Newbury shoppers, where have they gone? Options

[Cognosco]

That ball lies with SLI. Pension funds own most of the shopping centres in the UK. I'd imagine they generally know what they are doing and that they don't invest millions on a whim.

Yes especially when the land to build it cost them the the exorbitant investment of a whole £1? Even if it fails and the whole lot is demolished they are not going to be out of pocket are they?

[Penelope]

Yes especially when the land to build it cost them the the exorbitant investment of a whole £1? Even if it fails and the whole lot is demolished they are not going to be out of pocket are they?

Perhaps even sell it on to a housing developer.

[dannyboy]

Yes especially when the land to build it cost them the the exorbitant investment of a whole £1? Even if it fails and the whole lot is demolished they are not going to be out of pocket are they?

Jeez Costco, I think you might be right.

[Andy Capp]

Here's the link to the PDF and other documents.

Town Centre Performance Indicators

[GMR]

What, like Superman?

That was the Daily Globe.

[GMR]

You find the town centre boring but say people will go to Newbury retail park?!?!

Only because it is easier to park outside the shops and they are all close together and free parking. To Park in Newbury you have to pay; granted you have to pay in Reading and Basingstoke etc but they offer more.

[Penelope]

That was the Daily Globe.

Daily Planet.

[GMR]

Daily Planet.

Yeah, I knew it was one of them. Maybe I should of checked (as well) on the Internet

[dannyboy]

Only because it is easier to park outside the shops and they are all close together and free parking. To Park in Newbury you have to pay; granted you have to pay in Reading and Basingstoke etc but they offer more.

I can park for free outside Scats, but that isn't a reason for me to go there often.

[blackdog]

Yes especially when the land to build it cost them the the exorbitant investment of a whole £1? Even if it fails and the whole lot is demolished they are not going to be out of pocket are they?

Just the £100 million or so they spent building the place.

[John C]

Just the £100 million or so they spent building the place.

But how many apartments did they build and sell for that.

[Andy Capp]

But how many apartments did they build and sell for that.

I doubt it was a hundred at a million each. I think they're asking about £330k for the best ones and there are about 147 in total, varying in size and price.

[Bartholomew]

Here's the link to the PDF and other documents.

Town Centre Performance Indicators

These statistics show that Parkway hasn't really had a significant impact on the change in percentage footfall. Nearly a third of footfall is in Northbrook Street. The Kennet Centre still accounts for about 15% and Parkway about 8.5%.
What I can't really understand is why the count doesn't include the entrance/exit to the parking (unless I've misunderstood where the count took place). This may skew the figures slightly.

So looking at this, the total footfall counted is slightly more than it was in 2009 but the the number of retail stores has increased. I suppose that taking into account the recession its probably better than it could be. Does it mean that the 8.5% attracted in Parkway wouldn't have been in Newbury if the Centre wasn't there? Difficult to tell.

The thing that is really missing in these statistics is what the spending patterns are. Footfall doesn't relate directly to customers.

I also wonder what the figures are for the Retail Park. The comparison with Newbury would be very interesting. This clearly has had an impact on the town centre.

[dannyboy]

I don't think you can count figures for one bit of town over another. Are you suggesting that people who are counted in the KC only wander around there & no-where else? Newbury is a small place & even fro mthe Broadway to the Railway Station is only about a mile.

I'd be very surprised if people only went to one area on a shopping visit to town ( ie not including lunch time trips to the post office or bank etc ).

[Sherlock]

Isn't the Business Improvement District team supposed to be mostly about increasing the numbers of people visiting the town centre? What are they doing to ensure that happens? Seems to have gone rather quiet after all the publicity related to the vote.

[Cognosco]

Isn't the Business Improvement District team supposed to be mostly about increasing the numbers of people visiting the town centre? What are they doing to ensure that happens? Seems to have gone rather quiet after all the publicity related to the vote.

I think it may have something to do with the bottom line? They may have to resort to using taxpayers money but are not too keen on making that public at the moment?

[dannyboy]

I think it may have something to do with the bottom line? They may have to resort to using taxpayers money but are not too keen on making that public at the moment?

Impossible. The whole idea of a BID is to stop using taxpayers money - as with the Xmas lights.

[Cognosco]

Impossible. The whole idea of a BID is to stop using taxpayers money - as with the Xmas lights.

Remember you heard it here first! This is Newbury don't forget!

[blackdog]

Impossible. The whole idea of a BID is to stop using taxpayers money - as with the Xmas lights.

Not strictly true as the BID is funded from taxes. However, as the tax in this instance is ony paid by businesses in the BID area (as a surcharge on their rates) the number of taxpayers is limited to those most likely to benefit financially from the BID's activities.

[John C]

Not strictly true as the BID is funded from taxes. However, as the tax in this instance is ony paid by businesses in the BID area (as a surcharge on their rates) the number of taxpayers is limited to those most likely to benefit financially from the BID's activities.

I thought WBC were also part of BID so taxpayers money is involved