Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009:

For Tourism

March 2010

© Northumberland Tourism 2010

Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 2

Contents 1. Executive Summary ...... 3 2. Project background ...... 7 3. Aims and objectives ...... 7 4. Methodology ...... 8 5. Introduction ...... 9 6. Key findings ...... 10 6.1 Visitor characteristics ...... 10 6.1.1 Origin ...... 10 6.1.2 Frequency of visits ...... 12 6.1.3 Type of visit ...... 13 6.1.4 Reasons for visiting ...... 14 6.1.5 Group travel ...... 15 6.1.6 Group size and composition ...... 15 6.2 Planned activities ...... 16 6.3 Travel & Transport ...... 17 6.3.1 Method of transport ...... 17 6.3.2 Car parks ...... 19 6.4 Accommodation ...... 21 6.4.1 Type of accommodation used ...... 21 6.4.2 Experience of accommodation ...... 23 6.5 Attractions visited ...... 24 6.5.1 Events visited ...... 25 6.5.2 Tourist Information Centre ...... 26 6.6 Experience of visit ...... 28 6.6.1 Overall satisfaction ...... 28 6.6.2 Satisfaction with specific aspects and priorities ...... 31 6.6.3 Visitor likes and dislikes ...... 38 6.7 Visitor expenditure ...... 45 6.7.1 Average spend per person per day ...... 46 6.7.2 Average spend per person per trip ...... 48 6.8 Visitor demographics ...... 49 6.8.1 Age and gender ...... 49 6.8.2 Work situation ...... 50 6.8.3 Disability ...... 50 6.8.4 Ethnicity ...... 51 7. Conclusions ...... 52 8. Recommendations ...... 54 9. Appendices ...... 55 9.1 Survey ...... 55 9.2 Verbatim comments ...... 62

Project number: Trism08-5197 Title: Market Town Welcome Surveys Location: ..\..\TRISM08-5197_MTW_Analysis Date: March 2010 Report status: Final version This research has been carried out in compliance with the MRQSA Approved by: Nick How international standard (ISO20:252) Authors: Millie Ostlere & Zak Haeri

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1. Executive Summary

Project background

The Market Town Welcome (MTW) programme was established in 2008 in collaboration with One North East, Northumberland County Council (NCC), Northumberland Tourism (NT) and the Development Trusts in each of the towns mentioned below

This research will provide benchmarks in 2009/2010 against which to measure the performance of the MTW Programme and its initiatives

The research will also add to a suite of research data used to advise a range of planning and policy processes in Northumberland and North East

Alongside this report, individual reports for , Amble, Berwick upon Tweed, Haltwhistle, Hexham, Morpeth, and Seahouses are available, as well as an overall comparison report

Aims and objectives

The overarching aim of the MTW research is to ‘Improve visitor satisfaction of Northumberland market towns and raise their profile within the visitor economy’

To target the research objectives, NT commissioned face-to-face quantitative surveys for each of the market towns. Street interviews were conducted over four days in both the spring and summer of 2009. Only people who were visiting the town were included. Those who lived and/or worked in the town, or were there on business were excluded

By achieving 438 completions in Wooler, we can approximate the error margin to be low (+/-4.7%) at a confidence level 95%, which offers robust results

Visitor characteristics

The majority (97%) of respondents to this survey were UK residents, with 3% from overseas. Respondents from the UK were most likely (46%) to live in the North East

Two thirds (64%) of respondents said they had visited Wooler before. Out of these respondents, 76% had previously visited at least once in the last 12 months

The majority (83%) of respondents said their trip was a staying visit compared to 17% who were day visitors, by far the highest proportion of staying visits across all eight MTW towns. More than half of staying visitors (58%) said they were staying outside of Wooler

The main reason visitors chose to visit Wooler was for shopping (33%) followed by tourism (25%)

Overall, 1% of visitors said they were part of an organised group or coach party (5 respondents) – average for all the market towns in this research (3%)

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Visitors in Wooler were most likely to say they would include walking among their activities during their visit to Northumberland (97%), followed by wildlifer watching (16%) and cycling (12%).

Travel & Transport

The majority of visitors used a car, van or motorhome to reach Wooler (76%). These respondents found it very or fairly easy to travel into Wooler Town Centre and 80% believed it was easy or very easy to park in the town. The majority used free parking (79%).

Accommodation

Overall, the greatest proportion of staying visitors (55%) said they were camping or caravanning with most staying in their owned static caravan (24%). Out of those staying in Wooler, again static caravan (owned) was the most likely type of accommodation used (32%).

Attractions visited

The National Park/Cheviots and Ford & Etal, Heatherslaw Mill were most likely to be chosen by respondents as the attractions they had visited or planned to visit as part of their trip. Those from the UK were more likely (58%) than overseas visitors (22%) to say they had visited or planned to visit a food or drink establishment

Three quarters (78%) of respondents said they had not ever attended any of the events specified in the survey list. These were more likely to be first time visitors (97%) than those that had been to Wooler before (66%)

Just over a quarter of respondents (27%) said they had been into the Tourist Information Centre in Wooler during their visit. Out of those that had visited the Tourist Information Centre satisfaction is high, with at least 91% rating ease of finding, quality of service and usefulness of information as good or very good

Experience of visit

The majority (87%) of visitors rated their overall enjoyment of Wooler as high or very high (MTW average 84%). Consistent with respondents’ positive perceptions of the area, 84% of visitors said they would recommend Wooler to someone else

Vehicle-related issues were most likely to be cited as the main problems with the shopping experience in Wooler Town Centre, with illegal parking (16%) and traffic (13%) in the top three

Despite a minority of visitors scoring some specific aspects of Wooler as a low (a quarter (26%) said the cleanliness of public toilets was poor or very poor, for example), overall impressions of the town are high. Satisfaction with the general state of the Town Centre is high, particularly with regard to graffiti and fly posting (94% stating good or very good)

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Perceptions of Wooler’s shops were mixed, with almost half disagreeing there is a wide choice of shops (46%) and more than half disagreeing that shops are of a good quality (57%). Respondents were most likely to say they would like to see an increase in the variety of shops, including chain stores, together with more shops offering ‘local produce’.

