Measuring the Performance of Town Centres

Market Town Benchmarking

Measuring the performance of town centres

Royal Wootton Bassett 2012 Report July 2012 ______

2 AMT Town Benchmarking Report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Retail

 Mirroring the national trend the majority of the commercial units in Royal Wootton Bassett Town Centre are ‘Independent (63%) ‘A1 Shops’ (50%) selling ‘Comparison’ goods. (68%)  Vacancy rates in Royal Wootton Bassett (6%) are lower than the National Small Towns average. (9%)  69% of Town Centre Users rated the ‘variety of shops’ as either ‘good’ (61%) or ‘very good’ (8%), a figure much higher than the National Small Towns (49%) and Regional (46%) figures. Similarly, 52% of Town Centre Users rated ‘shopping’ as a positive aspect of Royal Wootton Bassett in comparison to the National Small Towns average of 31%.  52% of the Town Centre Users reported that they visit Royal Wootton Bassett for ‘convenience shopping’, which is higher than the National Small Towns Average (42%). Historically on the Benchmarking System, it is those towns with a strong and balanced retail offering that attract high levels of ‘comparison’ shoppers.  Town Centre Users were provided with an open ended question to make suggestions for the improvement of Royal Wootton Bassett Town Centre and the main themes to emerge revolved around the need to ‘reduce the number of charity shops’ and ‘Improving the town centre offering’.

Footfall

 Outside the Bet Fred shop on the High Street recorded the highest average footfall count.  The footfall figures for Royal Wootton Bassett on a Non Market Day (100) are considerably higher than the South West Small Towns (39) and slightly higher than the National Small Towns figures (83). On a Market Day footfall increases to 133 persons per 10 minutes which is over double that of the South West Small Towns figure and higher than the National Small Towns figure of 115.

Market  The number of market traders within Royal Wootton Bassett (9) is considerably lower than the National Small Towns (23.)  The market has little impact on car parking occupancy, rising 7% from a Non Market Day to a Market Day.

Car Parking

 Car Parking vacancy rates are relatively high in Royal Wootton Bassett. On a Market Day, 35% of the overall car parking provision is vacant, higher than the National Small Towns figure of 19%, South West Small Towns figure of 23% and Typology 8 Towns figure of 18%. Overall, vacancy rates increase slightly on a Non Market Day to

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3 AMT Town Benchmarking Report 42%, which similarly is higher than the National Small Towns (37%), South West Small Towns (26%) and Typology 8 Towns (29%) figures.

Business Confidence

 The majority of Businesses (56%) who responded to the survey had been based in Royal Wootton Bassett for ‘more than ten years’ which replicated the Regional (50%), National (53%) and Typology (56%) trends.  Over half (52%) of respondents reported that their turnover had ‘decreased’ over the last 12 months, higher than the Regional (44%), National (43%) and Typology (39%) figures.  74% of respondents predicted that over the next 12 months their turnover to ‘increase’ (38%) or ‘stay the same’ (36%).  Mirroring the Regional, National and Typology patterns, businesses in Royal Wootton Bassett rated ‘potential local customers’ (85%) as the most positive aspect of operating in the Town Centre.  ‘Car parking’ (57%) was the most popular choice by Businesses when asked to rate the negative aspects of the Town Centre.  Changing ‘car parking’ provision/ fees and ‘reducing business rates’ were the key themes to emerge when business were asked to make suggestions to improve Royal Wootton Bassett.

Town Centre Users

 An impressive 94% of Town Centre Users rated the ‘physical appearance’ of the town centre as ‘good’ (76%) or ‘very good’ (18%), 10% higher than the National Small Towns average, 33% higher than the South West Small Towns figure and 4% higher than the Typology 8 towns figure. Augmenting this data, when asked to rate the most positive aspects of the town centre, 56% stated ‘physical appearance’, a figure much higher than the South West Small Towns (31%), National Small Towns (30%) and Typology 8 Towns (28%) figures. 89% also rated the ‘cleanliness’ of Royal Wootton Bassett Town Centre as either ‘good’ (69%) or ‘very good’ (20%), 6% higher than the National Small Towns figure.  72% rated ‘access to services’ e.g. Banks, Post Office, Library, 71% rated the ‘ease of walking around the town centre’ and 60% ‘convenience’ as positive aspects of Royal Wootton Bassett town centre. These top three choices mirrored the National Small Towns pattern.  The majority (81%) of respondents visited Royal Wootton Bassett Town Centre ‘once a week or more’ which is very similar to the South West Small Towns (84%), National Small Towns (85%) and Typology 8 Towns figures. (86%)  92% of respondents recorded that they normally spend over £10.01 on a visit to Royal Wootton Bassett Town Centre.  Town Centre Users want to see a ‘reduction in the number of charity shops,’ ‘an improvement the town centre offering, ‘car parking issues resolved’, ‘improved

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4 AMT Town Benchmarking Report leisure facilities’ noticeably a swimming pool and leisure centre and ‘general physical improvements’.  Town Centre Users only stayed in Royal Wootton Bassett for a relatively short stay, 83% indicated that they visited the town for ‘less than two hours’.  52% of Town Centre Users reported that the ‘leisure and cultural’ activities were either ‘poor’ (45%) or ‘very poor’ (7%), which is higher than the South West Small Towns (49%), National Small Towns (47%) and Typology 8 Towns (29%) figures.

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5 AMT Town Benchmarking Report CONTENTS PAGE

Page Number INTRODUCTION 5 METHODOLOGY 7 KEY FINDINGS 8 KPI 1: Total Number of Commercial Units 8 KPI 2: Retail by Comparison / Convenience 11 KPI 3: Key attractors / multiple trader representation 13 KPI 4: Number of vacant units 14 KPI 5: Number of markets / traders 15 KPI 6: Zone A Retail Rents 16 KPI 7: Footfall Counts 17 KPI 8: Car Parking Availability and Usage 19 KPI 9: Business Confidence Survey 22 KPI 10: Town Centre Users Survey 29 KPI 11: Shoppers Origin Survey 41 APPENDIX 42

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6 AMT Town Benchmarking Report INTRODUCTION

The Approach

AMT Town Benchmarking has been developed to address the real issues of how to understand measure, evaluate and ultimately improve town centres. The approach offers a simple way of capturing data on Key Performance Indicators selected by those involved in town centre management. By having the tools to measure performance, strategic decision making is both encouraged and improved. By considering performance, forward strategies and action planning can be more focused and effective.

AMT Town Benchmarking licenses allow users to collect data on the Key Performance Indicators from 1st January to 31st December in a systematic manner. All license holders are provided with a Town Benchmarking Handbook and associated data collection sheets to ensure standardization. Once the data has been collected it is sent to amt-i, the research division of national membership organization and registered charity Action for Market towns for analysis and report production.

The System

The Benchmarking system is divided into two sections:

 Large Towns; consisting of those localities with more than 250 commercial units  Small Towns; consisting of those localities with less than 250 commercial units

Towns, depending on their size, contribute to either the Large or Small Town analysis. Royal Wootton Bassett with 140 units is classed as a ‘Small Town’.

The analysis provides data on each KPI for the Benchmarked town individually and in a regional and national context.

 Regional figures are an amalgamation of the data for all the towns in a specific region and broken down into Large and Small Town categories. The Large Town category in the East of England refers to Trowbridge, whilst the Small Town category refers to Amesbury, Bradford on Avon and Warminster.  The National figure is the average for all the towns which participated in Benchmarking during 2011 and is broken down into Large and Small Town categories.  The Typology analysis refers to the data for the individual town against all of the other towns who have been classified in the same typology by the Rural Evidence Research Centre at Birkbeck College. Royal Wootton Bassett is classed in Typology 1 and Disley and Alsager in Cheshire East were the Typology 1 towns in the 2011 system.

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7 AMT Town Benchmarking Report Information on towns contributing to Benchmarking in 2011, whether they are part of the Large or Small Town cohort, Region and Typology can be found within the Appendix.

The Reports

The Annual AMT Town Benchmarking report provides statistical analysis of each of the KPI’s. Individual towns are encouraged to add their own commentary to the analysis, noting specific patterns or trends and using local knowledge to provide specific explanations.

The reports are used by a variety of key stakeholders such as local authorities, town and parish councils, local partnerships and universities to;

 Benchmark clusters of towns to ascertain high performers / under achievers  complete PPS4, Planning for Sustainable Economic Growth, which requires the continued monitoring of the vitality and viability of centres in Policy EC9  understand their locality in a regional and national context  measure town centre performance year on year  identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement  measure the impact of initiatives and developments within the town centre  act as an evidence base for funding applications

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8 AMT Town Benchmarking Report METHODOLOGY

Each KPI was collected in a standardized manner as highlighted in the Table below.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR DATA COLLECTION METHODOLOGY KPI 1: Total number of commercial units Visual Survey KPI 2: Retail by Comparison/Convenience Visual Survey KPI 3:Key attractors / multiple trader Visual Survey representation KPI 4: Number of vacant units Visual Survey KPI 5: Number of markets / traders Visual Survey KPI 6: Zone A Rents Commercial Letting Agents KPI 7: Footfall Footfall Survey on Market and Non Market Days KPI 8: Car Parking Availability and Usage Footfall Survey on Market and Non Market Days KPI 9: Business Confidence Survey Postal Survey/ Hand Delivered/ Face to Face/ On Line KPI 10: Town Centre Users Survey On Line and Face to Face Survey KPI 11: Shoppers Origin Survey Shoppers Origin Postcode

Before any KPI data was collected the core commercial area of the town centre was defined. The town centre area thus includes the core shopping streets and car parks attached or adjacent to these streets. A list of all the units and car parks included in the Benchmarking analysis is available in the Appendix.

