STOCKPORT PORTAS PILOT : REVIEW This report was collated by Joe Barratt on behalf of the Portas Pilot Delivery Group

Impact & outcomes The following table is based on the statements, priorities and objectives - and specific projects - contained in the original Stockport Portas Pilot application

Statements, priorities and objectives Objective What was done Impact & outcome The Stockport Portas Pilot organisation will be All decisions made by the Portas Pilot group were The process that was put in place has led to the responsible for informing all partners and public communicated to council officers throughout the length Portas Pilot funding allocated to projects in an about the use of the grant, decisions made and of the Portas Pilot project, as well as to the public effective and efficient manner, while ensuring ensuring the outcomes in this application are through the group’s website, in the local media and at that the aims and objectives of each application delivered. public meetings. were delivered. The Stockport Portas Pilot organisation will be a A dedicated website was set-up to document the This website enabled the group to list details of transparent and accountable group. It will have Portas Pilot group’s progress to the general public as all tender opportunities that were available to its own web site and social media accounts as well as to display contact information. This website companies to apply for. This led to the group the principal tools for communications. was created and managed free of charge. The social receiving a number of high-quality applications media pages for Stockport Old Town on Facebook and from local businesses for the creation of the new Twitter were used by the group to promote Portas Pilot Stockport Old Town website. funded activity.

STOCKPORT PORTAS PILOT : REVIEW V1 (A) The Stockport Portas Pilot initiative will make The Portas Pilot group ran a number of events to It was through one of these public meetings that use of public events, print and broadcast media engage and update the general public throughout the information was shared about the chance for locally, regionally, nationally and internationally course of the group’s existence. These meetings were local businesses to be part of the group, which to communicate with partners and the public. a chance to get the thoughts of both the public and led to new members joining the group as local businesses, which were often generally positive. representatives from the local business sector.

Information about Portas Pilot initiatives and events Information about events in the area, funded by were also widely shared in the Stockport Express and the Portas Pilot, were regularly posted in the Evening news, as well TV news channels, Stockport Express, which led to an increase in including BBC News, ITV News and Sky News. footfall at the events, as a result. The Stockport Portas Pilot initiative will use Iconic locations from Stockport Old Town were used as By attracting celebrities and famous faces to iconic locations and ambassadors including the inspiration to create the new visual identity for the Stockport Old Town, we have helped promote international athletes and entertainers to launch area, which helped restore a sense of pride about the the town centre as an exciting and and celebrate projects and events. town centre in local people. contemporary destination to visit.

Foodie Friday has attracted a number of famous faces Following her guest visit to Screen Stockport to Stockport Market including actor Ted Robbins, actor Film Festival, we took filmmaker Carol Morley Phil Mealey, actor Ryan Thomas, lead singer of The on guided tour of Stockport Old Town, including Courteeners, Liam Fray, and the band Blossoms. a visit to Seven Miles Out.

Seven Miles Out has also hosted a number of famous The following year, she returned to promote her celebrities, including filmmaker Carol Morley, who ran book which she decided to title ‘7 Miles Out’, a Q&A session about her book ‘7 Miles Out’ along with inspired by her experiences of Stockport when her friend, the acclaimed actor Maxine Peake. she was young.

The Stockport Portas Pilot organisation will The Portas Pilot group regularly shared their progress By attending a number of conferences which share practice through the ATCM and proposed with partners, including ATCM and DCLG, which led to focused on discussing innovative approaches to CLG evaluation, with Greater Manchester some of the group’s work be featured in a document town centre place-making, Chair of the Portas partners and other Town Teams. published by ATCM which explored the impact of the Pilot group, Joe Barratt, has been able to Portas Pilot at a national level. promote Stockport as a success story.