By contrast, Wooler’s shop frontage was rated as good by a considerably greater proportion than for the market town average (83% compared to 53%)

Respondents were most likely to say they would like to see an increase the variety of shops, including chain stores, together with more shops offering ‘local produce’

Amongst those who gave a rating, satisfaction with venues for eating and drinking were high -particularly for coffee shops (93% good or very good rating compared to MTW average 90%)

Out of local arts and leisure facilities, Wooler’s Cheviot Centre was most frequently judged as good or very good (90%)

Visitors felt Wooler is a good or very good place to visit (87%) and to enjoy themselves (82%).

Visitors were most likely (24%) to say, unprompted, that better shops would make Wooler town centre better

Visitor Expenditure

The total daily spend including accommodation of visitors who stayed within Wooler was calculated as £31.11, considerably lower than the corresponding MTW average figure of £38.30. The total daily spend of visitors coming to Wooler for the day only was calculated as £11.08, again considerably lower than the corresponding MTW average figure of £20.69. This relatively low expenditure for Wooler is perhaps a reflection of the high proportion of visitors camping or caravanning.

Conclusions and recommendations

The data suggests that Wooler is a place where predominantly local people (residents in the North East) like to go but benefits from tourists who travel to see its attractions.

There is a clear desire for an increased range of shops in Wooler, with respondents feeling the town would benefit from both an increase in well known chain stores as well as ‘local produce’.

Local arts and leisure facilities listed in the survey (The Cheviot Centre, The Glendale Gallery and Breeze) are not experienced by the majority of visitors. Those that have visited the town before are attracted by the Glendale Show.

For those in a car, van or motorhome, travelling in and around the town, including parking and parking charges, is generally perceived as easy and reasonable. The data suggests, however, that once in the town, traffic and illegal parking become an issue for some visitors.

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There is potential to increase satisfaction with public transport in and around the town which may, in turn, help to reduce any perceived traffic problems by visitors.

Subject/issues Recommendation Wooler receives the highest proportion of Investigate ways to grow higher spend markets overnight stays (83% v 38% MTW). Most are – opportunity for product development staying in rented or owned caravans or camping Keep existing customers satisfied, identifying product gaps/opportunities A small proportion (6%) visit from Scotland – Develop marketing strategies to raise profile of compared to Berwick’s 23% town with Scottish visitors, opportunity to attract day visitors too Visitors like the ‘relaxing, quiet, peaceful’ Communicate Wooler’s higher than average nature of the town – but are also attracted by cycling and wildlife stats to stakeholders the outdoors walking, cycling and wildlife Use in town marketing activities Wooler is commonly used for shopping and Wooler’s retail offering should therefore provisions. It is also frequently used for a range reflect its frequent use for a range of activities of activities In addition to this report, there are 7 other Read this report in conjunction with town reports and one comparison report comparison report for further context and to allow for performance benchmarking Develop cross marketing strategies

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2. Project background

Northumberland Tourism (NT), in collaboration with One NorthEast, Northumberland County Council (NCC) and the Development Trusts of Alnwick, Amble, Berwick upon Tweed, Haltwhistle, Hexham, Morpeth, Seahouses and Wooler created the Market Town Welcome programme (MTW) in 2009.

The aim of this programme is to improve visitor satisfaction to these towns as well as raise their profile within the visitor economy.

In order to measure the success of the MTW, NT in collaboration with NCC agreed to conduct biennial visitor surveys of the market towns included within the MTW in tandem with NCC’s Town Centre Performance surveys. However, NCC’s Town Centre Performance surveys will only take place in 2011/12. Therefore NT required an interim solution to provide benchmarks in 2009/10 against which to measure the performance of the MTW.

To address this gap, in 2009 NT commissioned fieldwork surveying visitors to the eight market towns included within the MTW. Raw data captured from these surveys was analysed by Qa Research (Qa) and this document provides results of these analyses for the market town of Wooler.

3. Aims and objectives

The overarching aim of the MTW programme is to:

‘Improve visitor satisfaction of Northumberland market towns and raise their profile within the visitor economy’

Information gained from the surveys will achieve this aim by meeting the following objectives:

• Computing baseline statistics against which to benchmark the MTW programme to facilitate development of future projects and monitoring

• Revealing visitor profiles

• Measuring visitor satisfaction levels and highlighting areas where expectations are not being met

• Uncovering the motivations driving people to visit

• Determining what activities they engage in and what sites they visit

• Specifying the ratio of day vs. overnight visitors, the length of stay, and type of accommodation used

• Calculating visitor expenditure patterns to feed into the STEAM1 model

1 The STEAM (Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor) model quantifies the economic impact of tourism and provides information on overall visitor numbers, spending and jobs created.

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4. Methodology

To target the research objectives, NT commissioned face-to-face quantitative surveys for each of the market towns included in the MTW programme. Questionnaires were developed taking into account previous visitor surveys commissioned by Northumbria Tourist Board in 2003, One NorthEast’s current regional visitor survey and NCC’s Town Centre Performance surveys. The fieldwork was organised and managed by the Northumberland Infonet.

Within each of the towns included in MTW, street interviews were conducted over four days in both the spring and summer of 2009. Interviews in each town were carried out on both weekdays and weekends, situated at four different locations within each town. Locations used are referenced in the appended questionnaire.

Respondents were screened through introductory questions on the survey to ensure that anybody who could not be considered a visitor would be removed from the sample. Therefore, only people who were visiting the town were included. Those who lived and/or worked in the town, or were there on business were excluded.

By achieving 438 completions in Wooler, we can approximate the error margin to be low (+/- 4.7%) at a confidence level 95%, which offers robust results. One way of understanding why is to note what this error margin at the 95% confidence level implies i.e. were the survey to be repeated 100 times, 95 of those times, the results would be within 4.7% plus or minus, of the results presented in this report.

It should also be noted that the sample data gives an indication of current visitor levels of satisfaction etc. Northumberland Tourism, along with One North East, uses the Arkenford model to segment its current visitors and to target future markets. It was not possible to analyse the data in this survey according to the Arkenford model. To develop a more detailed understanding of the target market (where different from our current market), further segmented research would be required.

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5. Introduction

This document reports on results obtained from surveys conducted in Wooler 2009 (see appendix for questionnaire used). Results from the remaining seven market towns are provided in separate reports. Results from all eight market towns are also compared in one separate comparative report.

Please note when interpreting results throughout this report not all percentages will total 100%. This can be due to computer rounding with figures of .5 or higher being rounded up, and/or multiple response questions. When respondents can provide more than one response to a question, response frequencies may sum higher that 100%.