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9 AMT Town Benchmarking Report KEY FINDINGS

KPI 1: Total Number of Commercial Units

It is important to understand the scale and variety of the “commercial offer” throughout the town. A variety of shops and a wide range of services in a town are important to its ability to remain competitive and continue to attract customers. Sustaining a balance between the different aspects of buying and selling goods and services ensures that the local population (and visitors from outside) can spend time and money there, keeping the generated wealth of the town within the local economy. Importantly, it forms the employment base for a substantial proportion of the community too, helping to retain the population rather than lose it to nearby towns and cities.

The following table provides a detailed breakdown of each of the Use Classes.

Table of Use Classes

Class Type of Use Class Includes: Shops, retail warehouses, hairdressers, travel and ticket agencies, post offices (but not sorting offices), A1 Shops pet shops, sandwich bars, showrooms, domestic hire shops, dry cleaners, funeral directors and internet cafes Financial services such as banks and building societies, Financial and professional professional services (other than health and medical A2 services services) including estate and employment agencies and betting offices Food and drink for consumption on the premises- A3 Restaurants and Cafés restaurants, snack bars and cafes Public houses, wine bars or other drinking A4 Drinking establishments establishments (but not nightclubs) A5 Hot food takeaways Sale of hot food for consumption off the premises Theatres, hostels providing no significant element of care, scrap yards. Petrol filling stations and shops selling and/ or displaying motor vehicles. Retail Sui Generis SG warehouse clubs, nightclubs, laundrettes, taxi ("unique" establishments) business, amusement centres, casinos, haulage yards, transport depots, veterinary clinics, dog parlours, tanning and beauty salons and tattoo studios. Offices (other than those that fall within A2) research B1 Business and development of products and processes, light industry appropriate in a residential area B2 General Industrial Use for industrial process other than one falling within class B1 (excluding incineration purposes, chemical ______

10 AMT Town Benchmarking Report treatment or landfill or hazardous waste) B8 Storage and Distribution Warehouses, includes open air storage Hotels, boarding and guest houses where no C1 Hotels significant element of care is provided (excludes hostels) Residential care homes, hospitals, nursing homes, C2 Residential Institutions boarding schools, residential colleges and training centres. Use for a provision of secure residential accommodation, including use as a prison, young Secure Residential offenders institution, detention centre, secure training C2A Institution centre, custody centre, short term holding centre, secure hospital, secure local authority accommodation or use as a military barracks. Clinics, health centres, crèches, day centres, schools, art galleries (other than for sale or hire), museums, D1 Non residential institutions libraries, halls, places of worship, church halls, law court. Non residential education and training centres. Cinemas, music and concert halls, bingo and dance halls (but not nightclubs), swimming baths, skating D2 Assembly and leisure rinks, gymnasiums or area for indoor or outdoor sports and recreations (except for motor sports, or where firearms are used).

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11 AMT Town Benchmarking Report The following table provides a detailed analysis of the commercial offering in the town centre by Use Class. The figures are presented as a percentage of the 131 units recorded as being ‘in use’.

South South Royal National National West West Typology Wootton Large Small Large Small 8 % Bassett % Towns % Towns % Towns % Towns

A1 50 46 55 53 53 56

A2 14 24 14 15 14 14

A3 8 7 8 9 8 9

A4 8 1 3 3 4 4

A5 4 4 6 4 5 4

B1 4 2 1 4 3 3

B2 2 2 0 1 0 0

B8 0 0 0 0 0 0

C1 0 1 1 0 0 0

C2 1 6 0 0 0 0

C2A 0 1 0 0 1 0

D1 8 3 6 5 6 5

D2 0 1 1 1 1 0

SG 3 2 3 4 5 5

Not 0 0 0 0 0 0 Recorded

Reflecting the national picture, the majority of the units in Royal Wotton Bassett (50%) fall under the A1 Shops category, which is higher than the National Small Towns Average of 53%. 14% of the units are A2. (Financial services such as banks and building societies, professional services (other than health and medical services) including estate and employment agencies and betting offices) ______

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12 AMT Town Benchmarking Report KPI 2: Retail by Comparison / Convenience

A1 Retail units selling goods can be split into two different types Comparison and Convenience.

Convenience goods – low-cost, everyday items that consumers are unlikely to travel far to purchase. Defined as;

 food and non-alcoholic drinks  tobacco  alcohol  newspapers and magazines  non-durable household goods.

2. Comparison goods – all other retail goods.

 Books  Clothing and Footwear  Furniture, floor coverings and household textiles  Audio-visual equipment and other durable goods  Hardware and DIY supplies  Chemists goods  Jewellery, watches and clocks  Bicycles  Recreational and Miscellaneous goods  Hairdressing

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13 AMT Town Benchmarking Report South South Royal National National West West Typology Wootton Large Small Large Small 8 % Bassett % Towns % Towns % Towns % Towns %

Comparison 68 n/a 53 72 60 67

Convenience 32 n/a 47 28 40 34

The presence of a variety of shops in a town centre is important to its ability to remain competitive and continue to attract customers. A balance of both comparison and convenience retail units is therefore ideal in terms of encouraging visitors / potential customers. Traditionally a two thirds comparison one thirds convenience A1 retail offering has been the benchmark of a ‘healthy’ town centre and as the data reflects Royal Wootton Bassett offers this with 68% ‘Comparison’ which is higher than the South West Small Towns (53%), National Small Towns (60%) and Typology 8 (34%) figures.

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14 AMT Town Benchmarking Report KPI 3: Key attractors / multiple trader representation

The vitality of a town centre depends highly on the quality and variety of retailers represented. National retail businesses are considered key attractors and are particularly important in terms of attracting visitors and shoppers to a town. However, the character and profile of a town often also depends on the variety and mix of independent shops that can give a town a “unique selling point” and help distinguish it from other competing centres. A sustainable balance of key attractors and multiple names alongside local independent shops is therefore likely to have the greatest positive impact on the vitality and viability of a town.

The following shops are considered Key attractors by Experian Goad.

Department Stores Clothing BHS Burton Debenhams Dorothy Perkins House of Fraser H & M John Lewis New Look Marks and Spencer Primark River Island Mixed Goods Retailers Topman Argos Topshop Boots TK Maxx Other Retailers WH Smith Carphone Warehouse Wilkinson Clarks Clintons Supermarkets HMV Sainsbury’s O2 Tesco Superdrug Waitrose Phones 4 U Vodafone Waterstones

Multiple traders have a countrywide presence and are well known household names. Regional shops are identified as those with stores / units in several towns throughout one geographical region only and Independent shops are identified as those that are specific to a particular town.

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15 AMT Town Benchmarking Report South South Royal National National West West Typology Wootton Large Small Large Small 8 % Bassett % Towns % Towns % Towns % Towns %

Key Attractor 5 n/a 2 8 6 5

Multiple 24 n/a 18 30 20 17

Regional 8 n/a 9 6 10 5

Independent 63 n/a 71 55 65 72

Once again, the retail mix of the town centre reflects the National Small Towns pattern. 63% of the A1 Shops in the defined Royal Wootton Bassett Town Centre are ‘independent’, which is lower than the National Small Towns, (65%) South West Small Towns (71%) and Typology 8 Towns (72%) figures. 24% of the A1 shops are ‘Multiple’, 8% ‘Regional’ and 5% ‘Key Attractors.’

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KPI 4: Number of vacant units

Vacant units are an important indicator of the vitality and viability of a town centre. The presence of vacant units over a period of time can identify potential weaknesses in a town centre, whether due to locational criteria, high rent levels or strong competition from other centres.

South South Royal National National West West Typology Wootton Large Small Large Small 8 % Bassett % Towns % Towns % Towns % Towns %

Vacant Units 6 17 7 9 9 4

9 units in the defined Town Centre were ‘vacant’ providing a percentage of 6%, lower than the ‘Regional’ (7%) and ‘National’ (9%) figures and slightly higher than the Typology 8 Towns average. (4%) It must be noted that in September 2011, the Local Data Company reported that the vacancy rate in all town centres in England was 14.5%. ______

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16 AMT Town Benchmarking Report KPI 5: Number of markets / traders

Good quality markets provide competition and choice for consumers. A busy and well-used street market can therefore be a good indicator of the vitality of a town centre. Conversely, if a market is in decline (e.g. empty pitches reducing numbers), it can be an indication of potential weaknesses in the town centre e.g. a lack of footfall customers due to an inappropriate retail mix or increased competitor activity. Street markets can also generate substantial benefits for the local economy. Markets can also provide a local mechanism for a diverse range of local enterprises to start, flourish and grow, adding to the sustainable mix of shops services on offer throughout the town.

South South Royal National National West West Typology Wootton Large Small Large Small 8 Bassett Towns Towns Towns Towns Av. number of 1 n/a 1 2 2 3 market days during week Average number of 9 n/a 11 47 23 23 traders at a market

The number of market traders within Royal Wootton Bassett (9) is considerably lower than the National Small Towns (23) and Typology 8 Towns (23) figures, but similar to the South West Small Towns (11).

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17 AMT Town Benchmarking Report KPI 6: Zone Retail Rents

The values for Zone A rentals are the “industry” benchmarks for the relative appeal of a location with its users and with the owners or investors in property. In particular retail rents can provide a useful indication of a town’s performance and highlight how attractive it is to businesses. Conversely, where rents are falling it can be an indicator of decline.

Zone A rents are expressed as £ per sq. ft.

South South Royal National National West West Wootton Large Small Typology 8 Large Small Bassett Towns Towns Towns Towns

Zone A 29 65 26 63 31 39

Details on Zone A Rents were taken from a range of units in the High Street Town and as the above table illustrates the figure for Royal Wootton Bassett (£29 per sq. ft) is slightly lower than the National Small Towns figure, (£31 per sq. ft) but marginally higher than the South West Small Towns figure. (£26 per sq. ft) ______

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18 AMT Town Benchmarking Report KPI 7: Footfall Counts

The arrival and movement of people, whether as residents, workers, visitors or a shopper is vital to the success of the majority of businesses within the town centre. The more people that are attracted to the town, the better it trades and the more prosperous the businesses in it become, provided there is ample available disposable income in that population. Measuring passing people in a consistent manner in the same place, at the same time builds up a picture of the town, its traders and their relative success over the weeks and months.