STOCKPORT PORTAS PILOT : REVIEW V1 (A) The Stockport Portas Pilot organisation will find The Portas Pilot group recognised that the delivery of At these events, a number of surveys have been out what people feel about spending time (and specialist events was essential in trying to attract new conducted to assess the thoughts of visitors money) in Stockport town centre, and to visitors to the area, as well as local residents who had about the effectiveness of the event’s delivery. evaluate the outcomes for local businesses. stopped visiting the area, as the regular weekly footfall This will involve identifying perceptions as well to the Market Place was clearly decreasing. As well as providing an insight into the views of as qualitative and quantitative information. the public around the delivery of the Portas Pilot, The specialist events that the Portas Pilot funded these surveys also provided a chance to assess included the Stockport Old Town Fringe Festival, the the public’s view on the town centre and what Stockport Old Town Folk Festival, the Festive Fringe they thought was needed to improve it. the Medieval Viking Fair and Foodie Friday. The Stockport Portas Pilot organisation will The Portas Pilot group received a project application Information regarding estimated footfall, monitor the progress of the initiative using a pack for each proposal which requested access to customer views, level of participation, event range of indicators and discrete measures. Portas Pilot funds. evaluation and media coverage is all available.

Using the information contained within these Information regarding vacancy levels, number of documents, the group reviewed and considered the lettings, retailer representation, car park usage impact that each project would bring to the area. We and new business start-ups are all factors which then made a decision on whether we would support the Portas Pilot have no definitive access to. the proposal, based on the aims and objectives the plans were stated to achieve. However, we believe that Stockport Council have access to these measurements and should In some cases, the group requested more detailed be able provide them to the scrutiny committee, evaluation after the completion of each project. in order to judge the potential effectiveness of the Portas Pilot.

STOCKPORT PORTAS PILOT : REVIEW V1 (A) Vacancy levels According to data provided by Stockport Council, The impact of the Portas Pilot work on vacancy vacancy rates in the Old Town area have reduced by rates in the Market Place is clear, the group has 4.6% over five years, with 56 of 250 units in the area had a positive effect on reducing empty units. remaining empty at the last count. However, there is still much to be done.

The Portas Pilot group estimate that vacancy rates Vacancy figures in Little Underbank and Lower around the Market Place have been reduced by Hillgate remain high, however, the interventions approximately 20% since 2012, with only 10% of that have been made by Stockport Council, available units now being empty. through the use of CPOs, will likely decrease high vacancy rates over time. Changes from retail to non-retail There have been a number of businesses who have These changes have resulted in the creation of invested in the area and changed the class of unit from a local economy which is more suited to the a retail offer to a leisure offer as a result including; consumer demands of the 21st century, with a Seven Miles Out, Hatters Coffee, The Allotment, greater emphasis placed on experiential offers Remedy Bar & Brewhouse and the Petersgate Tap. like food and drink. Commercial yields During the last rates review, the rateable value of pubs This increase in rateable value for pubs and in the Market Place increased by an average of 40%. bars in the area would have increased the commercial yield to Stockport Council by 40%. This will be, in part, as a result of the increased trade that venues have experienced over the last four years. Footfall The Portas Pilot group have access to some of this The Folk Festival attracted an estimated 10,000 information, by estimating footfall at each event, people over four days. The Fringe Festival however, we do not have technology in place to attracted an estimated 8,000 over three days determine exact footfall increases or decreases. and the Medieval Viking Festival attracted an estimated 7,000 people over two days. Foodie Instead, estimates of footfall have been used through Friday events attract an estimated 2,500 people assessing photos and videos taken at the events. each month.

