St Patrick's Day Report 2019

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St. Patrick’s Day 2019 – Business Feedback

St. Patrick’s Day

Business Feedback Report April 2019

St. Patrick’s Day 2019 – Business Feedback

St. Patrick’s Day Business Feedback Report 2019

*c/o Belfast City Centre Management 2nd Floor Sinclair House 95 – 101 Royal Avenue Belfast BT1 1FE

St. Patrick’s Day 2019 – Business Feedback

Contents

1. Executive Summary Page 3 Figure One: Map of parade route Page 4

2. Results Pages 4 – 9 Figure Two : Footfall on Sunday 17th March, 2019 Page 5 Figure Three : Sales from St Patricks Day 2019 Page 5 Figure Four: St. Patrick’s Day sales performance comparison 2017 – 2019 Page 6 Figure Five: Do you think the event was inclusive? Page 6 Figure Six: St Patrick’s Day inclusiveness comparison 2017 – 2019 Page 7 Figure Seven: Businesses that witnessed anti-social behaviour comparison Page 7 2017-2019 Figure Eight: Types of anti-social behaviour recorded by businesses Page 8 Figure Nine: Did Retailers believe the event was organised and marshalled Page 9 properly?

3. Year on Year Comparison Pages 10 -11 Figure Ten: Footfall comparative results 2014 - 2019 Page 10 Figure Eleven: Sales comparative results 2014 – 2019 Page 11 Figure Twelve: Survey results comparison 2014 - 2019 Page 11

4. Conclusion and Recommendations Pages 12-13

5. Appendices Pages 14-16 Appendix One: Business Feedback Form Page 14-16

St. Patrick’s Day 2019 – Business Feedback

1. Executive Summary

1.1 In March 2019, Belfast City Centre Management undertook a comparative survey of retailers based within the city centre to gauge their opinions on the St. Patrick’s Day civic celebration. We received 40 responses from businesses. This was to ascertain whether the event had an impact on a variety of issues ranging from footfall, sales, anti-social behaviour and inclusiveness.

1.2 The St. Patrick’s Day celebrations took place on Sunday 17th March 2019, in conjunction with the ‘Craic’ 10k run. After consultation with businesses following the 2014 event, Belfast City Council agreed to hold the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations on 17th March, rather than the closest Sunday to the 17th March as was the case in 2014.

In 2014 the St Patrick’s day parade and events was held on Sunday 16th March instead of the Monday 17th March. This was done as it was believed that this would cause less disruption to businesses as the parade would have passed through the city centre before businesses opened for trade. Although feedback on the 16th March was generally positive businesses reported that on the Monday 17th March they also experienced disruptionin terms of the number of large groups of youths that came into the city centre to celebrate St Patrick’s day. With no events or activities happening on this day businesses found that the large crowds of young people moved through the city centre causing disturbances for businesses. BCCM received feedback from businesses on the decision to hold the event on the closest Sunday to the 17th March and 64% of businesses did not agree with this move commented that the Sunday parade and the associated disruption on the Monday 17th meant that businesses suffered two days of disruption.

In 2017 St Patrick’s day fell on a Friday and in 2018 it fell on a Saturday. These are both busy shopping days with city centre opening hours 9am – 6pm. In 2019 St Patrick’s day fell on a Sunday which has a shorter window for opening hours of 1pm – 6pm.

1.3 The ‘Craic’ 10K run left City Hall at 9am, travelled up Castle Street via Queen Street into West Belfast before travelling into South Belfast through Botanic to Ormeau Park where the race finished. Road closures were in place from 8.30am on Sunday 17th March. The new route for 2019 meant that there were less road closures in the city centre as previous years. Ormeau Park was chosen as the finish line for the race as it offered a more sheltered location for runners. There were a few activities held in the park on the same date to add to the festivities.

1.4 The St. Patrick’s Day parade took a new route this year due to the cordon being in place at Castle Place. The parade left City Hall at 12:30pm and travelled via Chichester Street, Victoria Street, High Street, Bridge Street and Donegall Street, finishing at Writer’s Square. The concert took place at Custom House Square at 1:30pm and was well attended. Events were also held at St George’s market with music, dancing and food tastings from 10am – 4pm.