The following tables provide a detailed breakdown of all the count point locations, times of counts and individual counts on the Market Day and Non Market Day. The numbers displayed refer to the average footfall count over a 10 minute period. The count point with the highest aggregate footfall over both Market and Non Market Days was outside Bet Fred on the High Street. The highest individual footfall (172) count occurred on a Market Day on the High Street at 11.00-11.10.

Non Market Day Peacocks, Borough Non Market Day Outside Bet Fred, Fields High Street

10.30-10.40 75 10.50-11.00 106

11.50-12.00 104 11.10-12.10 100

12.15-12.25 97 12.40-12.50 96

TOTAL 276 302

AV. PER 10 MINS 92 100

Market Day Peacocks, Borough Market Day Outside Bet Fred, Fields High Street

10.35-10.45 158 10.15-10.25 125

11.50-12.00 92 11.00-11.10 172

12.05-12.15 108 12.30-12.40 102

TOTAL 358 399

AV. PER TEN MINS 119 133

The following table is based on the count point within the town centre with the highest aggregate footfall, High Street. This location recorded an aggregate count of 399 on a ______

19 AMT Town Benchmarking Report Market and 302 Non Market Day. The figures for the Market Day and Non Market Day are an average of the three ten minute counts in that specific location between 10.00am- 11.00am, 11.00am-12.00pm and 12.00pm-13.00pm. Thus, the numbers displayed refer to the average footfall count over a 10 minute period on a Market and Non Market day.

South South Royal National National West West Typology Wootton Large Small Large Small 8 Bassett Towns Towns Towns Towns

Market Day 133 n/a 64 462 115 246

Non Market Day 100 n/a 39 318 83 173

The footfall figures for Royal Wootton Bassett on a Non Market Day (100) are considerably higher than the South West Small Towns (39) and slightly higher than the National Small Towns figures (83). Compared to the Typology 8 Towns figure, the count in Royall Wootton Basset is much lower, but it must be noted that the Large Towns of Market Harborough contributed to this figure. On a Market Day footfall increases to 133 persons per 10 minutes which is over double that of the South West Small Towns Figure and higher than the National Small Towns figure of 115. ______

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20 AMT Town Benchmarking Report KPI 8: Car Parking Availability and Usage

These days a large proportion of spending customers in a town centre come by car. In the rural setting, the car tends to be an essential tool, used by both those who come to spend and those who come to work. The provision of adequate and convenient car parking facilities is therefore a key element of town centre vitality. An acceptable number of available spaces with a regular, quick turn-over for shoppers are the ideal while adequate longer stay, less convenient spaces for local owners/ workers and visitors must be considered too.

The following tables provide a summary of the Car Parking offering broken down into the;

 Provision of total number of spaces in designated car parks  Provision of total number of short stay, long stay and disabled spaces in designated car parks  Percentage of vacant spaces in designated car parks on a Busy/ Market Day and on a Quiet/ Non Market Day.  Average number of illegally parked cars in designated car parks on a Busy/ Market Day and on a Quiet/ Non Market Day.  Provision of total number of on street car parking spaces  Provision of total number of on street short stay, long stay and disabled spaces  Percentage of vacant on street spaces on a Busy/ Market Day and on a Quiet/ Non Market Day.  Average number of illegally parked cars on street on a Busy/ Market Day and on a Quiet/ Non Market Day.  Overall provision of car parking spaces  Overall provision of total number of short stay, long stay and disabled spaces  Overall percentage of vacant spaces on a Busy/ Market Day and on a Quiet/ Non Market Day.  Overall average number of illegally parked cars on a Busy/ Market Day and on a Quiet/ Non Market Day.

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21 AMT Town Benchmarking Report South South National National West West RWB RWB % Large Small Typ. 8 % Large Small Towns % Towns % Towns % Towns %

Car Park:

Total Spaces: 344 70 97 81 91 88 89

Short Stay Spaces: 86 25 38 34 28 40 68 (4 hours and under) Long Stay Spaces: 249 72 60 21 47 51 27 (Over 4 hours) Disabled Spaces: 9 3 2 3 4 4 4

Not Registered 0 n/a n/a 42 22 5 0

Vacant Spaces on a 160 47 15 15 26 18 16 Market Day: Vacant Spaces on a 194 56 42 13 36 37 26 Non Market Day: Illegal Spaces on a 6 n/a n/a 1 n/a n/a n/a Market Day: Illegal Spaces on a 4 n/a n/a 0 n/a n/a n/a Non Market Day:

On Street:

Total Spaces: 149 30 3 19 9 12 11

Short Stay Spaces: 148 99 82 67 72 71 32 (4 hours and under) Long Stay Spaces: 0 0 n/a 2 13 21 39 (Over 4 hours) Disabled Spaces: 1 1 n/a 4 4 2 1

Not Registered n/a n/a 18 27 9 5 28

Vacant Spaces on a 14 9 n/a 11 17 13 6 Market Day: Vacant Spaces on a 11 7 n/a 8 22 18 21 Non Market Day: Illegal Spaces on a 2 n/a n/a 1 n/a n/a n/a Market Day: Illegal Spaces on a 6 n/a n/a 2 n/a n/a n/a Non Market Day:

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22 AMT Town Benchmarking Report Overall

Total Spaces: 493 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

Short Stay Spaces: 234 47 40 54 32 44 55 (4 hours and under) Long Stay Spaces: 249 51 58 37 44 49 24 (Over 4 hours) Disabled Spaces: 10 2 2 4 4 3 4

Not Registered n/a n/a n/a 5 21 3 14

Vacant Spaces on a 174 35 15 23 25 19 18 Market Day: Vacant Spaces on a 205 42 41 26 35 37 29 Non Market Day: Illegal Spaces on a 8 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Market Day: Illegal Spaces on a 10 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Non Market Day:

70% of car parking provision in Royal Wootton Bassett is based in ‘car parks’ (Sainsbury’s, Iceland and Co-op)

51% of car parking is ‘long term’, being that Town Centre Users can park in the designated area for ‘4 hours or under’ which is higher than the National Small Towns average of 49%.

On a Market Day, 35% of the overall car parking provision is vacant, higher than the National Small Towns figure of 19%, South West Small Towns figure of 23% and Typology 8 Towns figure of 18%. Overall, vacancy rates increase slightly on a Non Market Day to 42%, which similarly is higher than the National Small Towns (37%), South West Small Towns (26%) and Typology 8 Towns (29%) figures. ______

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23 AMT Town Benchmarking Report KPI 9: Business Confidence Survey

The aim of the Business Confidence Survey is to establish an understanding of the economy of the town. By establishing the trading conditions of the town centre businesses efforts can be focussed on looking at issues which are of concern and how to improve them.

A Business Confidence Survey was distributed either by hand delivery to all of the Town Centre businesses and an excellent sample of 69 were returned.

South South National National West West Large Small RWB % Large Small Typ 8 % Towns Towns Towns Towns % % % % What is the nature of your business? Retail 63 n/a 55 66 66 76

Commercial/Professional 22 n/a 18 18 15 13

Public Sector 0 n/a 6 1 2 2

Hospitality 10 n/a 13 6 7 6

Other 5 n/a 8 9 9 3 South South National National West West Large Small What type of business are you? RWB % Large Small Typ 8 % Towns Towns Towns Towns % % % % Multiple Trader 16 n/a 6 17 15 16

Regional 8 n/a 0 10 6 10

Independent 77 n/a 94 73 79 74

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24 AMT Town Benchmarking Report South South How long has your National National West West business been in the RWB % Large Small Typ 8 % Large Small town? Towns % Towns % Towns % Towns % less than one year 16 n/a 6 7 7 9

one to five years 15 n/a 26 23 25 27

six to ten years 13 n/a 18 17 15 8

more than ten years 56 n/a 50 53 53 56

The majority of Businesses (56%) who responded to the survey had been based in Royal Wootton Bassett for ‘more than ten years’ which replicated the Regional (50%), National (53%) and Typology (56%) trends.

South South National National Compared to last year West West RWB % Large Small Typ 8 % has your turnover…….?, Large Small Towns % Towns % Towns % Towns % Increased 24 n/a 22 28 28 30

stayed the same 24 n/a 34 23 29 30

Decreased 52 n/a 44 49 43 39

Over half (52%) of respondents reported that their turnover had ‘decreased’ over the last 12 months, higher than the Regional (44%), National (43%) and Typology (39%) figures.

South South National National Compared to last year has West West RWB % Large Small Typ 8 % your profitability…….? Large Small Towns % Towns % Towns % Towns % Increased 29 n/a 21 23 22 23

stayed the same 23 n/a 42 27 29 32

Decreased 48 n/a 36 49 49 45

48% of businesses stated that profitability had ‘decreased’ over the last 12 months.

Over the next 12 months RWB % South South National National Typ 8 % do you think your turnover West West Large Small will…….? Large Small Towns % Towns % ______

25 AMT Town Benchmarking Report Towns % Towns %

Increase 38 n/a 32 35 32 35 stay the same 36 n/a 43 35 39 35

Decrease 27 n/a 25 30 29 30

74% of respondents predicted that over the next 12 months their turnover to ‘increase’ (38%) or ‘stay the same’ (36%).

What are the positive RWB % South South National National Typ 8 % aspects of having a West West Large Small business located in the Large Small Towns % Towns % town? (Multiselect) Towns % Towns % Prosperity of the town 43 n/a 46 44 38 57

Labour pool 7 n/a 13 12 9 12

Environment 30 n/a 26 23 20 30

Geographical location 49 n/a 53 47 43 40

Mix of retail offer 48 n/a 35 40 32 39

Potential tourist customers 39 n/a 48 28 26 35

Potential local customers 85 n/a 77 72 73 69

Affordable housing 6 n/a 10 7 9 6

Transport links 34 n/a 31 35 30 28

Car parking 43 n/a 24 25 31 22

Market(s) 19 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

Rental values/property 15 n/a 18 13 18 10 costs Other 0 n/a 5 7 3 4

Mirroring the Regional, National and Typology patterns, businesses in Royal Wootton Bassett rated ‘potential local customers’ (85%) as the most positive aspect of operating in the Town Centre. ‘Geographical location’ (49%), ‘Mix of retail offer’ (48%), ‘Car Parking’ (43%) and ‘prosperity of the town (43%) were all also popular choices. ‘Mix of retail offer’ and ‘Car Parking’ were noticeably higher than the National averages.