Furthermore, please note base sizes between results from different questions may vary. This can be due to respondents being routed within the questionnaire to specific questions on the basis of prior responses and/or data collection errors. Throughout this report where base sizes vary, explanatory commentary has been provided.

Raw data captured from the Wooler survey including verbatim responses to three open-ended questions were inputted into SPSS and provided to Qa for analysis, reporting and exporting to Excel. This raw data was analysed, along with the verbatim responses quantified through coding, using Askia software, and cross-tabulated for the following variables:

• Day vs. overnight visitors • UK vs. overseas visitors • Previous vs. first-time visitors • People who visited TIC vs. people who hadn’t visited TIC • Spring vs. summer • Group type (alone, children only, with children, couple with children, adult only) • Main reason for visiting (shopping, tourism, leisure, services, no specific reason)

Cross-tabulations revealing relevant differences between categories that reach statistical significance are commented on within the appropriate section, and their respective proportions provided. Therefore no cross-tabulation commentary indicates no relevant statistically significant differences between the above categories were found.

Tables have been inserted comparing results on specific questions between spring vs. summer, and where appropriate, day vs. overnight visitors. For purpose of example the following table should be interpreted as for example, 21% of respondents interviewed in spring in Wooler had visited the TIC, compared to 32% of visitors in summer. The table also shows that far fewer day visitors (19%) accessed the TIC than overnight visitors (28%). When results for the market town are combined (i.e. day and overnight, and spring and summer visitors), we find 27% had visited the TIC, and this compares to 24% of the combined results of each of the eight market towns (MTW column).

Q12. Have you been to the TIC? Spring Summer Day O/night Wooler MTW Yes 21% 32% 19% 28% 27% 24% No 79% 68% 81% 72% 73% 76% Base 196 238 72% 359 434 3557

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6. Key findings

6.1 Visitor characteristics

6.1.1 Origin

The majority (97%) of respondents to this survey were UK residents, with 3% from overseas. Respondents from the UK were most likely (56%) to live in the North East.

Q2. Where do you live?

North East 56% Yorkshire & Humberside 13% North West 7% Scotland 6% South East 5% East Midlands 5% East of England 4% Greater London 2% West Midlands 2% Wales 0% South West 0%

Source: NT 2009 Base: 412 (visitors from UK excluding 'invalid' - unknown postcodes)

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Q2. Visitors from North East

Northumberland 36%

North Tyneside 17%

Newcastle upon Tyne 13%

Gateshead 12%

South Tyneside 9%

Durham 7%

Sunderland 6%

Source: NT 2009 Base: 229(visitors from North East)

Q2. Visitors from North West

Lancashire 24% Cumbria 21% Wigan 10% Cheshire 10% Warrington 7% Wirral 7% Stockport 7% Blackburn with Darwen 3% Bolton 3% Sefton 3% Rochdale 3%

Source: NT 2009 Base: 29 (visitors from North West)

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6.1.2 Frequency of visits

Two thirds (64%) of respondents said they had visited Wooler before. Out of these respondents, 76% had previously visited at least once in the last 12 months.

Respondents from the UK were more likely (64%) to have visited before than those from overseas (27%).

Repeat visitors who had been to Wooler in the last 12 months were all from the UK.

Q9b. How many times have you visited Wooler in the last 12 months? (closed)

28% 29% 25% 19%

None Once 2-5 times More than 5 times

Source: NT 2009 Base: 269(previous visitors to Wooler)

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6.1.3 Type of visit

The majority (83%) of respondents said their trip was a staying visit compared to 17% who were day visitors, the highest for all market towns whose average is 62%.

More than half of staying visitors (58%) said they were staying outside of Wooler. Areas specified included , Bamburgh, Belford, Berwick, Powburn, Rothbury and Seahouses.

Q5a. Where are you staying? (closed)

58% 42%

Wooler Other

Source: NT 2009 Base: 363(all staying respondents)

Two thirds of visitors staying in Wooler (69%) were spending less than a week on their trip. Nearly one in five (18%) were staying for exactly 7 nights and a further 12% were staying for longer.

Q5b. How many nights are you spending/will you have spent in total in this location? (open)

40%

29% 30%

1-2 nights 3-6 nights 7 or more nights

Source: NT 2009 Base: 201 (staying visitors)

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6.1.4 Reasons for visiting

A full list of respondents’ reasons for visiting Wooler is set out in the chart below.

The main reason visitors chose Wooler, can be summarised as follows:

Main reason visitor chose Wooler Count Percentage Tourism (inc. Tourist Information Centre) 109 25% Shopping (inc. the market) 143 33% Leisure (lunch, coffee, visiting friends) 60 14% Service user (toilets, bank, chemist) 13 3% No specific reason 45 10% Base 443

Q18. Which of the following best describes your main reason for choosing to visit Wooler today? (closed)

37% Shopping/looking around the shops 22% 24% General sightseeing 25% 6% Just passing through 2% 6% Somewhere for coffee/tea 15% 5% Visiting friends or relatives 1% 5% Somewhere for lunch 15% 3% To visit the Tourist Information Centre 7% 3% For a specific service 4% To visit a specific attraction in the 1% town 1%

The market 1% 0% To use the toilets 2% 6% No specific reason 21% 4% Other 2%

Main reason Other reasons

Source: NT 2009 Base: 345 (all respondents)

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6.1.5 Group travel

Overall, 1% of visitors said they were part of an organised group or coach party (5 respondents) – average for all the market towns in this research (3%).

6.1.6 Group size and composition

Based on the age and gender information given by respondents, visitor group type can be broken down as follows:

Q37. Group type

45%

28%

13% 14%

Alone 3 or more adults Adult and Children Couple without (no children) mixed group children

Source: NT 2009 Base: 438(all respondents)

Groups based on information given in the survey, with adults defined as those 18+:

Alone: Adult visiting alone Three or more adults (no children): An adult-only group of visitors Adult and Children mixed group: Any combination of adults and children, visiting together Couple without children: Two adults only, either male or female

Q37. Group type Spring Summer Day O/night Wooler MTW Alone 23% 5% 34% 9% 13% 14% Three or more adults (no children) 11% 16% 10% 15% 14% 13% Adult and Children mixed group 18% 36% 14% 30% 28% 25% Couple without children 48% 42% 41% 46% 45% 48% Base 197 241 73 362 438 3582

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6.2 Planned activities

Visitors in Wooler were most likely to say (97%) they were going to be walking during their visit to Northumberland. This is likely to include browsing as well as specific, planned walks. Watching wildlife (16%) and cycling (12%), the next most frequently chosen options, are higher for Wooler than the market town average (8% and 9% respectively).