St. Patrick’s Day 2019 – Business Feedback

Figure One : St Patricks Day Parade Route 2019

2. Results

2.1 The businesses were asked whether they opened on St. Patrick’s Day. 70% of businesses who responded were open on Sunday 17th March. This is a decrease on previous years when 100% who responded were open in 2018 and 84% in 2017.

However, as the 17th March fell on a Sunday a smaller percentage of stores open on that day with many independent retailers choosing to close on a Sunday.

2.2 The level of footfall was measured by each individual business compared with the same date in 2018. Of the businesses that opened on Sunday 17th March;

 45% stated there was a reduction in footfall compared with 75% the previous year and 52% in 2017.  24% stated there was an increase in footfall compared with 25 % the previous year and 19% in 2017.  The average figure for footfall on Sunday 17th March from those that provided their figures was -22.1%. This is a higher figure than the 2018 figure of -18% and 2017 which was -19%.  City centre footfall is also recorded by Belfast One’s footfall cameras. Footfall for Sunday 17th March 2019 compared to Saturday 17th March 2018 was down by - 52.7% for the city centre as a whole and -54.5% for Donegall Place and -53.7% for Royal Avenue.

St. Patrick’s Day 2019 – Business Feedback

2.3

Figure Two : Footfall on Sunday 17th March 2019

2.4 Along with instore footfall, sales performance was measured. Of the businesses that opened on Sunday 17th March 2019;

 29% of businesses recorded an increase in their sales compared to 21% in 2018 and 10% in 2017.  39% recorded a decrease in sales compared to 79% in 2018 and 52% in 2017.  The average figure from stores which provided their sales figures indicate that on average sales were down 33.9% this year, compared to -14% in 2018 and -22% in 2017. This could be as a result of the shorter trading hours from 1pm- 6pm on a Sunday, compared to the two previous years from 9am-6pm when the event was held on a Saturday in 2018 and a Friday in 2017.

2.5

Figure Three: Sales from St. Patrick’s Day 2019

St. Patrick’s Day 2019 – Business Feedback

Sales performance 2017-2019

9.52% 2017 52.38% 38.10%

21.05% Increase 2018 78.95% Decrease 0% No change

28.57% 2019 39.29% 32.14%

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00% 80.00% 90.00% 100.00%

Figure Four: St. Patrick’s Day sales performance comparison 2017 – 2019

2.6 Belfast City Council strive to make the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations a family event that is inclusive and comfortable for everyone to participate in and enjoy. 83% agreed that the event was inclusive which is an increase on the previous year when 55% of respondents felt it was inclusive and 22% felt it was inclusive in 2017. 3% of respondents felt that the event was not inclusive which is a significant decrease from the 30% of respondents in 2018 and 43% in 2017. 14% of respondents did not see the parade which represents a decrease from the previous year’s figure of 15%. The figure in 2017 was 35%.

Figure Five: Do you think the event is inclusive?

St. Patrick’s Day 2019 – Business Feedback

Inclusiveness Comparison 2017-2019

21.74% 2017 43.48% 34.78%

55.00% Yes 2018 30.00% No 15% Didn't see it

82.76% 2019 3.45% 13.79%

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00% 80.00% 90.00% 100.00% Figure Six: St Patrick’s Day inclusiveness comparison 2017 – 2019

2.7 Businesses were asked whether they witnessed anti-social behaviour during the event; 34% stated that they did. This is a 21% decrease from 55% in 2018 and 83% in 2017.

Businesses that witnessed anti-social behaviour 2017-2019

2017 83.00%

2018 55%

2019 34.00%

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00% 80.00% 90.00%

Figure Seven: Businesses that witnessed anti-social behaviour comparison 2017-2019

St. Patrick’s Day 2019 – Business Feedback

2.8 Businesses were asked the types of anti-social behaviour they witnessed. Of the 34% of business who reported having witnessed anti-social behaviour;  90% of these stated that they witnessed on street drinking,  70% witnessed people causing annoyance,  There was 0% reporting witnessing illegal street trading.  Most of the comments from businesses reported witnessing under-age drinking by crowds of teenagers coupled with intimidating and unruly behaviour.