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26 AMT Town Benchmarking Report What are the negative RWB % South South National National Typ 8 % aspects of having a business West West Large Small located in the town? Large Small Towns % Towns % (Multiselect) Towns % Towns %

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27 AMT Town Benchmarking Report Prosperity of the town 10 n/a 26 19 25 9

Labour pool 8 n/a 4 7 6 8

Environment 0 n/a 7 8 8 1

Geographical location 3 n/a 6 7 7 3

Mix of retail offer 20 n/a 23 16 25 23

Potential tourist customers 8 n/a 5 9 11 6

Potential local customers 3 n/a 3 2 4 3

Affordable housing 8 n/a 8 12 8 6

Transport links 13 n/a 10 6 10 13

Car parking 57 n/a 73 64 58 61

Rental values/property costs 23 n/a 37 48 32 37

Local business competition 21 n/a 18 24 20 23 Competition from other 36 n/a 30 32 34 33 places Competition from the 36 n/a 26 38 30 32 Internet Other 0 n/a 4 4 4 3

Despite being rated as a positive aspect, ‘car parking’ (57%) was the most popular choice by Businesses when asked to rate the negative aspects of the Town Centre. Regionally, Nationally and in Typology 8 towns, ‘car parking’ is also rated as the most negative aspect of Town Centres. ‘Competition from other places’ (36%) and ‘competition from the internet’ (36%) were other common responses.

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28 AMT Town Benchmarking Report Has your business RWB % South South National National Typ 8 % suffered from any West West Large Small crime over the last Large Small Towns % Towns % 12 months? Towns % Towns % Yes 31 n/a 23 34 31 29

No 69 n/a 77 66 69 71 What type of crime RWB % South South National National Typ 8 % has your business West West Large Small suffered over the Large Small Towns % Towns % last 12 months Towns % Towns % (Multiselect) Theft 91 n/a 33 80 63 68

Abuse 10 n/a 19 16 15 4 criminal damage 24 n/a 40 30 46 43

Other 0 n/a 10 2 5 6

69% of Businesses reported that they had not suffered from any ‘business crime’ over the last 12 months. Of those who had been victims of crime, 91% stated that this was ‘theft’.

What TWO suggestions would you make to improve the town centre?

The two main themes to emerge were to change ‘car parking’ fees/ provision and ‘reduce rates’. Examples of comments under both headings are available below. ‘Car parking’:

 "Less restrictive parking on High Street."  "Remove parking charges. People put a minimum payment, do required jobs then go rather than browsing, lunch, spending."  "Proper car parking facilities, double current amount."  "Unlimited car parking in the High Street."  "More free parking"  "Free parking"  "Car parking fees cancelled."  "Offer free car parking in main car park."  "Free car parking for all day users."

‘Reduce rates’: ______

29 AMT Town Benchmarking Report  "Lower rates or a rate holiday to help businesses in current climate"  "Lower business rates to help small retailers set up."  "For local council/ rates department to consider economic climate and reduce liability for shop owners."  "Lower rents to attract a wider spectrum of businesses."  "Rental values lowered and rates lowered."  "A break from business rates/VAT."

Comments also centred on the reduction of the number of ‘Charity shops’ and increased ‘Advertising, Promotion and Events’ in the town centre. A full list of colour coded comments is available in the Appendix.

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30 AMT Town Benchmarking Report KPI 10: Town Centre Users Survey

The aim of the Visitor Satisfaction Survey is to establish how your town is seen by those people who use it. By asking visitors, of all types, a more detailed picture can be obtained as what matters to regular visitors (i.e. locals who pop in every day or work in town) can be very different to someone who has never been to the place before. For the first group signage is not an issue, for example, and the second may not worry about fear of night time crime.

The following table is based on the 170 responses gathered online and face to face from the Town Centre Users Survey.

South South National National West West What is the main purpose of Large Small RWB % Large Small Typ. 8 % your visit to the town centre Towns Towns Towns Towns today? % % % %

Work 9 n/a 12 23 14 13 Convenience Shopping - e.g. 52 n/a 38 25 42 47 food Comparison Shopping - e.g. 6 n/a 6 14 6 7 clothes Access services - e.g. Bank, 17 n/a 25 17 18 14 Library Leisure - e.g. eat, drink, go to 9 n/a 10 14 12 12 the gym Other 7 n/a 8 7 9 8

52% of the Town Centre Users reported that they visit Royal Wootton Bassett for ‘convenience shopping’, which is higher than the National Small Towns Average (42%). Historically on the Benchmarking System, it is those towns with a strong and balanced retail offering that attract high levels of ‘comparison’ shoppers.

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31 AMT Town Benchmarking Report South South National National West West Large Small How often do you visit the RWB % Large Small Typ. 8 % Towns Towns town centre? Towns Towns % % % %

Daily 21 n/a 23 24 27 31

More than once a week 47 n/a 44 36 42 43

Weekly 13 n/a 17 20 16 12

Fortnightly 5 n/a 4 7 5 5

More than once a Month 2 n/a 4 4 3 3

Once a month or less 7 n/a 5 8 7 5

First Visit 4 n/a 2 2 1 2

The majority (81%) of respondents visited Royal Wootton Bassett Town Centre ‘once a week or more’ which is very similar to the South West Small Towns (84%), National Small Towns (85%) and Typology 8 Towns figures. (86%)

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32 AMT Town Benchmarking Report South South National National West West Large Small How did you travel into the RWB % Large Small Typ. 8 % Towns Towns town centre today? Towns Towns % % % %

On Foot 36 n/a 39 36 36 37

Bicycle 0 n/a 3 4 3 3

Motorbike 0 n/a 0 1 0 0

Car 58 n/a 50 55 51 54

Bus 5 n/a 6 0 8 5

Train 0 n/a 1 3 1 0

Other 1 n/a 1 1 1 1

58% of Town Centre Users travelled to Royal Wootton Bassett by ‘Car’, higher than the National Small Towns average of 51%. 36% visited ‘on foot’, 3% higher than the South West Small Towns figure, 1% higher than the Typology 8 figure and identical to the National Small Towns average.

How much do you normally spend on a visit to the town RWB % centre? Nothing 2

£0.01-£5.00 5

£5.01-£10.00 26

£10.01-£20.00 28

£20.01-£50.00 32

More than £50.00 6

*Please note that 2012 is the first year this question has been asked.

92% of respondents recorded that they normally spend over £10.01 on a visit to Royal Wootton Bassett Town Centre. In terms of the price bands, 32% of Town Centre Users spent ‘£20.01-£50.00’ on a normal visit.

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33 AMT Town Benchmarking Report South South National National West West How do you rate the physical Large Small RWB % Large Small Typ. 8 % appearance of the town Towns Towns Towns Towns centre? % % % %

Very Good 18 n/a 15 18 18 21

Good 76 n/a 46 59 56 69

Poor 5 n/a 30 18 21 9

Very Poor 1 n/a 9 5 5 1

An impressive 94% of Town Centre Users rated the ‘physical appearance’ of the town centre as ‘good’ (76%) or ‘very good’ (18%), 10% higher than the National Small Towns average, 33% higher than the South West Small Towns figure and 4% higher than the Typology 8 towns figure.

South South National National West West Large Small How do you rate the RWB % Large Small Typ. 8 % Towns Towns cleanliness of the town centre? Towns Towns % % % %

Very Good 20 n/a 22 17 19 17

Good 69 n/a 60 64 64 66

Poor 11 n/a 13 17 15 16

89% of Town Centre Users rated the ‘cleanliness’ of Royal Wootton Bassett Town Centre as either ‘good’ (69%) or ‘very good’ (20%), 6% higher than the National Small Towns figure.

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34 AMT Town Benchmarking Report South South National National West West Large Small How do you rate the variety of RWB % Large Small Typ. 8 % Towns Towns shops in the town centre? Towns Towns % % % %

Very Good 8 n/a 3 13 6 9

Good 61 n/a 43 52 43 59

Poor 28 n/a 44 28 41 28

69% of Town Centre Users rated the ‘variety of shops’ as either ‘good’ (61%) or ‘very good’ (8%), a figure much higher than the National Small Towns (49%) and the Regional (46%) figures.

South South National National West West How do you rate the leisure Large Small RWB % Large Small Typ. 8 % and cultural activities in the Towns Towns Towns Towns town centre? % % % %

Very Good 4 n/a 5 15 7 11

Good 44 n/a 46 36 47 59

Poor 45 n/a 38 23 36 25

Very Poor 7 n/a 11 27 11 4

52% of Town Centre Users reported that the ‘leisure and cultural’ activities were either ‘poor’ (45%) or ‘very poor’ (7%), which is higher than the South West Small Towns (49%), National Small Towns (47%) and Typology 8 Towns (29%) figures.

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35 AMT Town Benchmarking Report South South National National West West Large Small What are the positive aspects RWB % Large Small Typ. 8 % Towns Towns of the town centre? Towns Towns % % % %

Physical appearance 56 n/a 31 28 30 28

Shopping 52 n/a 30 40 31 44

Restaurants 19 n/a 30 33 29 27 Access to Services - e.g. banks, 72 n/a 63 45 54 50 Post Office, Library Leisure facilities 7 n/a 17 8 15 21

Cultural activities 7 n/a 13 12 8 6

Pubs/Bars/Nightclubs 31 n/a 27 22 22 21

Transport links 28 n/a 45 25 32 13 Ease of walking around the 71 n/a 65 51 61 63 town centre Convenience - e.g. near where 60 n/a 61 49 56 57 you live Safety 30 n/a 34 19 27 30

Car Parking 39 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

Other 7 n/a 5 7 6 3

72% rated ‘access to services e.g. Banks, Post Office, Library, 71% rated the ‘ease of walking around the town centre’ and 60% ‘convenience’ as positive aspects of Royal Wootton Bassett town centre. These top three choices mirrored the National Small Towns pattern.