STOCKPORT PORTAS PILOT : REVIEW V1 (A) Event evaluation (including Feedback surveys have been conducted at most of the This survey of visitors to Foodie Friday revealed attendance figures, visitor profiles, events supported by Portas Pilot funded and result that most visitors rated Stockport town centre as reasons for attending, perceptions of mainly in positive feedback from visitors and partners. ‘Average’ (50%), followed by ‘Good’ (25.3%) and and actual experience of the centre) ‘Poor’ (17.6%). Only a very small amount felt it The Fringe Festival in 2014, for example, attracted was ‘Excellent’ (3.2%) and ‘Very Poor’ (3.8%). significant praise from market traders and local stakeholders, for being an incredibly popular day with Visitors also stated that they ‘Rarely’ visit record trading levels. Stockport Market (29.1%) while a smaller amount of stated they only ever visit Stockport In order to gain a more detailed understanding of Market when Foodie Friday is on (27.8%). people’s views about the town centre, we undertook an assessment of visitors to Foodie Friday, as this is Most visitors rated Stockport Market as widely described as the type of visitor we would like to ‘Average’ (32.7%), then ‘Good’ (30.8%), with a see visit the town centre on a more regular basis. lesser amount rating it ‘Poor’ (19.9%).

Responses to this survey were collected from a total of When asked what the town centre needed more 312 people. Of these, 38 were collected at the event of, most visitors responded with ‘Bars and and 271 were collected from online responses, in a Restaurants’ (21.1%), followed very closely by link provided on the Foodie Friday Facebook page. ‘Entertainment and Live Music Venues’ (21.0%), ‘Independent Retailers’ (20.7%) and ‘Events and Most respondents were female (62.2%) compared to Festivals’ (18.9%). male (37.8%). Most respondents were aged 35 - 44 (31.3%), followed closely by those aged 45 - 54 Only a few visitors felt the town centre needed (28.1%) and 25 - 34 (21.1%). more ‘Cafes and Coffee Shops (9.9%) and ‘Major Retailers’ (8.4%). A significant majority of respondents live in Stockport (84.9%), while a smaller proportion (15.1%) came to The results of this survey demonstrated that the the event from elsewhere. Most respondents said they focus of the Portas Pilot has been in the right live in Offerton (17.59%), followed closely by the Four place and vindicates our strategy of running Heatons (17.09%) and Hazel Grove (15.58%). events and festivals, and encouraging the growth of leisure operators in the area.

STOCKPORT PORTAS PILOT : REVIEW V1 (A) New business start ups Since the Portas Pilot began, a number of new These new openings give a good indication of business start-ups have launched in the area without the positive work that the Portas Pilot has done being directly funded by the Portas Pilot. to promote Stockport Old Town as a destination to invest in for new businesses. These include; The Bakers Vaults, Tandem Coffee House, Hatters Coffee, Cafelito, Petersgate Tap, We’ve seen a significant growth in the leisure Isabella Bridal, I Love Lucie, Tramp Hair Boutique, the Hillgate Cakery, Twist of Fake, The Allotment, Where offer with these new businesses, with this trend the Light Gets In, Remedy Bar & Brewhouse, Preen being set to continue with two new bars opening Beauty Specialists and the Plant Shop. in 20 and 22 Market Place in May 2018.

Number of improved facilities & By extending the council’s Business Improvement By investing £16,651 through the Business premises Grant Scheme, there were thirteen premises in Improvement Grant Scheme, the Portas Pilot Stockport Old Town that benefitted from improved group managed to secure investment of £33,303 facilities, at a cost of £16,651 to the Portas Pilot group. into improving premises in the area. State of the town centre The Portas Pilot group have not addressed the state of The £1.8m Heritage Lottery funding awarded to environmental quality (including the town centre environmental quality through funding Stockport Council should be invested to protect buildings and spaces) improvements to the built environment, however, we the heritage and conservation status of the have raised concerns for it’s deteriorating state over Underbanks, by making sure the cobbled streets the last few years as the group believed that this has are restored to their previous state and that the prevented the Underbanks from achieving its potential. buildings which have fallen down are developed.