Q19. Which of the following activities are you likely to do during your visit to Northumberland? (closed multi-response)

Walking 97%

Wildlife watching 16%

Cycling 12%

Fishing 5%

Golf 4%

Horse riding 3%

Watersports 2%

Source: NT 2009 Base: 330(excluding'none' as not an option)

Q19. Which of the following activities are you likely to do during your visit to Northumberland? Spring Summer Day O/night Wooler MTW Walking 97% 97% 100% 97% 97% 96% Cycling 7% 15% 3% 13% 12% 9% Watersports 2% 1% 0% 2% 2% 2% Golf 5% 4% 3% 4% 4% 4% Fishing 3% 6% 0% 5% 5% 3% Wildlife watching 13% 17% 6% 17% 16% 8% Horse riding 1% 4% 0% 3% 3% 1% Base 118 212 33 295 330 2684

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6.3 Travel & Transport

6.3.1 Method of transport

Three quarters (76%) of visitors used a car, van or motorhome to reach Wooler. These respondents were asked their views on parking in and travel into Wooler Town Centre.

Q20. What was the main form of transport you used to reach Wooler today? (closed)

Car/van/motorhome 76%

Walked 21%

Bicycle 1%

Bus/coach service 1%

Motorcycle 1%

Train 0%

Other 0%

Source: NT 2009 Base: 436 (all respondents)

Q20. What was the main form of transport you used to reach Wooler today? Spring Summer Wooler MTW Car/van/motorhome 72% 79% 76% 78% Motorcycle 2% 0% 1% 1% Bus/coach service 1% 1% 1% 7% Coach tour 0% 0% 0% 1% Train 1% 0% 0% 2% Bicycle 2% 1% 1% 1% Walked 23% 18% 21% 10% Other 0% 0% 0% 0% Base 197 239 436 3569

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The majority (96%) of those who mainly used a car, van or motorhome to reach Wooler said it was very or fairly easy to travel into Wooler Town Centre.

Q23. How easy/difficult do you feel it is to travel into Wooler Town Centre? (closed) 80%

16% 1% 2%

Very difficult Fairly difficult Neither easy nor Fairly easy Very easy difficult

Source: NT 2009 Base: 337 (those mainly using car/van/motorhome to travel in )

Q23. How easy/difficult do you feel it is to travel into Wooler Town Centre? Spring Summer Wooler MTW Difficult 3% 0% 1% 4% Neither easy or difficult 2% 2% 2% 5% Easy 95% 98% 97% 91% Base 144 193 337 2868

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6.3.2 Car parks

The majority (80%) of those who mainly used a car, van or motorhome to reach Wooler said it was easy or very easy to park in the town.

Q21. How easy did you find it to park in Wooler? (closed)

61%

19% 8% 8% 4%

Very difficult Quite difficult Neither Quite easy Very easy particularly difficult or easy

Source: NT 2009 Base: 327 (those mainly using car/van/motorhome to travel in and excluding 'don't know')

Q21. How easy did you find it to park in Wooler? Spring Summer Wooler MTW Difficult 13% 11% 12% 10% Neither easy or difficult 10% 6% 8% 12% Easy 77% 84% 81% 77% Base 139 188 327 2766

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More than half (65%) said the cost of parking was reasonable or very reasonable.

Q22. How would you rate the cost of parking in Wooler? (closed) 79%

12% 2% 2% 3% 2%

Very expensive Quite About average Reasonable Very Not applicable expensive reasonable (free parking)

Source: NT 2009 Base: 324(those mainly using car/van/motorhome to travel in and excluding 'don't know')

Q22. How would you rate the cost of parking in Wooler? Spring Summer Wooler MTW Expensive 8% 0% 3% 7% Average 7% 0% 3% 23% Reasonable 21% 10% 15% 43% Base 138 186 324 2509

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6.4 Accommodation

6.4.1 Type of accommodation used

Overall, the greatest proportion of staying visitors said they were staying in a static caravan they owned (24%). This is followed by rented self-catering accommodation (21%).

Q6. What sort of accommodation are you staying in? (closed)

Static caravan - owned 24% Rented self catering accommodation 21% Camping 11% Static caravan - rented 10% Touring caravan 10% Home of friends/relatives 6% B&B/Guest House 5% Hotel 3% Second home 2% Youth Hostel 1% Pub/Inn 1% Holiday centre 0% Other 5%

Source: NT 2009 Base: 364 (all respondents)

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Out of those staying in Wooler, again static caravan (owned) was the most likely type of accommodation chosen (32%). More visitors staying in Wooler chose camping and static caravan (rented) compared to overall.

Q6. What sort of accommodation are you staying in? (closed)

Static caravan - owned 32% Camping 17% Static caravan - rented 14% Touring caravan 9% Rented self catering accommodation 9% Home of friends/relatives 7% Pub/Inn 2% B&B/Guest House 2% Hotel 2% Second home 1% Youth Hostel 1% Holiday centre 0% Other 2%

Source: NT 2009 Base: 204 (those staying in Wooler)

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6.4.2 Experience of accommodation

All listed aspects of accommodation were rated as good or very good by the majority of visitors.

Q8. How would you rate your accommodation establishment in terms of the following? (closed)

55% 51% 54%

33% 30% 34%

11% 12% 7% 5% 4% Quality of service Quality of accommodation Value for money

Very poor Poor Average Good Very good

Source: NT 2009 Base: 63 - 69 (excludes caravan owners/renters, those staying with friends and relatives and second homes)

Q8. Accommodation's quality of service Spring Summer Wooler MTW Good 93% 88% 90% 88% Average 4% 8% 7% 11% Poor 0% 4% 3% 1% Base 15 52 67 356

Q8. Quality of accommodation Spring Summer Wooler MTW Good 93% 81% 84% 87% Average 7% 13% 11% 12% Poor 0% 6% 5% 1% Base 15 48 63 370

Q8. Accommodation's value for money Spring Summer Wooler MTW Good 80% 85% 84% 84% Average 20% 9% 12% 14% Poor 0% 6% 4% 2% Base 15 54 69 382

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6.5 Attractions visited

The National Park/Cheviots and Ford & Etal, Heatherslaw Mill were most likely to be chosen by respondents as the attractions they had visited or planned to visit as part of their trip.