Interestingly, 56% rated ‘physical appearance as a positive aspect, a figure much higher than the South West Small Towns (31%), National Small Towns (30%) and Typology 8 Towns (28%) figures. Similarly, 52% rated ‘shopping’ as a positive aspect in comparison to the National Small Towns average of 31%.

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36 AMT Town Benchmarking Report What are the negative aspects RWB % of the town centre? Physical appearance 9

Shopping 22

Restaurants 24 Access to Services - e.g. banks, 1 Post Office, Library Leisure facilities 42

Cultural activities 32

Pubs/Bars/Nightclubs 12

Transport links 12 Ease of walking around the 5 town centre Convenience - e.g. near where 3 you live Safety 4

Car Parking 41

Market(s) 10

Other 13

*Please note that 2012 is the first year this question has been asked.

42% rated ‘leisure facilities’, 41% ‘car parking’ and 32% ‘cultural activities as negative aspects of Royal Wootton Bassett Town Centre.

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37 AMT Town Benchmarking Report South South National National West West Large Small How long do you intend to stay RWB % Large Small Typ. 8 % Towns Towns on this visit to the town centre? Towns Towns % % % %

Less than an hour 31 n/a 38 12 34 25

1 - 2 hours 52 n/a 44 40 43 50

2 - 4 hours 9 n/a 9 27 12 14

4 - 6 hours 1 n/a 3 7 3 4

All day 7 n/a 4 14 7 7

Town Centre Users only stayed in Royal Wootton Bassett for a relatively short stay, 83% indicated that they visited the town for ‘less than two hours’ which is higher than the Regional (82%), National Small Towns (77%) and Typology 1 (70%) figures.

A number of key themes emerged when Town Centre Users were provided with an open ended question to make suggestions for the improvement of Royal Wootton Bassett Town Centre. The main themes revolved around the need to ‘reduce the number of charity shops,’ comments included;

 "Restrict the number of charity shops that are here as they make the town look poor and provide encouragement and support to new businesses coming into the town centre."  "The charity shops are a great idea, but we can only have so many before they dominate the shopping experience of the town centre. So maybe stop introducing new ones and bring in other types of shops."  "Fill the empty shops with something positive to look at but not yet more charity shops."  "Need fewer charity shops."  "There are too many charity shops."  "Wider variety not just charity shops."  "Limit amount of charity shops as the town has at least 7 now."  "There are too many charity shops for one small town."  Less charity shops."  "Put a limit on the number of charity shops on the High St."  "Fewer Charity shops more retailers."

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38 AMT Town Benchmarking Report  Reduce the number of charity shops most of the shops in the high street are either charity shops or pubs."  "No more charity shops."  "Less charity shops."  Reduce the number of charity shops."

‘Improving the town centre offering’ was another key theme to emerge. It must be noted that comments centred on improving both the range of independent and multiple stores and restaurants and eateries. Comments included;

 "The new Thornton’s shop brings a great new buzz to shopping in the town centre. Having new shops with this potential would be good."  "Needs to have a greater range of different types of shop."  "Reduce High Street business rates to enable the return of the "Family Business" – e.g. Fishmonger, Men's Outfitter."  "More branded retail shops."  "More unique shops."  "Variety of shops 1 nice restaurant"  "Recently there have been a few new shops, so the standard is getting better, but there are still too many charity shops and the better shops don't tend to stay around long.  "A decent high street clothes store is needed such as Next, BHS etc that caters for men, women and children."  "Need a better variety of shops. Has improved recently but there are still too many charity shops. Could do with a bit more variety of eating establishments. French, Italian etc.."  "More variety of shops. Children's shoe shop. School uniform shop. Men’s clothing. Somewhere to buy CDs and DVDs. More variety of restaurants - Italian, Greek, Japanese.  "Attract High quality clothing outlets, along the lines of those in Marlborough.  "Bigger variety of shops.  Would like Waitrose to come to Royal Wootton Bassett."  "Less charity shops and maybe a variety of shops. It’s nice to have a greengrocer again. Maybe a restaurant that isn't a Chinese or Indian."  "Good quality clothing shops - NOT Primark/New Look etc. Good quality restaurants/ bars."  "Fishmonger"  "Greater selection of shops."  "Need a wider variety of shops.  "More independent shops."  "More special individual shops."  "More clothes shops."  "More children’s clothes shops- Next etc."  "More shops, wider range."

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39 AMT Town Benchmarking Report  "More variety of shops- less estate agents, bookies and charity shops. More pavement cafes."  "More variety of shops- a supermarket such as Asda. Decent restaurants."  "More clothes shops."  "Encourage more restaurants or pavement cafes."  "More shops for younger people- clothes shops. Grandchildren struggle to find things they like- have to go to Swindon etc."  "Need a haberdashery."  "Stop putting so many shops that are competing against each other.

‘Car Parking’ was the third of the key themes to emerge from the qualitative analysis;

 "Reduce parking costs in Borough Fields. I visited Trowbridge recently and the parking was significantly cheaper."  "Improve the car parking system, currently 30p for one hour and then £1.10 for more than one hour, illogical."  "Make the Sainsbury’s Car Park free."  "Sort out parking for shop owners, allowing them to park for free, if they didn't have there shops we would not have a town centre to be proud of. Just one free permit per business would help"  "Free car parking for the first hour More Disabled parking spaces."  "Reduce or scrap parking charges in Borough fields."  "Bring back 30 mins free parking in the Borough Fields car park to encourage more people to 'pop' in to Bassett."  Easier parking in the main high street - the parking spaces need to be angled for ease of parking."  "Cheaper parking."  "No car parking cost in Borough Fields."  "Improve disable parking, two narrow not standard size parking places at one end of the High Street only gives the disable access to the end of the high Street shops. Add two disable parking places one in the middle of the high street and one at the other end."  "Free parking or voucher parking, if you shop locally you get your parking fee back.  "More free parking and change on high street parking to 45 degrees rather than perpendicular to pavement as it's difficult to get in and out of bays."  "Bring back free parking in Borough Fields.  "Free parking at the car park again please."  Make parking free everywhere for first 2 hours, then no return for a set period. Have parking area for High street shop staff set aside that is heavily discounted but also policed strictly to prevent abuse."  "Put the High Street car parking back on an angle like it was before. It was so much better, easier to get in and out of the spaces now it just leaves me really stressed. Stop forcing small independents out of premium positions to allow large chains to take them."

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40 AMT Town Benchmarking Report  "Change High Street Parking back to how it was (parking on an angle on both sides of the street) it's horrendous now."  "Parking costs that encourage visitors to stay longer (*e.g. rate goes down not up for parking 2+ hours."  "1. Free car parking... you could make a restriction between 1-2pm for example, which would prevent commuters parking there all day and taking up shoppers spaces."  "Free parking throughout RWB."  "Improve free parking facilities."  "Parking issues: Improve white line markings on High Street parking. From the beginning, the marking out was a disaster! Spaces are too tight for a start. Only on one side of High Street are the sets marked on the diagonal making easier access/reversing. On the other side, combining tightness of space and sets at right angles to the road means it is impossible to reverse [with cars either side] unless you cross into the path of traffic on the other side of the road. Parking should be limited, and enforced, to two hours maximum. Shop keepers are often guilty of parking all day on the High Street - and then wonder where the customers are! Perhaps shopkeepers could be granted cheaper parking in Borough Fields, thus freeing up more spaces. Both suggestions are not easy to rectify but trying to park in the High Street under such circumstances offers little encouragement to casual visitors to stop and shop, eat or buy a coffee etc. and for those who live on the estates or who need to use a car to reach the High Street, [part of the town which has a high population of elderly people have recently been deprived of their bus service], why drive 5 minutes to Bassett and struggle to park, when you can drive 5 minutes in the other direction and shop in Asda/Tesco/Sainsbury/Asda-Walmart - and for free! More encouragement [cheaper rates?] for smaller, individual retailers to set up shop would be my other suggestion."

Augmenting the 52% of Town Centre Users who reported that the ‘leisure and cultural’ activities were either ‘poor’ (45%) or ‘very poor’ (7%) when provided with the opportunity to suggest two improvements to be made to the town centre, a number of comments were based on improving ‘leisure facilities’ noticeably a swimming pool and centre;

 "Re opening of swimming pool."  "A decent leisure centre with a nice clean swimming pool."  "1, swimming pool 2, better leisure centre."  "A town this size really needs its own pool...pleeeease"  "It would be great to get the swimming pool back - I would definitely use the sports centre more if the pool and steam room was open and the centre was cleaned and tidied up."  "Rebuild the swimming pool"  "Re open the swimming pool."  "More leisure facilities. Re open the swimming pool."

‘Physical improvements were also ‘cited’; ______

41 AMT Town Benchmarking Report  "1. Insist on all shops being painted in a choice of around 3 colours - i.e. dark green, dark blue or dark brown. This would look far more upmarket. Some of the present colours look cheap, tacky and downmarket."  "some shops could update there shop fronts i.e. paint, modernise"  "Keep/replace architectural features at the same time as refreshing the look and style of the shop fronts. i.e. the things that make a market town special and different to a big town stay."  "Encourage existing shops, offices and homes to spruce up. Some of the signage, windows and facades are very shabby."  "Better street cleaning."  "Footpaths in Wood Street need improvement."  "Sort out the toilet facilities."  "Improve the quality of the pavements, they are a trip hazard. Not much else to improve."  Paving in the high street can be dangerous in inclement weather conditions."  "1More/better flowers/bunting/decoration along the high street in line with the new "royal" title."  Encourage the landlords and owners of high street businesses to smarten-up their properties  "Generally spruce up the area a bit- some shops need repainting etc.  "Brighten the area up- general appearance."  "Wider pavements. Improving the road crossings."  "More flowers."

