewart    Piha Dean Stacey    Growing Needs Debbie Harvey    Jumble Jelly Lois & Robbi Griffin    Our Green Room Georgina Knight  Olive Tree

10. KPI 1 - Total Numbers of Commercial Units

11. KPI 2 - Convenience/Comparison

12. KPI 3 - Key Attractors, Multiple Traders

13. KPI’s 4,5,6 Vacant Units, Market Days, Rents and Yields

14. KPI 8 - Footfall Counts Town

15. A comprehensive audit was taken of all car parks and street parking and whilst there were vacant spaces on both market and non-market days Bradford on Avon showed the lowest average number of vacant places at 54 and 39 respectively of the total of 315 spaces. This is an issue that requires further detailed analysis KPI 9 - Car Parking Availability and Usage

16. KPI 10 - Business Confidence Positive aspects of having a business in the town Bradford on AvonSW Small Towns Potential local customer 77% 77% Potential tourist customers 64% 48% Prosperity of the town 64% 46% Geographical location 47% 53% Mix of retail offer 32% 35% Environment 34% 26% Transport Links 30% 31%

17. KPI 10 - Business Confidence Negative aspects of having a business in the town: Bradford on Avon SW Small Towns Car parking 88% 73% Rent/property costs 29% 37% Competition from other towns 29% 30% Competition from internet 25% 26% Local competition 22% 18% Mix of retail offer 18% 23%

18. KPI 11 - Town Centre User Survey How long do you intend to stay on this visit to the town %? A B C Less than 1 hour 35 38 34 1-2 hours 46 44 43 2-4 hours 12 9 12 3-4 hours 2 3 3 4-6 hours 4 4 7 (A) Bradford on Avon (B) Small SW Towns (C) National Small

19. KPI 11 - Town Centre User Survey Bradford on Avon/SW Small Towns Male 34% 37% Female 66% 63% 45 and below 26% 31% Over 65 45% 35% Shopping 38% 44% Use of services 23% 25% Eat, drink, leisure 17% 10% Work 8% 12% On foot 54% 39%

20. KPI 11 -Town Centre User Survey What are the best aspects of the town: Bradford on Avon SW Small Towns Physical appearance 77% 31% Access to services 66% 63% Restaurants 61% 30% Near where you live 59% 61% Transport Links 51% 45% Ease of walking around 51% 65% Pubs/bars etc 39% 27% Shopping 30% 30% Leisure facilities 29% 17% Cultural activities 29% 13%

21. 51% postcode covering the town 24% postcode less than 30 minutes away 25% lived further than 30 minutes away Bradford on Avon provides a service centre for the local villages (hinterland) KPI 12 - Shoppers Origin

22. What next – some ideas Town Centre strategies and action plans to be more focussed and effective – Brand BOA – what is it? Support ‘Town First’ Team and promote ‘Town First’ Evidence base helps applications for funding/awards Exploit distinct advantages: Physical Aspects, Restaurants, Leisure and Cultural activities, Service Centre to hinterland? Collectively promote all speciality shops and services? Increase employment – Creative Bradford on Avon – Music?

23. Action for Market Towns Mike King Senior Consultant amt-i mike.king@towns.org.uk 07818 068982

24. Action for Market Towns Membership Organisation Case Studies of Good Practice National Voice of Market Towns Market Towns Awards Market Towns Academy Towns 4 Towns My Card amt-i

25. Benchmarking • Benchmarking Plus • - Signage Audits • - Surveys • - Community Consultations • - Car Parking Studies • - Marketing your Destination Training • - Retail Training • - Developing Town Centre Partnerships

26. Why AMT are in BOA In order to develop/ regenerate we need: To understand the town, how it performs and what people want………………………..- retail offering- footfall- car parking- business views-town centre users views-non town centre users views-where shoppers come from

27. How Benchmarking is used to regenerate towns Measures your town - as a one off - year on year to gauge success of initiatives Provides an evidence base - to attract funding Allows you to understand your town - important if developing projects - perceptions different from reality

28. Issues for Action Planning in BOA

29. Town Team: Who should be involved? The Team: Town Team could include key landlords, large and small shopkeepers, council representatives with specific knowledge of planning and development, the mayor or MP, other local businesses and service providers, and local residents. The Leader: The people that lead Town Teams would be these champions of the high street. They would be the high street’s charismatic voice, spearheading a clear local vision for retailing and applying professional management to our high streets.