STOCKPORT PORTAS PILOT : REVIEW V1 (A) The Stockport Portas Pilot will replace the As a result of the proposals that were put forward by As of 2017, the Portas Pilot was as follows: Stockport’s Town Centre Business & Retail Ann Coffey MP and voted on in April 2013, the Forum with a Town Team, formally constituted Stockport Portas Pilot did not replace the Town Name Organisation with representatives from businesses, Centre Business & Retail Forum but instead became Joe Barratt, Chair The Teenage Market independent and multiple retailers, market the executive body responsible for assigning the public Alan Lowe The Vintage Village traders, cultural organisations, residents and the funding to specific projects. Mostafa Rezvani Stockport Market voluntary sector, reflecting the geography and John Barratt Screen Stockport demographics of the town centre. The Portas Pilot group then became comprised of Ted Doan The Plaza representatives from local businesses, cultural Nicola Quinn Independent Trader organisations and market traders, reflecting the David Telford Independent Trader geography and demographics of Stockport Old Town.

The Stockport Portas Pilot organisation will aim The Portas Pilot group directly filled four vacant units By filling vacant units with exciting new uses, the to fill vacant units with exciting new uses. with new uses and has indirectly contributed to filling a Portas Pilot group were able to reduce the number of other units with new uses in the area. vacancy rates in the area and give confidence to businesses that investment is being made in The four vacant units that were filled with Portas Pilot Stockport Old Town. funding were; 20 Market Place (Seven Miles Out), 26 - Since filling these units, we have seen a number 27 Market Place (20th Century Stores) 8 Market Place of new business invest in the area, which shows (Peggy Mae Vintage / Artism Gallery) 42 High Street that our strategy resulted in the creation of a (Stockport Old Town Pop-Up Shop) stronger local economy. The Stockport Portas Pilot organisation will Shortly after the new Portas Pilot group was set-up, Through this scheme, the Portas Pilot group support businesses who have recently Stockport Council announced their decision to end the were able to support 13 businesses, at a cost of “discovered” the Markets & Underbanks area. grant funding offered to local businesses as part of the £16,651, as £3,349 was spent on vinyls designs “Business Improvement Grant Scheme”. for empty shop units on Great Underbanks.

This scheme enabled local businesses to benefit from By investing £16,651 through the Business match-funding of up to £2,000 if they spent money on Improvement Grant Scheme, the Portas Pilot improving their unit. The Portas Pilot group decided to group managed to secure investment of £33,303 renew this grant scheme and allocated £20,000 to it. into improving premises in the area.

STOCKPORT PORTAS PILOT : REVIEW V1 (A) The Stockport Portas Pilot initiative will reinvent The Portas Pilot group supported the development of Foodie Friday has successfully reinvented the town centre markets and key attractions to Foodie Friday, when it was at serious risk of having to Stockport Market, with the event becoming a attract people from 90-minute drive time across end as a result of a lack of council resources. key attraction for visitors in the North West and Greater Manchester and Cheshire throughout Greater Manchester. The Stockport Portas Pilot initiative will create There have been a number of new businesses set-up Attracting younger business owners is important venues owned and run by young people. by young people, since the Portas Pilot began. These when trying to attract a younger demographic to include; Seven Miles Out, Tramp Hair Boutique, Stockport Old Town, as well promote the area as Hatters Coffee Company, Chambers, The Allotment a contemporary destination to visit. This process and Where the Light Gets In. has started and looks set to continue. The Stockport Portas Pilot initiative will In order to bring the town centre to life in the evening, Foodie Friday now brings a real buzz back to bring the centre to life in the evenings as well as Stockport Council created Foodie Friday in 2013 as a Stockport Market each month as thousands of daytime. way to attract visitors to Stockport Market after normal people come together for street food, craft ales hours of operation. and live entertainment from local talent in the beautiful surroundings of the Old Town. However, due to cut backs, in 2015 the council stated that it no longer had the resources to fund the event, The event has created a vibrant atmosphere in so the Portas Pilot group decided to fund and deliver the Market Place each month, and is valued to the event moving forward. be make an estimated impact of £25,000 to the local economy per event. The team at Seven Miles Out took over the running of the event, with support of £833 per event to cover the In 2016, Foodie Friday won the ‘Best Pop-Up, cost of hiring the Market Hall and staff, marketing the Event or Project’ award at the Manchester Food event, supplying a P.A for entertainment and acquiring and Drink Festival, beating off competition from the relevant licences. some of the Manchester’s most popular events.