A full list of all comments, colour coded into the relevant ‘key themes’ is available in the Appendix.

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42 AMT Town Benchmarking Report KPI11: Shoppers Origin

The Shoppers Origin Survey tracks the general area that your town centre visitors originate from. The data can be used to target local marketing or promotional literature. It can also be used as evidence of the success of such campaigns by gauging the penetration into the population.

678 postcodes were gathered from businesses and these postcodes have been split into 3 categories to be able to compare with other towns. The categories are:

 Locals; those who live within a Post Code covering the town  Visitors; those who live within a Post Code less than a 30 minute drive away  Tourists; those who live within a Post Code further than a 30 minute drive away

South South Royal National National West West Typology Wootton Large Small Large Small 8 Bassett% Towns % Towns % Towns % Towns %

Locals 53 n/a 56 66 57 57

Visitors 39 n/a 19 25 28 31

Tourists 8 n/a 26 9 16 12

Highlighting Royal Wootton Bassett’s role as a service centre for the town and surrounding hinterland, 92% of post codes were from ‘Locals’ (53%) and ‘Visitors within a 30 minute drive’ (39%). Only 8% of post codes were from ‘Tourists’.

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43 AMT Town Benchmarking Report APPENDIX

Towns contributing to Large Town Benchmarking Typology Crewe North West n/a Macclesfield North West n/a Nantwich North West 2 Wilmslow North West n/a Hemel Hempstead South East n/a Hitchin South East 5 St Albans South East n/a Melton Mowbray East Midlands 2 Market Harborough East Midlands 8 Beeston East Midlands n/a Loughborough East Midlands n/a Hinckley East Midlands m/a St. Ives East of England 4 Trowbridge South West 2 Wrexham North Wales n/a

Towns contributing to Small Town Benchmarking Typology Alsager North West 1 Audlem North West n/a Alderley Edge North West n/a Bollington North West 5 Congleton North West 8 Disley North West 1 Handforth North West n/a Knutsford North West 5 Middlewich North West 4 Poynton North West n/a Holmes Chapel North West 8 Sandbach North West 8 Baldock South East n/a Hoddesdon South East n/a Harpenden South East 5 Ware South East n/a Leatherhead South East n/a Lutterworth East Midlands 8 Earl Shilton East Midlands 7 Ashby East Midlands 8 Coalville East Midlands 7 South Wigston East Midlands n/a

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44 AMT Town Benchmarking Report Newark East Midlands 2 Kimberley East Midlands n/a Eastwood East Midlands n/a Stapleford East Midlands n/a Arnold East Midlands n/a Huntingdon East of England 4 St Neots East of England 4 Ramsey East of England 4 Amesbury South West 4 Bradford Upon Avon South West 5 Warminster South West 2 Holyhead North Wales n/a Shotton North Wales n/a Queensferry North Wales n/a Saltney North Wales n/a Buckley North Wales n/a Connahs Quay North Wales n/a Flint North Wales n/a Holywell North Wales n/a Mold North Wales n/a Southam West Midlands n/a

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45 AMT Town Benchmarking Report TYPOLOGY CLASSIFICATION

Group 1 : Middle Aged, Managerial Jobs

236 places (14.7%) This group is characterized by relatively high values on young/middle age groups (25–44), intermediate and managerial occupations, people working in public administration, education and defence, detached housing, households with adult children and a high proportion of carers. It has low numbers of residents with no qualifications.

Geographically the group is found on the outskirts of the big cities and towns outside London and along the south coast from Essex and Kent and into Devon and Cornwall.

Group 2 : Single Persons, Routine Jobs

261 places (16.3%) Places in this group are particularly characterized by persons living alone (separated/divorced and pensioners), as well as people in routine and lower supervisory and managerial occupations and people living in rented accommodation. Car ownership is low whilst travel to work by public transport is relatively high.

Geographically this group is well scattered across the rural areas of the country but particularly in the East of England (Norfolk and Suffolk), in the South West (Wiltshire, Cornwall and Devon). There are few examples of this type of place around the main population centres. Group 3: Older Persons, Leisure Jobs

123 places (7.7%) This group is characterized by older persons, single pensioners, workers in hotels and restaurants, and part time workers, especially among men. It Also has high numbers of people working from home and of second homes.

This group of places is found overwhelmingly in coastal areas (for example, on the Isle of Wight and in Devon and Norfolk) and in attractive rural areas (e.g. Hampshire, Gloucestershire and North Yorkshire).

Group 4: Young Families, Administrative Jobs

129 places (8%) The group is typified by high proportions of people in the 25 – 44 age groups and women looking after the home. Occupations tend to be in the higher managerial and professional groups and in public administration ______

46 AMT Town Benchmarking Report (including defence, teaching and social security).

Most places in this group are located in what geographers have called the ‘Golden Belt’ a stretch of country going from north Wiltshire, through Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire to Cambridgeshire with an ‘offshoot’ in Berkshire. This area grew rapidly in the period 1981-2001 and continues to do so. There are few places of this type outside this area but where they do exist they are in the rural areas around sizeable towns.

Group 5: Professionals, Commuting

188 places (11.7%) This group is characterized by high proportions of professional and higher managerial workers and by people employed in intermediate managerial occupations. There are high proportions of people in financial service occupations and people who commute over 20 kilometers to work. Use of public transport is also proportionately high. There comparatively high proportions of Asian/British Asian households relative to the other groups of settlements.

As might be expected from its social and occupational description, this group of rural places is predominantly located within commuting belt around Great London and particularly along the major rail routes into London. There are, however, examples of these types of places around other cities, especially Leeds/Bradford and Greater Manchester.

Group 6: Disadvantages, Routine Employment 181 places (11.2%) This group includes high proportions of census measures that have been used to identify social and economic disadvantages of various kinds. These include: routine and low skill occupations, lack of qualifications, unemployment, long term illness, lone parents, lack of a car and the presence of social housing. The geography of most of the members of this group is overwhelmingly that of the former coalfield areas, namely, Notts/Derby, South and West Yorkshire and Northumberland/Durham. Other, smaller, geographical clusters of places in this group are the Cumbrian coast, Teesside and east Lancashire. Places not in such clusters include Hayle (Cornwall), New Addington (Greater London) and Withernsea (East Riding of Yorkshire).

Group 7: Routine Jobs, Agriculture/Manufacturing

209 places (13%) This group is similar to Group 6 in that it is characterized by routine and low skill occupations and lack of qualifications. However, this also typified by high percentages of people working in agricultural and manufacturing ______

47 AMT Town Benchmarking Report occupations and in the wholesale trades. Unemployment (in April 2001) was low. As might be expected this group maps onto two main types of area: rural areas and generally those with labour intensive agricultural production of various kinds (e.g. Norfolk, the Fens, mid Somerset and Lincolnshire/North Lincolnshire) and around the major manufacturing centres of the West and East Midlands, West Yorkshire and Humberside.

Group 8: Age Mix, Professional Jobs

290 places (18%) This, the largest single group in the typology, is also typified by professional and managerial workers and high levels of educational qualifications but is distinguished from Group 1 by a broader age range (relatively high numbers of young people, but also of middle aged and older people) and from Group 6 by lower levels of longer distance commuting. Also unlike either of these groups there are high proportions of households in detached houses and very low levels of public transport use.

The geography of this group is similar to Group 4 in that it is mostly concentrated within the ‘Golden Belt’ of Middle England. However, it is nationally more widespread than Group 4 and includes locations on the outskirts of all the major urban centres outside London with the notable exception of Tyneside where only Castle Morpeth and Coxhoe (both somewhat distant from the conurbation), are of this type.

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48 AMT Town Benchmarking Report BUSINESS UNIT DATABASE

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49 AMT Town Benchmarking Report Street Number Business Name Use Class Business Type Business Type Additional Name (Comparison/ (Key Attractor/ Notes Convenience) Independent)

Borough New Court Surgery D1 n/a n/a Fields

Borough Sainsbury’s A1 Convenience Key Attractor Fields Shopping Centre

The Lawns Ridgeway Lorna Doone Day Care Centre D1 n/a n/a House

High St Hayloft, LH Motor Services B2 n/a n/a rear of 39

VACANT

High St Unit 23, Aces High Tattoo SG n/a n/a Apsley House, 50

A p s l e y 2 2 a Avron Electrical B1 n/a n/a H o u s e A r c a d e

High St 50 Oriental Aroma A3 n/a n/a

The Lawns Ridgeway House C2? n/a n/a

Borough Unit 19 Lloyds Pharmacy A1 Comparison Multiple Fields Shopping Centre

Borough 18 The Coventry A2 n/a n/a Fields

Borough The Library D1 n/a n/a Fields

Borough 11 Blue Cross A1 Comparison Multiple Fields

Borough 16 Costa A3 n/a n/a Fields

Borough 15 Quick Lee Cleaners SG n/a n/a Fields

Borough 14 Jade Tiger A3 n/a n/a Fields

Borough Unit 12 Wootton Bassett Dental Care D1 n/a n/a Fields

Borough Unit 6-7 Peacocks A1 Comparison Multiple Fields ______Borough Unit 5 Belle Bridal Studio A1 Comparison Independent Fields 50 Borough AMT10-11 Town BenchmarkingCheltenham and Report Gloucester A2 n/a n/a Fields

Borough Unit 4 British Red Cross A1 Comparison Multiple CAR PARKING DATABASE

Name: Sainsbury

On Street/ Car Park: Car Park

Total Spaces: 254

Short Stay Spaces: (4 hours and under) 0

Long Stay Spaces: (Over 4 hours) 249

Disabled Spaces: 5

Vacant Spaces on a Market Day: 98

Vacant Spaces on a Non Market Day: 133

Illegal Spaces on a Market Day: 6

Illegal Spaces on a Non Market Day: 1

Name: Iceland

Total Spaces: 64

Disabled Spaces: 1

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51 AMT Town Benchmarking Report Name: Co Op