Figure Eight: Types of anti-social behaviour recorded by businesses

2.9 There was a significant decrease from the 2018 report in relation to businesses requiring the assistance of, or contacting, the PSNI on the day. 7% of businesses were required to do this whilst 93% of businesses did not. In 2018 15% of businesses were required to contact PSNI and 14% in 2017. Businesses requested help with removing large groups of youths from areas in the city centre in the afternoon.

With these comments in mind, 7% of businesses stated that they had a need to close their stores earlier than planned. This is a considerable decrease from 2018 when 30% of businesses were required to close before 6pm and the figure was 29% in 2017. Some businesses on Donegall Place reported low footfall throughout the afternoon which caused them to decide to close early.

2.10 Businesses were asked whether they believed the event was organised and marshalled properly;  72% stated they did believe this to be the case which is an increase from the 60% of businesses in 2018 and 48% of businesses in 2017.  3% believed that the event was not marshalled properly which is a decrease on 15% of businesses in 2018 and 4% in 2017.  24% of businesses stated that they did not see the parade which is a similar figure of 25% in 2018 and a decrease from 48% in 2017.

St. Patrick’s Day 2019 – Business Feedback

Figure Nine: Did Retailers believe the event was organised and marshalled properly?

2.11 Business were asked their opinion on the revised St. Patrick’s Day Parade route which this year started at Donegall Square North then Chichester Street, Victoria Street, High Street, Bridge Street, Waring Street, Donegall Street and finishing at Writers Square.

42% of the businesses surveyed stated the new route did not have any impact on them. Out of the businesses that were affected by the change of route, 67% stated the new route impacted them positively with 33% stating it had a negative impact. The majority of businesses in favour of this route explained this was because they experienced greater footfall with the parade travelling along their street which it had not done in previous years.

2.12 Feedback on the concert however is mixed. Businesses feel that Custom House Square is a good location for another event but the type of event, i.e a concert aimed at teenagers, creates issues for the city centre.

2.13 The ‘Craic 10K’ run took place for the fifth year, leaving City Hall at 9am and finishing in the Ormeau Park. Businesses seemed largely supportive of this event with no businesses reporting any issues. Translink reported that their engagement with the organisers prior to the event meant that managing the road closures were easier in terms of maintaining access/services on the morning of the event. This year the race started in the city centre but then left the city after two kilometres heading out to the west of the city and returned via Grosvenor Road, Great Victoria Street and Botanic Avenue to the finish line. Due to this new route disruption to the main city centre was significantly reduced compared to previous years.

St. Patrick’s Day 2019 – Business Feedback

3. Year on Year Comparison

3.1 The St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in 2019 represented the 14th consecutive year that Belfast City Council has organised the event. Table 1 show comparisons of previous surveys carried out from 2008–2019:

Retailers that saw an increase/decrease of customers visiting their business

2014 40% 40% 20%

2015 22% 17% 61%

2016 32% 18% 50%

2017 19% 29% 52%

2018 25% 0% 75%

2019 24% 31% 45%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Increase of Customers No Change Decrease of Customers

Figure Ten: Footfall comparative results 2014 - 2019

St. Patrick’s Day 2019 – Business Feedback

Retailers that saw an increase/decrease in sales at their business

2014 55% 29% 18%

2015 29% 6% 65%

2016 31% 21% 48%

2017 10% 38% 52%

2018 21% 0% 79%

2019 29% 32% 39%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Increase of Sales No Change Decrease of Sales

Figure Eleven: Sales comparative results 2014 – 2019

Survey results comparison 2014 - 2019 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Retailers that thought the event was inclusive Retailers that witnessed anti-social behaviour Retailers requiring PSNI assistance Retails that believed the even was organised and marshelled properly

Figure Twelve: Survey results comparison 2014 - 2019

St. Patrick’s Day 2019 – Business Feedback

4. Conclusions and Recommendations

4.1 45% of businesses stated that there was a reduction in footfall and 39% stated that they had a reduction in sales. These figures are much lower than the 2018 figures where 75% of business recorded a reduction in footfall and 79% recording a reduction in sales.