Sponsorship support from private business in the area including Orbit Developments, Robinsons Brewery and CDL has also helped support the development of the event over the last five years.

STOCKPORT PORTAS PILOT : REVIEW V1 (A) Specific projects identified in the Stockport Portas Pilot application Project What was done Impact & outcome

STOCKPORT PORTAS PILOT : REVIEW V1 (A) Cultural programme development A cultural programme was developed through the The first ever Stockport Old Town Folk Festival, creation of The Stockport Old Town Folk Festival which ran from Thursday 23rd to Sunday 26th which aimed to celebrate the heritage of local folk April 2015, attracted an estimated 10,000 culture of Stockport through performances of folk people over four days, with an estimated 5,000 dance, folk music and street theatre. people attending activities on Sunday.

The Stockport Old Town Folk Festival, enhanced the Over 150 local school children took part in the regular town centre offer by creating a family-friendly St. George’s Day event and over 500 people experience with performances from some of the attended the celebrations. region’s best folk musicians. Each Folk Festival celebrated St. George’s Day, with the event involving 9 Morris Troupes from across the North West 300 performers of all ages each year. took part in the Folk Festival with over 200 morris dancers performing in the Old Town. The Folk Festival had a budget of £13,000 in Year 1 and £8,284 in Year 2. The Folk Festival was also 10 street food vendors took part in the special successful in attracting additional grant funding from ‘Folk’ themed Foodie Friday event, which was Arts Council for the opportunity of further 30% busier than usual as a result. artistic development the event would generate. Local venues, including the Bakers Vaults, saw This extra funding enabled local artist Sophie Tyrrell to a 45% increase in sales over the Folk Festival develop a series of impressive ‘gigante’ magical period. This also applied to outdoor traders who creatures for the Folk Festival, which featured in saw an increase in sales on Sunday, compared specially-developed interactive street performances. to a regular market trading day on Saturday.

A partnership with Robinsons Brewery also saw The gigantes also featured in Stockport’s Carnival the creation of the Stockport Old Town Folk ale, parade, which promoted the Old Town by creating a a crisp, dry, 3.7% ABV amber ale which colourful spectacle throughout the town centre. combined the perfect balance of fruity aromas with hoppy flavours to result in a unique brew.

STOCKPORT PORTAS PILOT : REVIEW V1 (A) Seven Miles Out centre The Portas Pilot’s key aim of establishing a creative, Since opening its doors to the public in 2013, community arts centre and social space was delivered Seven Miles Out has kickstarted the evening through the creation of Seven Miles Out in 2013, economy in the Market Place and developed a located at 20 Market Place. regular programme of specialist events including music sessions for young people, open mic The idea for a community arts centre was a central nights, a popular monthly alternative comedy part of the town’s Portas Pilot bid application, after it night and a fortnightly film night. was identified by a group of local stakeholders as a way to regenerate Stockport’s Market area. We have estimated to have engaged with approximately 20,350 people, based on an The proposed team to run the arts centre was Joe, average of 50 people attending 407 events. John and Rosemary Barratt, who all had experience running a number of creative events in the town One of the most popular events taking place in including Screen Stockport Film Festival, The Teenage Seven Miles Out has been the monthly A Laugh Market and Seven Miles Out Music and Arts Festival. in Stockport Comedy Night. These sell-out shows have attracted over 1,500 people to the The team wanted to create a multi-functional, flexible area over the past three years to see comedy community space which could facilitate a number of acts fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. mixed uses, including everything from music, art, film, comedy, spoken word and digital technology. Seven Miles Out has also become an important venue for local community organisations who A £50,000 budget was attributed to the project for two need an accessible and inclusive space for their years, which was spent on the following: activities including; Artism, Disability Stockport, Feeding Stockport, Community Music, Ebony and Ivory and Stockport PLUS. Rent 43% Building Work 20% Despite being a creative arts complex, the Utilities 16% operators have been able to generate a Business Rates 12% commercial business model for the space, with Equipment 6% Seven Miles Out now continuing into its third Licensing 3% year beyond its funded period.

