WORKSHEET EC5: RETAIL AND TOWN CENTRE SERVICES
TASK: to discover the key facts about the retail and town centre services available and consider how well they meet people's needs
1: Introduction to the task
The economic and social health of the majority of Market Towns most often shows in the health and vibrancy of its high street and other retail and consumer services. Retail is the largest single employing sector in rural areas.
(There may not be reliable information on size of shops or their turnover. Advice on retail turnover surveys is given in Data Sources and Survey Methods.)
2: Getting the following information will help you assess what range of shops and services are available locally and give some idea of possible future trends.
Sub-section 1: Retail shops and services
EC5 Q1
Look at the businesses in the town
a. What proportion are retail, and how many people do they employ?
b. What proportion provide consumer services, and how many people do they employ?
(Worksheets S1 Q4 also refers to employment. Worksheets S7; T2 Q12; T3 Q16 also refer to the retail and service sector)
Starting points for information
Chamber of Trade or Commerce
The district council (if they have undertaken a retail study)
GOAD Experian town centre surveys or your own local surveys
Q1 NOTES: Jones, Lang Lasalle conducted a shopping survey of the Town Centre in 2002. This survey is based on the latest census but should be brought up to date by a professional team. It did not set out to answer questions in this Worksheet, but to assess the health of the town centre, but looking at the competitive environment, and comparing Yateley with other similar towns. Significant changes have taken place since 2002 eg closure of the Post Office in the Parade, the purchase of the Texaco station by Somerfield, CEMEX have taken over RMC. The ratio of numbers of premises, retail:consumer services, can be calculated in 2002. Because the 2002 survey does not enumerate employment, this should be added to the scope of the revised survey.
EC5 Q2
How many shops in total are there?
a. What is the total floorspace
b. in the town centre
c. in out-of-town centres
d. in the villages?
(Worksheets S7; T2 Q12; T3 Q16 also refer to the retail and service sector)
Starting points for information
Chamber of Trade or Commerce
The district council (if they have undertaken a retail study)
GOAD Experian town centre surveys or your own local surveys
Q2 NOTES: The Jones Lang Lasalle survey did not calculate floorspace. The latest publically available figure from March 1989 (Hart District Local Plan, 1st Alteration). Yateley and Blackwater are given as retail 10,000 and allied uses 10,500. 'Allied uses' is defined as businesses requiring, and appropriate to, a shopping centre location. The numbers are derived from a Hart survey dated Oct 1980, so are now over 25 year old. Despite that there has been little change to floorspace in Yateley Town Centre, the major change being the building of the new Tesco Express
EC5 Q3
a. What type of shops and services are there in the town centre and surrounding villages?
b. List them by numbers and percentages of each type. An example might be: Banks, 6, 12%
Other shops and services may include chemists/pharmacies; butchers; charities, antique shops; clothes stores; shoe shops; bakers; grocers; supermarkets; hardware stores; general stores; solicitors; accountants; garages; pubs; cafés; dentists; doctors/medical/care - and so on; add to the list as appropriate. Identify any particular shops and services that attract visitors and shoppers from outside the town. Include any shops and services which have branches in other areas or towns.
Starting points for information
Chamber of Trade or Commerce
The district council (if they have undertaken a retail study)
GOAD Experian town centre surveys or your own local surveys
Q3 NOTES: This question can be answered for the Town Centre from Appendix 2 of the Jones Lang Lasalle survey published in June 2002. Comparison with an up-to-date survey would reveal recent changes. This study set out to identify shops and services which attracted visitors from outside the town, highlighting Yateley Angling Centre.
The 2002 survey emphasises the severe retail competition from surrounding major centres. The Blackwater Shopping Study in the late 1980s set out a strategy to improve the retail offer in the Blackwater Valley. Yateley's Town Centre was seen as a 'local centre' with a convenience role.
Yateley has several 'neighbourhood' parades of the style fashionable in the 1960 and early 1970s. Studies as early as the late 1970s predicted the demise of their original role. However one of these local parades has been given a new life by consolidation of units by the Co-op convenience store at Elizabeth Parade, Tudor Drive. Aylesham Way continues to prosper as a collection of specialist retailers, the supermarket now being a restaurant. A second new Tesco Express has opened in Darby Green. The parade at Bell Lane, Frogmore has been criticised.