30. Aims of the Town Team From the Portas Review Put in place a “Town Team”: a visionary, strategic and strong operational management team for high streets “The one – perhaps the only – thing everybody I have spoken to is agreed on is that for a high street to survive and grow it must have a very clear vision of where it wants to get to. And it needs co-ordinated planning and management to get there. If the high street was in single ownership, like a department store, it would have a vision, a high level strategy and direction, it would choose what it wanted in a particular space to fit with a vision and proactively target the businesses and services that were missing.” (Portas, 2011, p18)

31. Aims of the Town Team harness the local pride, knowledge and skills in order to improve the social, economic and physical well-being of the area Town Team will provide the middle ground where Local Stakeholders, Local Authorities and Local Residents can meet To provide a brand for the Town To provide an achievable vision for BOA over the next 5-10 years in the form of an Action Plan Short, Medium and Long Terms Aims will be provided The Action Plan will be grounded in the views, opinions and ideas of local residents and businesses

32. Who should be involved? In addition, armed with a shared vision of the future and shaped by the people who will use their high street, the Town Team could have the power to decide the appropriate mix of shops and services for their area. Anything which doesn’t meet the agreed plan simply wouldn’t be able to go ahead. They would know for example, that too many of one type of shop might blight the street. The feel and future of their towns will be the responsibility of all, rather than at the sole discretion of a planning executive committee. (Portas, 2011, p21)

33. Southam

34. Southam Section 106 Long winded process Benchmarking Call to Action Development of Town Team- Skill set Audit/ Walk around/ Meetings Introduction of Structure Appointment of Board

35. Southam Appointment of Leader Appointment of Sub Group Leaders Appointment of Sub Group Teams Creation of Action Plans Successes e.g. business training, Orbit, Retro Revival Failures e.g. losing leader, lack of action from certain groups

36. Amesbury Formal Amesbury Regeneration Partnership “One town one vision” Neighbourhood Plan

37. Amesbury

38. Helping Develop your Action Plan • Continued support with Benchmarking • Wider Community Consultations • Exchange Visits to learn from Good Practice • Neighbourhood Plans • Loyalty Schemes • Insurance AMT and BOA

39. Metamorphosis specialise in maximising retail sales potential; by delivering creative, yet practical high quality training and development solutions, ideas and retail concepts to independent retailers.

40. What we doWe study customers and the influences that are changing the way that they shop and we use this knowledge and insight to predict and uncover Retail Trends... • Brand Evolution • Retail Skill Enhancement • Visual Merchandising Solutions • Retail Design • Retail Vitality Projects

41. Retail vitality projectS Saving the High Street

42. Player, Winner, Gainer Model TM • Players Retailers who are least trusting of outside support. They tend to focus being on survival rather than success. In order to be successful a mind-set shift is needed to encourage them to think more commercially and look for new opportunities to improve their business. • Winners Retailers who want to stay the same size; whilst being the best that they can be. • Gainers Retailers with a clear ambition to grow and evolve

43. A new customer has emerged Why Now ?

44. Retail Vitality • Key Elements: • Retail Skills • Retail Vision & Plan • Collaboration

45. Retail Skills Did you know? Only 1/3 of all Independent Retailers in the UK have had previous retail experience.

46. Midhurst & Selsey, West Sussex Shop Front & Customer Experience Enhancement Midhurst Dorking Selsey PROJECT AIM: to provide businesses with a boost by giving them the opportunity to make the most of their shop and customer service opportunities by • upgrading the appearance of shop fronts • providing them with an opportunity to take part in a retail training programme

47. Results On average the project increased sales from between 10 – 30%; with some businesses reporting back with a 100%/54%/35%/34% increase in sales… The Midhurst Project was awarded with the overall Surrey & West Sussex Region Small Business Friendly Award

48. Dorking, SurreyCompete on the Street • PROJECT AIM: • to get retailers fit for 2012. by providing them with: • A Mystery Shop • A full Training Programme of Retail Meta-classes • An In store Follow up • Awards ceremony – to celebrate success Dorking

49. Results “The whole exercise is fantastic, I have been in the fashion industry for over 40 years and wasn’t sure how much I would get out of the Master Classes.  But I can honestly say after attending the first two, that they had absolutely cracked it. I have come away feeling like they have put bounce back into me!” Tom Coyne - Ian Munro,

50. Retail Vision & Plan “If you don’t know where you are going… any road will do”