Total Spaces: 26

Disabled Spaces: 3

Name: High Street (Bet Fred Side)

On Street/ Car Park: On Street

Total Spaces: 102

Disabled Spaces: 1

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52 AMT Town Benchmarking Report Name: High Street (Town Council Side)

On Street/ Car Park: On Street

Total Spaces: 47

Disabled Spaces: 0

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53 AMT Town Benchmarking Report BUSINESS CONFIDENCE SURVEY

 "1 Parking. 2 Make town more attractive."  "1 Lower rates and rent. 2 Railway Station."  "1 Attract less charity shops. 2 Reduce business rates."  "1 Less charity shops. 2 Lower rates or a rate holiday to help businesses in current climate"  "1 Less restrictive parking on High Street. 2 Lower business rates to help small retailers set up."  "1 Parking. 2 More advertising."  "1 More parking. 2 Less aggressive traffic wardens."  "1 Remove parking charges. People put a minimum payment, do required jobs then go rather than browsing, lunch, spending."  "1 Fewer charity shops. 2 More national traders."  "1 Less restrictions on shop signs. 2 Reduce business rates. 2 Reduce bin collection costs."  "1 Give shop owners parking permits to keep the town alive, we need somewhere to park everyday. 2 Lower council tax."  "1 Rail link reopening from station. 2 Less charity shops."  "1 Rates reduction for businesses to allow funds for furniture improvement. 2 Ban the internet."  "1 Free parking. 2 Advertising."  "1 Free car parking."  "1 Increasing local employment. 2 More affordable housing."  "1 More free car parking. 2 No traffic wardens."  "1 Free hours parking in paid areas- larger retailer i.e. Wilkinson’s."  "1 Reduce car parking fees, control through traffic."  "1 More advertising for market. 2 Town seems to do v well during local events. 3 More shops open on a Sunday"  "1 Non restrictions to parking. 2 Reopen train line and better buses from all areas."  "1 Cheaper/ better parking for clients and staff members."  "1 Car parking free. 2 Bigger advertising."  "1 Reduce business rates. 2 More attractive High Street and activities in High Street."  "1 Better range of shops. 2 Improve tourist trade."  "1 Make it a nicer place to visit. 2 No empty units/ Not all charity shops/ independents. 3 Make it a prettier place i.e. Crickdale takes part in Crickdale in Bloom and always looks pretty and fresh."  "1 Encourage the Town Council to be more informative about what’s going on. 2 The town hall on stilts to be longer for tourists."  "1 More attractions/ reasons to come. 2 More shops and options."  "1 Skate bike/ park for kids to keep them off the street. 2 Better leisure facilities."

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54 AMT Town Benchmarking Report  "1 Proper car parking facilities, double current amount. 2 A park and ride facility for shop workers within the town."  "1 Car Parking."  "1 For local council/ rates department to consider economic climate and reduce liability for shop owners."  "1 Unlimited car parking in the High Street."  "1 Extend and improve towns market offering to increase footfall. 2 Set up virtual High Street on the internet."  "1 Website promoting tourist attractions available with access from W.B. maybe with package deals with local hotels if booked through the website."  "1 Stop charity shops advantages. 2 More enhancement of town’s attractions."  "1 Better car parking free. 2 Roadwork’s to be minimal- disrupts business."  "1 Advertising and promoting staying local."  "1 More free parking/ free buses from Swindon. 2 Promote tourist attraction and spend."  "1 Low business rates. 2 A better mix of shopping outlets. 3 Less charity shops."  "1 Less charity shops. 2 More shops opening on Sundays. 3 Get rid of Market."  "1 More advertising and sign."  "1 Lower rents to attract a wider spectrum of businesses."  "1 Lower rates. 2 With a supermarket closing in the High Street, we need a good replacement."  "1 We need a nightclub because everyone is going to Swindon."  "1 Free parking"  "1 Rental values lowered and rates lowered. 2 Car parking fees cancelled."  "1 Offer free car parking in main car park. 2 A break from business rates/VAT."  "1 Free car parking for all day users."

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55 AMT Town Benchmarking Report TOWN CENTRE USERS SURVEY

 "Making shop or building owners keep their property properly maintained , lower rates for start-up businesses for a certain amount of time"  "Pedestrianising the High Street More entertainment in the High Street"  "Provide an incentive for some shops to open later in the evening. Restrict the number of charity shops that are here as they make the town look poor and provide encouragement and support to new businesses coming into the town centre."  "Another car park. Fewer charity shops"  "A plan showing a list of types of businesses and their position, mainly for visitors. Some attended public toilets would be useful"  "A manned, whets on or promotional display on Saturday Mornings, maybe below the old town hall"  "The charity shops are a great idea, but we can only have so many before they dominate the shopping experience of the town centre. So maybe stop introducing new ones and bring in other types of shops. The new Thornton’s shop brings a great new buzz to shopping in the town centre. Having new shops with this potential would be good."  "Fill the empty shops with something positive to look at but not yet more charity shops. Encourage existing shops, offices and homes to spruce up. Some of the signage, windows and facades are very shabby."  "Free parking and better shops (stop charity shops increasing)."  "Need fewer charity shops. Needs to have a greater range of different types of shop."  "Re opening of swimming pool. Dog poo is a problem in the town."  "Town needs some life brought back into it .problem is the few seem to rule. Visitor and remembrance centre that Sheridan Parsons tried to do was a good idea but that’s been cancelled now. The rides of respect were good for the town, they are gone now mainly due to the few who kept complaining. Have had ideas but no doubt the few would stop them.”  "Weekly farmers' market a good restaurant"  "Sort out parking for shop owners, allowing them to park for free, if they didn't have there shops we would not have a town centre to be proud of. Just one free permit per business would help"  "put a limit on charity shops, and have a proper town garden (park) that is really close to the town centre where people using the town centre or working there can have some 'quiet time'."  "There are too many charity shops, we could do with a few more ""speciality shops"", i.e. a kitchen shop, i.e. Steam Trading and a clothes shopping - selling Joules, etc. A wine bar & Italian restaurant."  "wider variety not just charity shops more free parking"

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56 AMT Town Benchmarking Report  "Make it more welcoming (e.g. attractions, events, public spaces, signage) Improve car parking facilities and presentation (e.g. signage, prices, eyesore parking bays, excessive bollards, restrict times for deliveries)"  "A wider range of bespoke shops. (e.g. Clothes, craft, homewares etc) A child friendly place/coffee shop that has enough room for more than 1 person to get a pushchair in. Even better would be where you could get several double pushchairs."  "Ensure all empty shops can be used by temporary/pop up facilities, be it cultural/community projects or other. Sort out the dog mess on the Streets: /"  "Get rid of charity shops. Road safety"  "More places to eat in the evening"  "Free car parking for the first hour More Disabled parking spaces More cover from wind and rain Widen the footpaths along the High Street Encourage more restaurants, especially for lunches"  "A centre of remembrance for fallen soldiers who travelled through the town. A visitors centre"  "More clothes shops. Speciality food shops e.g. cheese."  "Visitor Centre as lots of outsiders visit the town. More quality shops to make it more appealing to visitors. (like Marlborough)"  "Car Parking, EMPTY SHOPS. Too many charity shops."  "Free parking. Better restaurants (other than Indian)"  "A cafe that accepts small well behaved dogs and a proper market."  "A new car park. Better and more varied shops & restaurants."  "Bypass required, to prevent HGV in town centre. More clothes shops. Less charity shops. A place to remember the fallen and sum-up the repatriation's story."  "Increase variety of shops, including reducing the number of charity shops. Put a mini roundabout at junction of Station Rd and High St."  "Reduce or scrap parking charges in Borough fields. Better street cleaning."  "Footpaths in Wood Street need improvement. Unused electric bollards in Borough Fields car park are a hazards (I fell over one and hurt myself one evening), they need to be removed or be made to light up."  "Bring back 30 mins free parking in the Borough Fields carpark to encourage more people to 'pop' in to Bassett. Limit amount of charity shops as the town has at least 7 now."  "More variety of shops - there are too many charity shops for one small town. Easier parking in the main high street - the parking spaces need to be angled for ease of parking."  "Cheaper parking. Less charity shops."  "A decent leisure centre with a nice clean swimming pool. Put a limit on the number of charity shops on the High St."  "1, swimming pool 2, better leisure centre"  "Return to free parking wider pedestrian access (currently too narrow)"  "Open up the train station. Sort out the parking outside the Infant School"  "1/ Sort out the toilet facilities."  "cycle lane picnic area for lunch"

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57 AMT Town Benchmarking Report  "1. Larger range of shops- a few more big names to help fill the empty units. 2. No car parking cost in Borough Fields"  "Remove the tattoo parlour!"  "Improve disable parking, two narrow not standard size parking places at one end of the High Street only gives the disable access to the end of the high Street shops. Add two disable parking places one in the middle of the high street and one at the other end."  "20mph Speed Limit! Reduce High Street business rates to enable the return of the ""Family Business"" - e.g. Fishmonger, Men's Outfitter."  "Allow an hour free parking as we used to have. Community organisation use of empty shops."  "Have a better variety of shops. And again, have a better variety of shops."  "1. Insist on all shops being painted in a choice of around 3 colours - i.e. dark green, dark blue or dark brown. This would look far more upmarket. Some of the present colours look cheap, tacky and downmarket. I believe the town council/heritage group do have the authority to do this. 2. Reduce parking costs in Borough Fields. I visited Trowbridge recently and the parking was significantly cheaper."  "Free parking or voucher parking, if you shop locally you get your parking fee back. More branded retail shops and less charity shops please!!"  "Having cleaners there in the afternoon not just the morning, some shops could update there shop fronts i.e. paint, modernise"  "More markets organic/continental and an indoor area for the winter. Advertising step up on the local networks facebook etc."  "More unique shops. Would like to see more visitors/ tourists."  "Variety of shops 1 nice restaurant"  "More free parking and change on high street parking to 45 degrees rather than perpendicular to pavement as it's difficult to get in and out of bays."  "Bring back free parking in Borough Fields. Have a fishmongers."  "Reduce the number of charity shops and encourage more boutique shops - we could be more like Marlborough."  "Free parking at the car park again please."  "Re-route big lorries Away from High St. More clothes shops/fewer charity shops."  "Lower the expenses involved in a business (e.g. rates, rents) to attract a wider variety of shops to the town that would stay. A town this size really needs its own pool...pleeeease"  "Keep the variety of shops. No more charity shops/estate agents/betting shops"  "Reduce business rates by a large amount for the smaller shops, increase for large/franchise stores. Encourage new shops with a start up incentive such as free local advertising and marketing advice e.g. social media Twitter, facebook etc. Make parking free everywhere for first 2 hours, then no return for a set period. Have parking area for High street shop staff set aside that is heavily discounted but also policed strictly to prevent abuse."  "Restore some of the older buildings encourage small businesses"  "1. Local customer loyalty card scheme, points collected from local businesses and redeemable locally across a broad spectrum of businesses. 2. The economic ______

