North West Town Centre Profiles

A series of economic statistical profiles have been produced on each of the 6 towns in the District to illustrate their individual character and strengths. They range in size from the main urban centre of to the small town of Kegworth.

Ashby de la Zouch

Ashby de la Zouch is a market town in the north west of the county of Leicestershire, bordering South Derbyshire at the heart of the National Forest. It is a former Georgian coaching stop with a Norman Castle and many attractive historical buildings. It is situated just off the A42 and has become an important business centre. In recent years the town has seen many new houses constructed as it is both an excellent centre of employment and also convenient for out commuting with the A42 on the doorstep. Ashby enjoys good road transport access and lies just beyond the junction of the A511 and A42, providing fast links to , Burton, Nottingham, Tamworth and slightly further afield, Birmingham. East Midlands Airport is only nine miles away. The town’s independent retail offer makes the town distinct and appealing to day visitors.

It is considered an attractive place to establish and expand business activity, in part due to its strategic location, visual setting and business offering, including modern units and industrial parks. Indeed, Ashby is considered the 8th most popular British Market town (Daily Telegraph 2015) as measured by its rising house prices, with one of the largest (23 per cent) rises in house prices since 2008 in the country.

Ashby de la Zouch is covered by 3 electoral wards, Ashby Castle; Ashby Holywell and Ashby Ivanhoe. This profile is based on the Ashby Built-up area, which covers 5,358 household spaces in an area of 395 hectares so the Economic Profile will use statistical data from this area which is a larger area than the town centre.

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Population:

According to the 2011 Census the total population of the built-up urban area of Ashby de la Zouch stood at 12,370.

Ashby de la NWL Zouch Built-up Area Total Population 12,370 93,468 2011 - Of which 6,071 (49.1%) 46,335 (49.6%) Males - Of which 6,299 (50.9%) 47,133 (50.4%) Females % of Population 18.1 17.4 aged 65+ Population 31.3 3.3 Density Source: NOMIS Census Statistics

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Employment 16 – 74 residents

Ashby de la Ashby de NWL Zouch la Zouch Built-up Built-up Area Area 2011 2011 % Share % Share % Share A. Agriculture, 0.5 29 1.2 0.8 Forestry & Fishing B. Mining & 0.6 38 1.4 0.2 Quarrying C. Manufacturing 886 14.7 20.1 8.8 D & E. Electricity; Gas; Steam; Air Conditioning 95 1.6 2.2 1.3 supply; Water & Sewerage F. Construction 433 7.2 14.2 7.7 G. Wholesale & Retail Trade; Repair of motor 992 16.5 17.6 15.9 vehicles & motor cycles H, J Transport, storage, information & 564 9.4 14.1 9.1 communication I Accommodation & Food 275 3.2 5.6 Service Activities 4.6 K. Financial & insurance 2.2 134 1.8 4.4 activities L,M,N Real estate activities, Professional, scientific & technical activities. Administrative 775 12.9 10.4 13.1 & support service activities O Public Administration & defence; compulsory 232 3.9 3.9 5.9 social security P Education 762 12.7 4.6 9.9 Q Human Health & Social 9.2 554 2.5 12.4 Work Activities R, S, T, U Other 238 4.0 2.8 5.0

All usual Residents aged 6,007 100.0 100.0 16 & Over in employment 100.0 Source: Office for National Statistics 2011 Census

The three top sectors in terms of employment in the Ashby de la Zouch area are Wholesale; Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles & Motor Cycles with 16.5% of total employment; followed by Manufacturing (14.7%) and Real estate activities, Professional, scientific & technical activities. Administrative & support service activities (12.9%).

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Types of Employment

Ashby de la Ashby de la North West England & Wales Zouch Built-up Zouch Built-up Leicestershire % % area Area % Numbers 1 Managers & 797 13.3 11.7 10.8 Senior Officers 2 Professional 1,294 21.5 14.9 17.4 3 Associate 796 13.3 11.4 12.7 Professional & Technical 4 Administration 620 10.3 11.0 11.4 & Secretarial 5 Skilled Trades 541 9.0 12.7 11.5 6 Personal 517 8.6 9.1 9.4 Services 7 Sales & 389 6.5 7.1 8.4 Customer services 8 Process Plant & 477 7.9 10.2 7.2 Machine Operatives 9 Elementary 576 9.6 11.8 11.2 Occupations Total 16,902 100 100 100 Source: NOMIS 2011 Census

In terms of Types of Employment the 3 categories of Management and Professional, Ashby de la Zouch saw 48.1% of its working population within these sectors, well above the District as a whole at 38% and 40% for England & Wales as a whole.