Staying visitors were more likely (35%) to be visiting Ford & Etal, Heatherslaw Mill than day trippers (19%), Chillingham Castle (22% compared to 9%) and The Alnwick Garden (28% compared to 9%).

Those from the UK were more likely (58%) than overseas visitors (22%) to say they had visited or planned to visit a food or drink establishment.

The Alnwick Garden is also more likely to be visited by those who had not been to Wooler before (36% compared to 20% of those who have previously visited). Ingram and Breamish Valley, conversely, was more likely to be part of a previous visitors’ trip (25%) than for a first time visitor (11%).

Q11. Which of the following areas have you visited, or do you intend to visit, as part of your trip? (closed) Food/drink establishment 57% National Park/Cheviots 33% Ford & Etal, Heatherslaw Mill 33% Cheviot Centre, Glendale Gallery/ Breeze 28% The Alnwick Garden 26% Chillingham Castle 21% Ingram & Breamish Valley 20% Hadrian's Wall 14% Kielder Forest 9% Cycling/walking store 8% Fenton Centre 7% Archaeology and bronze age sites 6% Chillingham Wild Cattle 5% Woodhorn 3% Cup and ring marked rocks 2%

Source: NT 2009 Base: 334(all respondents)

Although we cannot attribute the extent to which any factor influenced visitors’ attraction choices, further analysis shows that those who had been into the Tourist Information Centre during their time in Wooler were more likely to have visited or planned to visit the following attractions:

Cheviot Centre, Glendale Gallery/Breeze (55% compared to 14% who had not visited the Centre) Ford & Etal, Heatherslaw Mill (45% compared to 28%) National Park/Cheviots (44% compared to 28%) Archaeology and Bronze Age sites (12% compared to 4%) Kielder Forest (15% compared to 6%)

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6.5.1 Events visited

Three quarters (78%) of respondents said they had not ever attended any of the events specified in the survey list. These were more likely to be first time visitors (97%) than those that had been to Wooler before (66%).

Q29. Have you ever attended any of these events? (closed multi-response)

Glendale Show 20%

Glendale Festival 6%

Farmers Market 3%

Weekly Market 2%

Christmas Lights Switch On 1%

Not attended any 78%

Source: NT 2009 Base: 434 (all respondents)

Those that have visited Wooler one or more times in the previous 12 months were more likely to be visiting the following events:

Glendale Show (30% compared to 1% of respondents who had not been in the last 12 months) Glendale Festival (9% compared to 2%)

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6.5.2 Tourist Information Centre

Just over a quarter of respondents (27%) said they had been into the Tourist Information Centre in Wooler during their visit.

Half (55%) of visitors from outside the UK said they had visited the Centre, compared to a quarter (26%) of the UK resident respondents.

Q12. Have you been to the TIC? Spring Summer Day O/night Wooler MTW Yes 21% 32% 19% 28% 27% 24% No 79% 68% 81% 72% 73% 76% Base 196 238 72% 359 434 3557

Out of those that had visited the Tourist Information Centre satisfaction is very high, with at least 91% rating ease of finding, quality of service and usefulness of information as good or very good.

Q13. How would you rate the Tourist Information Centre in terms of: (closed)

66% 65% 70%

25% 34% 28% 7% 2% 3% Ease of finding Quality of service Usefulness of information received

Very poor Poor Average Good Very good

Source: NT 2009 Base: 116 (those who had visited TIC, excluding don't knows)

Q13. How would you rate the ease of finding the TIC? Spring Summer Day O/night Wooler MTW Good 93% 90% 93% 91% 91% 88% Average 5% 9% 7% 7% 7% 10% Poor 2% 1% 0% 2% 2% 2% Base 41 70 14 96 111 845

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Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 27

Q13. How would you rate the TIC's quality of service? Spring Summer Day O/night Wooler MTW Good 98% 99% 100% 98% 98% 93% Average 3% 1% 0% 2% 2% 6% Poor 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% Base 40 70 13 96 110 833

Q13. Rate the usefulness of information received from TIC? Spring Summer Day O/night Wooler MTW Good 95% 99% 100% 97% 97% 94% Average 5% 1% 0% 3% 3% 6% Poor 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% Base 39 70 13 95 109 833

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Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 28

6.6 Experience of visit

6.6.1 Overall satisfaction

The majority (87%) of visitors rated their overall enjoyment of Wooler as high or very high. Overseas visitors were more likely to say this (100%) than those from the UK (87%), although there is a small base size for overseas visitors.

The majority of those staying in Wooler (93%) rated their overall enjoyment of the town as high or very high.

Q14.How would you rate the overall enjoyment of your visit to Wooler? (closed)

49% 38%

12% 0% 1%

Very low Low Average High Very High

Source: NT 2009 Base: 402 (excluding those who said 'don't know')

Q14. Rate your overall enjoyment of the destination Spring Summer Day O/night Wooler MTW High 81% 91% 80% 88% 87% 85% Average 17% 8% 17% 11% 12% 14% Low 2% 1% 3% 1% 1% 1% Base 175 227 69 330 402 3375

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The top factors visitors said they liked most about Wooler are set out below:

Q15. What did you like most about Wooler? (open)

Relaxing, quiet or peaceful 26%

Friendly or welcoming atmosphere 19%

Attractive traditional town or village 15%

Good quality shops ("Good for shopping") 13%

Attractive scenery or countryside 11%

Well situated for exploring surrounding area 6%

Good location for walking 6%

The area remains unspoilt 5%

Good food or drink facilities 5%

Source: NT 2009 Base: 414 (excluding don't know)

Consistent with respondents’ positive perceptions of the area, 84% of visitors said they would recommend Wooler to someone else.