EC5 Q4
How many charity shops are there? (Charity shops pay lower rates and rentals.)
(Worksheets S6 Q6; S7 Q5 also refer to the voluntary sector)
Q4 ANSWER: There is only one charity shop in Yateley. DISCOVERIES is run by St Peter's Church in premises owned by them. The shop employs 40 people on a part time (voluntary?) basis of 4 hour shifts.
EC5 Q5
Has retail floorspace in the town centre been lost in the last five years? If so, by how much?
Look at historical data on retail and commercial floorspace in the town centre and compare it with any out-of-town developments.
Starting points for information
District Council: look at their Retail Capacity Studies and Retail Impact Assessments of specific developments
Q5 ANSWER: It appears that retail floorspace has increased in the last five years. This will be revealed by the revision to the Jones Lang Lasalle study. Nevertheless the is a constant turnover of retail businesses, and usually some shops vacant (see EC5 Q7).
EC5 Q6
Retailers register their interest for additional floorspace. What are the anticipated retail floorspace requirements in the future based on this?
Starting points for information
Property Intelligence plc
From local property agents
Q6 ANSWER: The Jones Lang
LaSalle study identified specific retailers and services looking for premises in Yateley in 2002. This list will undoubtedly have changed. The sudy also reports interviews with retailers who might have been interested in Yateley. The general comment was that Yateley's catchment was considered to be too small.
EC5 Q7
How many shops are vacant in the town centre and how many have been vacant for more than two years?
If there seem to be a large number compared with the regional and national vacancy rates, find out why the vacant shops are not being reopened.
Starting points for information
GOAD Experian town centre surveys
District Council's Retail Capacity Study
your own local surveys
Q7 ANSWER: At present (Mar 2006) there are two premises vacant in the Town Centre. The shop in the Parade previously occupied by Movie Express is vacant. In Rosebank Parade the premises previously occupied by Yateley Travel Ltd is vacant. From Companies House records is appears that this company has relocated to Farnham. The Off Licence previously Unwins was closed for a while but now is 'under new management'.
EC5 Q8
a. How many new shops in the centre have opened in the last three years?
b. How many shops have had major refits in the last three years?
Starting points for information
GOAD Experian town centre surveys
District Council's Retail Capacity Study
your own local surveys
Q8 ANSWER: The only new floorspace created in the Town Centre in recent years is the new Tesco Express on the site of the Esso station. We are not aware of any shops which have had major refits since the Jones Lang
LaSalle study in June 2002. Some premises have changed hands since the Jones Lang Lasalle study.
Sub Section 2: Markets
EC5 Q9
Do the town and surrounding countryside have markets? If so
a. What kind (eg, provision markets, livestock markets, farm shops, farmers' markets, WI markets)?
b. How many?
c. How often?
d. What size?
e. How many of these sell local produce?
f. Which local producers are not represented in local markets?
(Worksheets EN2 Q12,13; EN3 Q5 also refer to the land-based industries)
Starting points for information
National Federation of Market Traders
Association of Town Centre Managers
National Farmers’ Retail and Markets Association (FARMA)
British Association of Market Authorities
Q9 ANSWER:
Yateley is not a market town in the convention meaning of the phrase but the largest Sunday market in the country has been established within the Civil Parish of Yateley for many years. The correct postal address of Blackbushe Sunday Market is Blackbushe Airport, Blackwater, Camberley, Surrey GU17 9LG. Neverthless the market's location is in the south-west corner of Yateley parish in Hampshire. The operator is British Car Auctions. The market attracts in excess of 20,000 visitors each Sunday from 8am to 2pm. There are 10,000 parking spaces. The market site is the size of 20 football pitches with 1,000 stalls. of 8ftx12ft. Entry price is 50p for two visitors, valid for subsequent entry in the same calendar month. The market sells a very wide range of goods: CDs, tapes and music, perfumes, watches, games & consoles, fashion wear, garden equipment and furniture, household goods, home furnishings, carpets & rugs, toys and power tools. The market does also sell perishables such as fruit and vegetables although it is not known whether these are local produce.