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Qualifications

Ashby de la Ashby de la North West England Zouch Built-up Zouch Built-up Leicestershire % % Area Area Numbers % Level 4 3,365 33.8 24.3 27.4 Qualifications & Above Level 3 1,180 11.9 12.4 12.4 Qualifications Level 2 1,461 14.7 15.4 15.2 Qualifications Level 1 1,150 11.6 13.2 13.3 Qualifications Apprenticeships 298 3.0 4.5 3.6 & Other Qualifications No Qualifications 2,127 21.4 26.0 22.5 Other 364 3.7 4.3 5.7 Qualifications Source: NOMIS 2011 Census

Ashby de la Zouch Built-up Area has a much higher proportion of its population with Level 4 and above qualifications, compared with the District as a whole with over one in three 16 – 64 year olds at this level. At the opposite end of the scale fewer people have no qualifications at 21.4% compared with 26% in the District as a whole and nationally 22.5%. These figures relate to 2011 and since then there have been significant changes in the Districts Qualification breakdown.

Unemployment

The table below illustrates that the percentage of Claimants is much lower in 2 of the 3 wards than the District average but it is higher in Ashby Holywell – it is impossible to give an accurate rate for just Ashby de la Zouch Built-Up are so the figures refer to Ashby de la Zouch Ward’s Unemployment.

Claimant Count by Sex (December 2017)

Ashby Ashby Ashby Ashby Ashby Ashby NWL (%) GB (%) Castle Castle Holywell Holywell Ivanhoe Ivanhoe (Nos) (%) (Nos) (%) (Nos) (%) Total 5 0.3 45 1.2 15 0.6 0.8 1.9 Male 5 0.4 20 1.0 10 0.9 1.0 2.4 Female 0 # 25 1.3 5 0.4 0.7 1.5 Source: ONS Claimant Count by sex January 2018

Due to small numbers the figures are rounded to 5 so may not total correctly.

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Town Centre – types of businesses

In 2017, according to an independent review (Kerching Retail Ltd), there were around 177 retail business premises in the town centre, of which 131 (74%) were independents. This is significantly higher than the national average of 67%. This gives the retail offer of Ashby a great appeal for both residents and visitors but there is significant spend leaking out of the town especially on larger purchases. There is a wealth of other shopping locations within a 30 minute drive time. There is a good mix of retail establishments and also pubs and cafes. 27% of Ashby’s premises are service outlets (Estate Agents; Hair & Beauty; Banks et al), in line with national averages.

Ashby has a strong night-time economy and in the autumn of 2017 gained the Purple Flag accreditation. There a good mix of pubs; restaurants and nightlife.

Vacancy rates

There is high demand for retail and commercial premises in both the town centre and out of town, which is reflected in an extremely low vacancy rate. There is currently only two empty properties. The town has no space to expand the retail offer and there is continued development on the outskirts of the town e.g. Marks and Spencer Simply Food opened in November 2017 near Tesco and Aldi’s.

Large employers

Ashby is home to a wide variety of internationally known large companies such as Siemens; Hill- Rom; KP Snacks; United Biscuits; Ashfield Healthcare; Plastribution and Ceva Logistics; to name but a few. There is an excellent mix of industrial; office and retail businesses in and around the town centre.

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Business/Industrial Parks

Demand for commercial space has proved strong in and around the town and most of the industrial/commercial parks are now fully occupied, with a few vacant new units on Ivanhoe Business Park. There are a number of industrial/commercial sites, including Ashby Business Park; Ivanhoe Business Park; Tournament Way; Revolution Road;

Ivanhoe Business Park is situated to the north of the town on Smisby Road and consists of a variety of high quality industrial and commercial units, featuring businesses such as Wilson Vale Catering; Fisher German; Trunet; Woodward Vets and Pyrotect. There are only a few units remaining in 2018.

Ashby Business Park

Ashby Business Park is home to a wide array of companies including Siemens Research; Ceva Logistics; Teleperformance; Hill Rom; H K Wentworth and Ashfield Healthcare.

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Housing:

Av. Current Av £ per sq ft Av. Beds Av. £ paid (last Value 12 months) Detached £361,480 £240 3.8 £343,632 Semi-Detached £218,545 £219 3.1 £219,971 Terraced £193,497 £22 2.7 £181,345 Flats £168,592 £293 1.9 £186,282 Ashby de la £283,745 £264,683 Zouch Average Leicestershire £232,910 £221,392 average Source: Zoopla February 2018

According to Zoopla, the average price paid for a property in the Ashby de la Zouch area currently is £264,683 with the corresponding average value of £283,745. The value has increased by £7,422 or 2.7% in the past 12 months. These figures relate to 244 sales.

The average rent for a 2 bedroomed flat is £574pcm (per calendar month) and a 4 bed house £1,223pcm.

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