58 AMT Town Benchmarking Report downturn has impacted all High- Streets Bassett seems to be doing well in comparison and the Wed Market is thriving but strongly believe that restricted parking will drive people away- this needs a sensible approach"  "The small led Christmas lights would be better if they were the large ones as per the road-side trees in the high street. On Christmas market evening far more shops should be encouraged to stay open."  "Recently there have been a few new shops, so the standard is getting better, but there are still too many charity shops and the better shops don't tend to stay around long. It would be great to get the swimming pool back - I would definitely use the sports centre more if the pool and steam room was open and the centre was cleaned and tidied up."  "A decent high street clothes store is needed such as Next, BHS etc that caters for men, women and children."  "A bigger farmers' market. Free parking at Sainsbury's car park."  "Improve the pavements"  "Remove car parking charges in Borough Fields for stays 30 minutes. Encourage more shops run by locals, less chains. i.e. it was a shame that Delicious was replaced by Costa."  "Put the High Street car parking back on an angle like it was before. It was so much better, easier to get in and out of the spaces now it just leaves me really stressed. Stop forcing small independents out of premium positions to allow large chains to take them."  "Change High Street Parking back to how it was (parking on an angle on both sides of the street) it's horrendous now. Keep/replace architectural features at the same time as refreshing the look and style of the shop fronts. i.e the things that make a market town special and different to a big town stay."  "Improve the quality of the pavements, they are a trip hazard. not much else to improve"  "RWB is on the main Paddington Railway line. The need to go to Swindon or Chippenham before catching a train to Bath, Bristol or London is galling; especially as a small commuter train does use the line. BUILD A STATION! * * * Build a bandstand."  "parking costs that encourage visitors to stay longer (*e.g. rate goes down not up for parking 2+ hours; fewer charity shops"  "More verity in the type of shops would be nice. Paving in the high street can be dangerous in inclement weather conditions."  "Limit the amount of charity shops."  "Better range of shops and better range of restaurants. More parking."  "1. Free car parking... you could make a restriction between 1-2pm for example, which would prevent commuters parking there all day and taking up shoppers spaces. 2. More/better flowers/bunting/decoration along the high street in line with the new ""royal"" title."  "Fewer chainstores"  "I loved my visit will come back soon. The village lived up to my expectations what I expected is what I got. It’s a lovely village." ______

59 AMT Town Benchmarking Report  "Put a rocket up the backsides of those responsible for sorting Lime Kiln. Encourage the landlords and owners of high street businesses to smarten-up their properties and encourage them to open on Sundays."  "Reduce parking/traffic Fewer charity shops Wider pavements More cultural activities"  "Need a better variety of shops. Has improved recently but there are still too many charity shops. Could do with a bit more variety of eating establishments. French, Italian etc...”  "More variety of shops. Children's shoe shop. School uniform shop. Men’s clothing. Somewhere to buy CDs and DVDs. More variety of restaurants - Italian, Greek, Japanese. Most importantly a place for teenagers to hang out. Milkshake bar, cafe or similar."  "Refurbishment of the Lime Kiln Centre - it's an eyesore. Free parking throughout RWB"  "Improve free parking facilities Swimming pool"  "It's been a few years since we lived there but I visited daily and was sad to see some shops closed. Variety is key for local shoppers as is price... 1.Try to keep rents low enough that quality local shops can afford to do business on the High Street. 2. Empty the dust bins regularly so they are not overflowing - there was too much rubbish on the ground at the base of the bins."  "If we want to attract people from outside we need to give them something to come for and somewhere to park!"  "Update shop fronts Less charity shops and more high end variety of shops"  "RWB Bypass Fewer Charity shops more retailers"  "Parking issues: Improve white line markings on High Street parking. From the beginning, the marking out was a disaster! Spaces are too tight for a start. Only on one side of High Street are the sets marked on the diagonal making easier access/reversing. On the other side, combining tightness of space and sets at right angles to the road means it is impossible to reverse [with cars either side] unless you cross into the path of traffic on the other side of the road. Parking should be limited, and enforced, to two hours maximum. Shop keepers are often guilty of parking all day on the High Street - and then wonder where the customers are! Perhaps shopkeepers could be granted cheaper parking in Borough Fields, thus freeing up more spaces. Both suggestions are not easy to rectify but trying to park in the High Street under such circumstances offers little encouragement to casual visitors to stop and shop, eat or buy a coffee etc. and for those who live on the estates or who need to use a car to reach the High Street, [part of the town which has a high population of elderly people have recently been deprived of their bus service], why drive 5 minutes to Bassett and struggle to park, when you can drive 5 minutes in the other direction and shop in Asda/Tesco/Sainsbury/Asda-Walmart - and for free! More encouragement [cheaper rates?] for smaller, individual retailers to set up shop would be my other suggestion."  "free parking less charity shops"  "cut the parking on the High Street"  "More toilets More shops instead of more and more charity shops" ______

60 AMT Town Benchmarking Report  "Improve car parking on high street / remove car parking charges in ""Sainsbury’s"" car park. Reduce the number of charity shops most of the shops in the high street are either charity shops or pubs."  "Rebuild the swimming pool - much missed in the Town Otherwise very happy with the town"  "Attract High quality clothing outlets, along the lines of those in Marlborough. Make parking free again please."  "Bigger variety of shops. A reduction in Parking Charges."  "Build a ring road and keep the through traffic away. Free car parking in Borough Fields as well as the High Street."  "No more Charity shops please! Would like Waitrose to come to Royal Wootton Bassett."  "Less charity shops and maybe a variety of shops. It’s nice to have a greengrocer again. Maybe a restaurant that isn't a Chinese or Indian."  "Divert as many HGV vehicles as possible away from the town to ease the flow of traffic and reduce damage to roads. Reduce danger and inconvenience to pedestrians in the High Street by ensuring cycles are not ridden on the pavements."  "We need a restaurant chain like Pizza Express or ASK Better quality of shop and fewer charity shops"  "1: Traffic - is there nothing we can do concerning (very) large HGV's? Speed is not a problem for the most part, ignoring the traffic lights on the crossings is. 2: Make licensed premises aware of their role viz other businesses & residents of the High Street"  "Better public toilets"  "Good quality clothing shops - NOT Primark/New Look etc. Good quality restaurants/ bars."  "Fishmonger"  "Ensure all shops are occupied"  "Greater selection of shops Toilets for visitors"  "Need a wider variety of shops. More public seating areas."  "Improve the community feeling, make people mix more. More independent shops."  "Better car parking, not enough. Better attractions- more special individual shops."  "More clothes shops. No more charity shops."  "Longer opening hours. More variety of cafes."  "More clothes shops. Re open the swimming pool, especially for the kids."  "Happy how it is."  "More leisure facilities. Re open the swimming pool."  "More children’s clothes shops- Next etc. Improve general appearance."  "Free car parking. Better variety of shops."  "Generally spruce up the area a bit- some shops need repainting etc. Re open the swimming pool."  "Improve the mobile phone signal. More shops, wider range."  "Happy with how it is currently."

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61 AMT Town Benchmarking Report  "Parking."  "Improve the market. Cheaper car parking."  "Increase the free car parking. Encourage more variety in the market."  "More variety of shops- less estate agents, bookies and charity shops. More pavement cafes."  "Increase activities within the town after 5pm. Free car parking."  "More variety of shops- a supermarket such as Asda. Decent restaurants."  "More variety in the market. Better crossings."  "Happy with how it is."  "Wouldn’t make any changes, happy how it currently is."  "Need a shoe shop. More events like the Olympic Torch coming through, improved community spirit."  "More entertainment such as a theatre. More variety of shops."  "Develop the market. Brighten the area up- general appearance."  "Make public transport cheaper into the town centre. Make car parks cheaper."  "More colour. More clothes shops."  "Get rid of the Town Cryer. Improve the car parking system, currently 30p for one hour and then £1.10 for more than one hour, illogical."  "Reduce the amount of charity shops. Fill the empty shops."  "Make the Sainsbury’s Car Park free. Encourage more restaurants or pavement cafes."  "Fill the empty shops. More shops for younger people- clothes shops. Grandchildren struggle to find things they like- have to go to Swindon etc."  "More variety of shops. Increase the size of the market."  "Increase social and cultural events- increase community spirit. Free Car Parking."  "No suggestions- already love how it is currently."  "Encourage new shops. Clean up the area."  "Less charity shops. More variety in the market."  "Wider pavements. Improving the road crossings."  "More police presence. More flowers."  "Bring the swimming pool back. Need a haberdashery."  "Stop putting so many shops that are competing against each other. Reduce the number of charity shops."

Charity Shops Range of Shops Car Parking Physical improvements Leisure facilities

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62 AMT Town Benchmarking Report