STOCKPORT PORTAS PILOT : REVIEW V1 (A) Events programme There has been a large events programme delivered The Stockport Old Fringe Festival became in Stockport Old Town as a result of the Portas Pilot Stockport’s answer to the incredibly eclectic investment, featuring a combination of events in local Edinburgh Fringe Festival, with its creative venues and festivals in the Market Place. combination of art, music and entertainment.

The first event that was funded by the Portas Pilot was The Fringe Festival brought world-class artists the Stockport Old Town Fringe Festival, whose aim together to entertain and enthral the people of was to establish itself as a landmark annual event for Stockport, transforming the Market Place with the area and bringing thousands of people to the town colour and vibrancy, leading visitors to describe centre to experience music, art and culture. it as the ‘Covent Garden of the North’.

The Stockport Old Town Folk Festival followed this, By providing engaging activity for the family, which aimed to celebrate the heritage of local folk including free circus skills workshops and culture of Stockport through performances of folk interactive street entertainment, these festivals dance, folk music and street theatre. become incredibly popular events, which also gave local businesses a huge boost in footfall. Stockport’s first ever Street Chilli Fiesta took place to as part of the Folk Festival which saw The Mile in For example, the Street Chilli Fiesta resulted in Stockport Market Place filled with colourful stalls an estimated 200% increase in visitors, giving a where people could taste, eat, drink and buy an array huge boost to daily footfall in the Market Place. of chilli products from local producers. Over 7,000 people visited Stockport’s first ever A Medieval Viking Fair was also supported which Medieval Viking Fair, where activities including aimed to create an experience which would take bow and arrow firing, coin making, battle Stockport Old Town back 1,000 years in time to the reenactments and a falconry demonstration. days of Norse invaders and knights in armour. The events activity in Seven Miles Out has given In Seven Miles Out, 407 events have been run which local people a greater sense of belonging to the have given platforms to local young creative people, town centre, as the popular music, comedy and including many local young bands, providing plenty of film events have all about brought local people opportunity to bring the local community together. together in a friendly, welcoming atmosphere.

STOCKPORT PORTAS PILOT : REVIEW V1 (A) Support for vintage/specialist retail To support vintage and specialist retail the Portas Pilot Enabled cost effective space to be provided for group funded the creation of 20th Century Stores, up to 10 vintage/collectable traders in a high building on the success of the award-winning monthly profile location. Occupancy has averaged at Vintage Village event at Stockport Market. 90%, though there has been regular churn outside 5 core traders. Located right next to Stockport Market, 20th Century Stores is a unique emporium housing a collection of The funding has enabled a previously high specialist traders offering an extensive range of profile empty unit in the Market Place to be homeware, decorative items, furniture, luggage, brought back to life and create an additional jewellery, clothing and accessories. attraction, for minimal ongoing revenue expenditure. The emporium is managed by Stockport Council, as one of their Market buildings, and has been home to a number of independent vintage retail businesses including Garbo Antiques, Harwood-Brown, Snygg, Modernist Midcentury, Retrodecs, Tin Trunk, Village Vintage Clothing and Waxdelirium.

The trader’s watchwords are quality and authenticity, selling vintage goods dating from the 1920s to the 1980s. The response to 20th Century Stores has been very positive with visitors travelling from all over the North West to Stockport Old Town.