A WI market also operates in Yateley. Called the Yateley Country Market it operates each Friday alternately from two locations: at the Monteagle Community Centre in Waitrose car park from 10:00 to 11:30 and from the WI Hall behind the new Tesco Express from 10:00 to 11:00. A wide range of home-produced produce is on sale including baked products, james, honeys, and preserves, free range eggs, plants, and attractive gifts and cards. Orders are taken for special cakes, sandwiches and floral decorations for weddings and parties. A diiferent craft is demonstrated each month. Tea and coffee is available at each market location.
EC5 Q10
a. How often is the general market held?
b. How have the number and type of traders and stalls changed over the last three years?
Starting points for information
The market operator (often from the District Council or from the National Association of British Market Authorities)
Q10 ANSWER: See answer to Q10 for frequency and times (in each case the market is weekly). At Blackbushe Sunday Market there are many regular stallholders but pitchers, demmers and casuals are allowed.
EC5 Q11
What are the potential threats to the local provision and/or livestock market?
Look at historic data on number of stalls, turnover levels, throughput, how many people they employed, etc. This will help you to assess any vulnerability to closure
(Worksheets EN2 Q12,13; EN3 Q5 also refer to the land-based industries)
Starting points for information
The National Farmers Union,
District Council
The Market owners and operators.
Q11 ANSWER: There is no livestock market in Yateley, which is not a market town in the traditional sense of being the focus of a rural economy. Yateley is a "market town" in the sense that it has a population of about 20,000, acts as a focus for education, some state health and legal provision, certain leisure pursuits, has an airport and is the home of the largest Sunday Market in the country.
It seems very unlikely there are any econmic threats to the Sunday Market. The only threat is that it operates a macadamed area on registered common land having common rights over it which the commoners would consider illegal. If the market were to close it is not known how many local people would we at risk since it appears that most stall-holders are not local.
EC5 Q12
How far away is the nearest abattoir or meat cutting plant
(Worksheets EN2 Q12,13; EN3 Q5 also refer to the land-based industries)
Starting points for information
Defra
Q12 ANSWER: It is not known where our nearest abattoir is located. Of the 124 o the businesses on the 118.com website classified as abattoirs only 2 appear to be in the South East Region: one in Canterbury and the other in Buckingham. Probably abattoirs in Wiltshire are closer. Beef cattle are fattened on fields in Yateley. Currently the Urnfield site is used in this way. Cattle are used to graze the Castle Bottom Natural Nature Reserve. The relevance of this question is not clear.
Sub-Section 3: Looking to the future
EC5 Q13
Are local retailers confident about future trading and the town’s role as a shopping destination?
Find out whether local retailers plan to expand or move to new premises, or if they are concerned about particular constraints on future business. If they have concerns, what are they?
(Worksheets S7; T2 Q12; T3 Q16 also refer to the retail and service sector)
Starting points for information
Any survey of local shops and services
Q13 ANSWER: The Jones Lang
LaSalle study conducted perception interviews with local retailers. The concensus was that Yateley was sustainable as a local centre serving the convenience market. There have been attempts to establish comparison shopping in Yateley, eg electircal goods, but these stores have not survived
EC5 Q14
Are rents for retail premises stable or increasing?
Look at rents over the last three years and compare them over time with competing centres.
Starting points for information
The Valuation Office
The District Council
Through local property agents
EC5 Q15
In which brochures or other publicity material is the town centre actively promoted as a shopping destination?
Starting points for information
The Tourist Information Offices for your town and nearby/other county towns
Local/nearby hotels
The Internet
Q15 ANSWER: The Tourist Office covering Yateley is in Fleet and does not promote shopping in Yateley. One county magazine, Hampshire Life, did a feature on Christmas Shopping but did not mention Yateley since there are no special promotions by retailers or the community. Yateley Fishing Centre has an extensive website serving their speciality.
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