Q10a. How likely are you to recommend Wooler to someone else? (closed)

51%

33%

12% 1% 3%

Very unlikely Unlikely Possibly Likely Very likely

Source: NT 2009 Base: 402(all respondents)

Q10. How likely are you to recommend Wooler to someone else? Spring Summer Day O/night Wooler MTW Likely 75% 90% 73% 86% 84% 86% Possibly 18% 7% 19% 11% 12% 2% Unlikely 6% 3% 7% 4% 4% 12% Base 173 229 67 332 402 3254

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Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 30

The top reasons visitors gave for recommending Wooler to somebody else are set out below:

Q10b. Why do you say that? (open)

Good or friendly atmosphere 18%

Relaxing, quiet or peaceful 17%

Attractive scenery or countryside 14%

Good for walking 11%

Well situated for exploring the surrounding area 8%

General positive comment 8%

Good for shopping (quality) 8%

Plenty to do and see 7%

Good food or drink facilities 5%

Source: NT 2009 Base: 404(excluding 'don't know' from Q10a)

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6.6.2 Satisfaction with specific aspects and priorities

Excluding those that said they did not know, visitors were most likely to give a high satisfaction rating to aspects of security in Wooler while public transport and street furniture received the fewest good or very good scores.

More than half (58%) of visitors who stated they have a disability (19 respondents) rated the availability of disabled parking spaces as good or very good compared to 32% who rated this option as poor and 11% who rated it as average2.

Q25. Ratings on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is very good and 1 is very poor, of Wooler's: (closed)

Safety and security - daytime 99%

Safety and security - nighttime 96%

Safety/security of parking facilities 96%

Cost of parking 5% 92%

Availability of disabled parking spaces 12% 9% 79%

Availability of public parking spaces 12% 14% 74%

The destinations to and from Wooler 22% 19% 59% served by public transport

Street furniture 12% 37% 51%

The quality of Bus/Rail services 18% 32% 50%

The regularity of bus/rail services 26% 26% 48%

Poor or Very Poor (1 or 2) OK (3) Good or Very Good (4 or 5)

Source: NT 2009 Base: min 84 (excluding those saying don't know)

When asking respondents in an open-ended question what additional facilities or services would have added to their enjoyment of their visit to Wooler, a large proportion wrote ‘nothing’ (23%). After removing these individuals who responded ‘nothing’, the most frequent response was ‘more parking’ with more than one in ten giving this answer.

Vehicle-related issues were most likely to be cited as the main problems with the shopping experience in Wooler Town Centre, with illegal parking (16%) and traffic (13%) in the top three.

2 Small base sizes – these figures are indicative only

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Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 32

Q24. Can you tell me what, if anything, are the main problems with the shopping experience in Wooler Town Centre? (unprompted)

Illegal Parking 16%

Traffic 13%

Quality of Footpaths 11%

Road Safety 4%

Signage & Information 2%

Street Lighting 1%

Safety & Security 1%

Other 63%

Source: NT 2009 Base: 184 (all respondents)

Main problems in the ‘other’ category included reference to roadworks, parking difficulties and a lack of quality shops. Please note, major roadworks were taking place in Wooler during the first wave of this study and may have influenced people’s experience.

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Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 33

Despite a minority of visitors scoring some specific aspects of Wooler as a 1 or 2 (a quarter (26%) said the cleanliness of public toilets was poor or very poor, for example), overall impressions of the town are high.

NB: Options ‘very poor’ and ‘poor’ were <3% for each option where a % is not specified

Q34. On a scale of 1 to 5 (where 5 is very good and 1 is very poor) how would you rate the places to eat and drink:

MTW - value for money 23% 75%

Wooler - value for money 18% 80%

MTW - quality of service 15% 84%

Wooler - quality of service 13% 85%

MTW - quality of food 16% 83%

Wooler - quality of food 13% 85%

MTW - range 20% 77%

Wooler - range 18% 79%

Poor or Very poor (1 or 2) Average (3) Good or Very good (4 or 5) Source: NT 2009 Base: min 27 (excluding those who said don't know/did not use)

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Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 34

Q34. On a scale of 1 to 5 (where 5 is very good and 1 is very poor) how would you rate the museums and other places to visit:

MTW - value for money 25% 71%

Wooler - value for money 19% 81%

MTW - quality of service 12% 87%

Wooler - quality of service 10% 88%

MTW - level of interest 13% 85%

Wooler - level of interest 20% 75%

MTW - range 16% 81%

Wooler - range 14% 21% 64%

Poor or Very poor (1 or 2) Average (3) Good or Very good (4 or 5)

Source: NT 2009 Base: min 27 (excluding those who said don't know/did not use)

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Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 35

Q34. On a scale of 1 to 5 (where 5 is very good and 1 is very poor) how would you rate ease of finding way around:

MTW - display maps and info boards 18% 77%

Wooler - display maps and info boards 11% 86%

MTW - pedestrian signs 16% 80%

Wooler - pedestrian signs 9% 90%

MTW - road signs 16% 82%

Wooler - road signs 5% 94%

Poor or Very poor (1 or 2) Average (3) Good or Very good (4 or 5)

Source: NT 2009 Base: min 27 (excluding those who said don't know/did not use)

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Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 36

Q34. On a scale of 1 to 5 (where 5 is very good and 1 is very poor) how would you rate:

MTW - public toilets cleanliness 11% 31% 58%

Wooler - public toilets cleanliness 26% 28% 46%

MTW - public toilets availability 13% 28% 59%

Wooler - public toilets availability 9% 16% 75%

MTW - cleanliness of streets 14% 84%

Wooler - cleanliness of streets 10% 90%

Poor or Very poor (1 or 2) Average (3) Good or Very good (4 or 5)

Source: NT 2009 Base: min 27 (excluding those who said don't know/did not use)

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Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 37

Q34. On a scale of 1 to 5 (where 5 is very good and 1 is very poor) how would you rate overall impressions:

MTW - general appearance 7% 92%

Wooler - general appearance 8% 91%

MTW - feeling of welcome 5% 94%

Wooler - feeling of welcome 6% 92%

MTW - general atmosphere 6% 93%

Wooler - general atmosphere 6% 91%

Poor or Very poor (1 or 2) Average (3) Good or Very good (4 or 5)

Source: NT 2009 Base: min 27 excludingthose who said don't know/did not use)

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Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 38

6.6.3 Visitor likes and dislikes

Perceptions of Wooler’s shops were mixed, with almost half disagreeing there is a wide choice of shops (46%) and more than half disagreeing that shops are of a good quality (57%).