24% of businesses reported an increase in footfall compared to 25% in 2018 and 29% of businesses reported an increase in sales compared to 21% in 2018. These figures are quite positive with less businesses reporting that they had a decrease in sales and footfall.

65% of businesses surveyed were on the new parade route. This is reflected in the number of businesses who reported that their footfall was more positive than previous years. The change of route due to the cordon at Castle Place meant that crowds were gathering at different areas of the city centre to watch the parade than previous years. The weather on the day was much improved from the previous year with some rain in the morning which eased off in the afternoon.

In 2017 St Patrick’s day was held on Friday, in 2018 it was a Saturday and in 2019 it was held on a Sunday. On Friday’s and Saturday’s the opening hours for retailers are 9am – 6pm compared to the shorter window of 1pm – 6pm which explains a decrease in sales and footfall on the previous years.

4.2 This year there was a marked improvement on the number of businesses who felt that the event was inclusive and felt comfortable. 83% of business surveyed stated that they felt the event was inclusive which is an increase on the 2018 figure of 55% and the 2017 figure of 22%. Only 3% of businesses reported that they felt that it was not inclusive compared to 30% in 2018 and 43% in 2017. This indicates an improvement on how the parade is perceived by businesses in the city centre. It is seen as an enjoyable inclusive event.

4.3 Over recent years businesses have consistently reported their concerns over anti- social behaviour, even though it is associated with the period post-parade rather than the event itself. 34% of businesses stated that they witnessed anti-social behaviour which is a decrease on the numbers witnessing this in 2018 when 55% of businesses witnessed anti-social behaviour and 87% in 2017.

On street drinking remains the main issue for businesses with 90% of those businesses who witnessed anti-social behaviour having witnessed this on the day.

4.4 Only 7% of businesses were required to contact the PSNI for assistance compared to 15% in 2018 and 14% in 2017. Businesses requested help with removing large groups of youths from areas in the city centre in the afternoon. Also similar numbers were required to close their store early with 7% of businesses having to do so in 2019 compared to 30% of businesses in 2018 and 29% in 2017. These figures indicate that there was perhaps less disruption for businesses in 2019.

4.5 There were mixed opinions from businesses regarding the change of route. Those businesses on the new parade route found that it was beneficial in terms of increased footfall to their store and saw an increase in customers and they felt the parade added

St. Patrick’s Day 2019 – Business Feedback

to the general atmosphere of the area. The majority of businesses were content with the new route and felt that this brought extra footfall and customers to the area of their business.

Other businesses along the route felt that the proximity of the parade had a negative effect on their business. Businesses which were not on the route this year but would have been in previous years felt that the parade should return to its original route as it had a negative impact on their business.

4.6 Feedback from businesses regarding the concert at Custom House after the parade has mixed reviews. Business feedback was that the event was good and had a good variety of artists to attract different audiences. Custom House Square is seen as a good location away from the main area of City Hall but still within proximity of the city centre so retailers could benefit from passing trade.

4.7 There was limited feedback on the Craic 10k with most businesses showing their support for the event happening on the morning before the parade. However, as St. Patrick’s Day fell on a Sunday there was not the same access issues due to road closures for staff travelling to work on the morning of the 17th March. Businesses also were in favour of the race going through less of the city centre than previous years as it meant that the city centre was not as greatly impacted due to two large events coming through the city centre. Business reported having no issues and Translink reported that their early engagement with the organisers meant that they were able to make alternative service arrangements in good time.

St. Patrick’s Day 2019 – Business Feedback

Appendix 1.

St. Patrick’s Day 2019 – Business Feedback