STOCKPORT PORTAS PILOT : REVIEW V1 (A) Creative industry development space In order to develop the creative industries, the Portas This impact of this project has included giving Pilot group decided to support a proposal which would Stockport Music Project a space to run their see charities and community groups gain access to project, which gives free music lessons to young space above Seven Miles Out, 20 Market Place. people aged 11 - 16 who come from families who cannot afford music lessons. These charities and community groups included; Over 50 local young people have been given the • Artism, which supports the development of artists opportunity to perform together as a result of on the autistic spectrum Stockport Music Project, including in front of an • Bob Oxley, a local artist audience at Seven Miles Out. • Lucy Shaw, a young local artist • Darren Ord, a local photographer The space has helped Artism develop work with • Paul Jardine, a local web developer artists on the autistic spectrum, as well as • The Teenage Market, an initiative which supports provide free workshops with partners like MIND. the development of young entrepreneurs Having access to the space has also resulted in • Screen Stockport, a film festival which support the Artism running exhibitions at Seven Miles Out. development of young filmmakers • Stockport Music Project, which supports the Bob Oxley was given workshop space to create development of young musicians paintings which filled Seven Miles Out, including the iconic mural of Stockport he painted along Space was also made available for bands to rehearse the arts centre’s main wall. including Scarlet Fever, Dr. Uke and Mama Goose. Another local artist, Lucy Shaw, has also Seven Miles Out has also facilitated a number of benefitted from the space while she studied a events which have encouraged the development of B.A course in Illustration at Stockport College. creative industries. These have included a gaming workshop delivered by GAME Stockport, a coding Darren Ord, a local photographer, had access to workshop delivered by Mike Little, the co-founder of the space, which also enabled him to facilitate Wordpress, and Lips Inked, a poetry writing workshop the Capturing Stockport Old Town project, which for women aged 13 - 25, delivered by Contact Theatre gave local photographer enthusiasts to chance Future Fires Project. to attend free photography workshops.

STOCKPORT PORTAS PILOT : REVIEW V1 (A) Signage, legibility and e presence In 2014, the Portas Pilot group spent £12,882 on the Since its launch in 2014, the Stockport Old Town creation of the new website and visual identity for website has received 214,420 page views from Stockport Old Town. The new website and visual 65,489 users. identity was launched as part of the first ever Stockport Old Town Fringe Festival in August 2014. Of these users, 42% are from Stockport, 35% are from Manchester and 23% are from , In February 2017, the Portas Pilot group allocated with each user spending an average duration of funding of a further £8,000 to be spent on enhancing 01:37 on the website. the visual style and usability of the Old Town website, taking the total spend on the website to £20,882. The demographics of website users show a fairly average age profile, with the majority aged This new website was launched in November 2017 24 - 54. 25% are aged 35 - 44, 22% aged 45 - and now features all of the new businesses who have 54 and 22% aged 24 - 35. This then drops to recently invested in the area. 15% for those aged 55 - 64, 9% for 65+ and 7% for those aged 18 - 24. The social media channels for Stockport Old Town, Foodie Friday and Seven Miles Out all communicate Over the last four years, Portas Pilot funded and share information about what is going on in the projects have generated a large and loyal area to a wider online audience. following on social media. This includes a total of 23,876 social media followers, which includes 13,881 followers on Facebook, 9,995 followers on Twitter, and a monthly reach of 63,057. Plaza: digital equipment The initial Portas Pilot Town Team processed this Since the equipment has been in place the application and awarded funds to the Stockport Plaza. Plaza has been able to put on a more diverse programme including many popular high quality This resulted in the Plaza purchasing the digital screenings that would not have been possible equipment. without this investment. Plaza/St Peter’s Square: big screen The Portas Pilot team decided to not pursue this N/A project due to its impracticality and high capital cost.

STOCKPORT PORTAS PILOT : REVIEW V1 (A) STOCKPORT PORTAS PILOT : REVIEW V1 (A)