Q26. To what extent do you agree/disagree with the following statements? (closed)

35% 32% 32%

26% 25%

14% 14% 12%

5% 6%

Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly or disagree disagree

On the whole, Wooler offers a wide choice of shops On the whole, the shops in Wooler are of a good quality

Source: NT 2009 Base: 339(all respondents)

Q26. The destination offers a wide variety of shops? Spring Summer Day O/night Wooler MTW Agree 23% 16% 20% 19% 19% 31% Neither agree nor disagree 33% 36% 38% 34% 35% 32% Disagree 44% 48% 42% 47% 46% 37% Base 175 232 65 339 407 3369

Q26. The shops at this destination are good quality? Spring Summer Day O/night Wooler MTW Agree 18% 17% 19% 17% 18% 32% Neither agree nor disagree 21% 29% 33% 24% 26% 26% Disagree 61% 54% 48% 58% 57% 41% Base 173 226 64 332 399 3321

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Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 39

Respondents were most likely to say they would like to see an increase the variety of shops, together with more shops offering ‘local produce’.

Previous visitors were more likely (46%) to say they would like to see an increased variety of shops than first time visitors (30%).

Q28. What improvements would you like to see to the retail offer in Wooler? (prompted)

Increased Variety of Shops 41%

More Shops offering Local Produce 35%

More Chain Stores 14%

Longer Opening Hours 7%

Fewer Charity Shops 4%

Other 27%

Source: NT 2009 Base: 188(all respondents)

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Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 40

Amongst those who gave a rating, satisfaction with venues for eating and drinking were high - particularly for coffee shops (93% good or very good rating).

Q30. On a scale of 1 to 5 (where 5 is very good and 1 is very poor) how would you rate the following venues for eating and drinking in Wooler?

78% 79% 83% 85% 93%

16% 17% 16% 12% 7% 5% Take aways Restaurants/Bistros Sandwich shops Pubs and clubs Coffee shops

Poor or Very poor (1 or 2) OK (3) Good or Very good (4 or 5)

Source: NT 2009 Base: min 187 (excluding those who said don't know)

NB: Options ‘very poor’ and ‘poor’ were <1% for each option with the exception of ‘restaurants/bistros’ (5%)

Q30. How would you rate the following venues for eating and drinking in Wooler? Spring Summer Day O/night Wooler MTW Poor 5% 3% 6% 4% 4% 3% Restaurants/bistros OK 20% 15% 23% 16% 17% 17% Good 75% 82% 71% 80% 79% 80% Poor 1% 1% 3% 1% 1% 2% Sandwich shops OK 17% 15% 22% 15% 16% 21% Good 81% 84% 75% 84% 83% 77% Poor 10% 5% 4% 7% 7% 3% Takeaways OK 14% 16% 36% 13% 16% 18% Good 76% 79% 60% 81% 78% 80% Poor 1% 2% 4% 1% 1% 1% Coffee shops OK 5% 6% 2% 6% 5% 9% Good 95% 92% 94% 93% 93% 90% Poor 7% 1% 13% 2% 3% 2% Pubs and clubs OK 13% 11% 10% 12% 12% 15% Good 80% 88% 77% 86% 85% 83% Min base 70 117 25 160 187 1664

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Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 41

Although the greatest proportion of respondents said they did not know for each option, out of those who gave a rating, Wooler’s Cheviot Centre scored the most good or very good ratings out of the listed local arts and leisure facilities (90%).

Q31. On a scale of 1 to 5 (where 5 is very good and 1 is very poor) how would you rate the following arts and leisure facilities in Wooler?

83% 78% 90%

18% 17% 10%

The Cheviot Centre The Glendale Gallery Breeze

Poor or Very poor (1 or 2) OK (3) Good or Very good (4 or 5)

Source: NT 2009 Base: min 107 (excluding those who said don't know)

NB: Options ‘very poor’ and ‘poor’ were <4% for each option

Responses for ‘don’t know’ may be used as an approximate indicator of usage/awareness of each facility. These percentages are set out below:

The Cheviot Centre – ‘Don’t know’ = 68% The Glendale Gallery – ‘Don’t know’ = 76% Breeze – ‘Don’t know’ = 70%

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Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 42

Overall, satisfaction with the general state of the Town Centre is high, particularly with regard to graffiti and fly posting (94% stating good or very good).

Q32. On a scale of 1 to 5 (where 5 is very good and 1 is very poor) what do you think of the general state of the Town Centre with regard to:

28% 35% 38% 36% 45% 53%

36% 48% 52% 54% 48% 41% 23% 15% 5% 3% 11% 9% 7% Litter Graffiti/fly General state of Street furniture Overall level of Shop frontage posting buildings cleanliness

Very poor Poor OK Good Very good

Source: NT 2009 Base: min 358(excluding those who said don't know)

NB: Options ‘very poor’ and ‘poor’ were <2% for each option unless stated on chart

Q32. What do you think of the town centre with regard to? Spring Summer Day O/night Wooler MTW Good 92% 95% 89% 95% 94% 80% Litter OK 7% 4% 10% 4% 5% 17% Poor 2% 1% 1% 1% 1% 2% Good 92% 97% 97% 94% 95% 82% Graffiti /posters OK 3% 3% 1% 3% 3% 15% Poor 5% 1% 1% 3% 2% 3% Good 89% 87% 82% 89% 88% 76% Buildings OK 11% 12% 17% 10% 11% 20% Poor 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 4% Good 60% 67% 62% 65% 65% 73% Street furniture OK 21% 25% 24% 23% 23% 22% Poor 18% 8% 14% 12% 12% 5% Good 90% 93% 90% 92% 92% 82% Cleanliness OK 8% 6% 7% 7% 7% 16% Poor 2% 0% 3% 1% 1% 2% Good 86% 81% 76% 85% 83% 53% Shop frontage OK 12% 18% 24% 14% 15% 37% Poor 2% 0% 0% 1% 1% 10% Min base 146 212 58 297 358 3258

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Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 43

Wooler’s shop frontage was rated as good by a considerably greater proportion than for the market town average (83% compared to 53%). However, only 49% rated Wooler’s shops as good or very good. Visitors considered Wooler a good or very good place to visit (87%) and to enjoy themselves (82%).

Q33. On a scale of 1 to 5 (where 5 is very good and 1 is very poor) how do you rate Wooler as:

17% 52% 48% 32%

36% 35% 34%

11% 10% 13%

A place to shop A place to visit A place to enjoy yourself

Very poor Poor Average Good Very Good Source: NT 2009 Base: 399(excluding 'don't know')

NB: Options ‘very good’ and ‘good’ were <4% for each option unless stated on chart

Q33. What do you think of the town centre with regard to? Spring Summer Day O/night Wooler MTW Good 46% 51% 42% 50% 49% 53% A place to shop Average 33% 39% 38% 36% 36% 37% Poor 21% 10% 20% 14% 15% 10% Good 81% 92% 86% 87% 87% 92% A place to visit Average 14% 6% 7% 10% 10% 7% Poor 5% 2% 7% 3% 3% 1% Good 77% 84% 75% 89% 83% 90% A place to enjoy yourself Average 12% 13% 16% 10% 13% 8% Poor 12% 3% 9% 1% 5% 1% Min base 171 288 5 331 399 3291

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Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 44

Visitors were most likely (24%) to say, unprompted, that better shops would make Wooler town centre better, followed closely by improved parking (23%).

Q35. How would you make this town centre better? (unprompted)

Better retail offer 24%

Improved parking 23%

Improved leisure 10% facilities

Safety and Security 2%

Improved accessibility 1%

Other 50%

Source: NT 2009 Base: 251(all respondents)

Responses for ‘other’ were not specified in the survey.

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Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 45

6.7 Visitor expenditure

Visitor expenditure is split into two components – spend per day (24hr period) and spend per trip. In each, a spend table for the market town is provided before a comparison table providing figures for all MTW towns combined (labelled MTW).

Each spend table provides figures separated by columns into several categories – staying in the market town, staying out of the market town, day visitors as well as a column which averages the spend figures of all these categories (labelled combined). Those visitors staying in the market town is further subdivided in columns by accommodation type – serviced, non-serviced, visiting friends/relatives and second-home, and other. The spend figures for each column are distinguished in rows by type of spend - accommodation, food & drink, shopping, recreation and travel/transport. Subsequent rows provide total spend figures excluding accommodation, and then total spend figures including accommodation.

Please refer to the calculation keys following spend tables for an explanation of what categories refer to and how spend was calculated. All figures are provided in Pounds Sterling.

Editor’s note on spend results In comparing the findings of this report in relation to those within the 2008 Regional Visitor Survey produced by ONE North East*, total spend figures including accommodation and excluding accommodation would appear lower. However, in comparing individual types of spend, the key distinction to note is in the ‘food and drink’ type. The Regional Visitor Survey includes grocery shopping within its calculations. This spend has not been included in the MTW surveys, and could provide an explanation as to why total spend figures appear low. Total spend figures may also have been influenced by lower discretionary spend as a result of the recession.

© Northumberland Tourism 2010

6.7.1 Average spend per person per day

Itemised Wooler spend per person per day Staying Non- Staying in out Combined Serviced serviced VFR Other Wooler Wooler Day Wooler Accommodation 30.04 16.08 * 7.37 17.15 23.43 * 17.15 Food & drink 17.97 7.78 4.40 6.80 8.16 4.88 4.15 6.30 Shopping 3.22 4.72 3.54 5.38 4.53 4.24 3.23 4.22 Recreation 1.67 1.10 † † 1.00 0.17 0.28 0.58 Travel/transport 0.88 1.58 0.77 † 1.45 2.77 3.65 2.28 Total exc acc 24.18 15.70 8.45 † 15.63 10.92 11.08 13.29 Total inc acc 53.85 32.57 - † 31.11 - - 18.99 Total base 9 62 13 - 84 83 41 210 * Not appropriate for spend calculation † Zero figures and therefore excluded from calculation

Itemised MTW spend per person per day Non- Staying in Staying Combined Serviced serviced VFR Other MTW out MTW Day MTW Accommodation 34.11 18.05 * 18.05 23.48 25.37 * 23.48 Food & drink 13.58 7.77 7.73 7.89 8.87 6.44 6.21 7.05 Shopping 7.17 5.62 8.64 3.49 6.40 5.92 9.63 7.39 Recreation 3.75 1.45 1.08 4.17 1.91 2.04 1.26 1.70 Travel/transport 6.06 2.11 3.53 4.29 3.24 3.84 4.26 3.81 Total exc acc 25.78 16.91 20.78 22.38 19.45 17.32 20.69 19.19 Total inc acc 58.36 37.11 - 42.27 38.30 - - 23.73 Total base 102 197 107 9 414 566 683 1706 * Not appropriate for spend calculation

© Northumberland Tourism 2010

Key to itemised spend calculations Serviced Staying visitors in serviced accommodation in Wooler (hotel, B&B/guest house, pub/inn) Non-serviced Staying visitors in non-serviced serviced accommodation in Wooler (rented self-catering accommodation, touring caravan, static caravan rented or owned, camping, youth hostel, holiday centre) VFR Staying visitors with friends/relatives or at second-home in Wooler Other Staying visitors in ‘other’ accommodation in Wooler (see Q6 response option 13 in survey) Staying in Wooler Staying visitors in Wooler. Figure includes Serviced, Non-serviced, VFR and Other Staying in MTW Staying visitors in all MTW destinations. Figure includes Serviced, Non- serviced, VFR and Other Staying out Staying visitors outside of Wooler. Figure for accommodation is for Wooler comparative purposes only and has not been included in the total calculations. These visitors are treated as day visitors and therefore expenditure is not multiplied by nights spent for expenditure per trip. Staying out MTW Staying visitors outside of all MTW destinations Day Day visitors Combined spend of visitors staying in Wooler, staying out of Wooler, and day visitors. Figure for accommodation only includes those staying in Combined Wooler Wooler, excluding day visitors and those staying outside of Wooler. The figure is therefore identical to the accommodation spend reported in Staying in Wooler column. Combined spend of visitors staying in MTW towns, staying out of MTW towns, and day visitors. Figure for accommodation only includes those Combined MTW staying in MTW, excluding day visitors and those staying outside of MTW. The figure is therefore identical to the accommodation spend reported in Staying in MTW column. Food & drink In cafes, pubs, restaurants, hotels etc. Recreation Admissions to attractions, theatre/cinema tickets, leisure activities This total is derived from adding all spend categories (excluding accommodation) together using only individuals providing responses for all categories (food and drink; shopping; recreation; travel and transport). Total exc acc Because base number of respondents for each category differs, totals cannot be derived from adding each sub category together – this would be statistically invalid. This total is derived from adding all spend categories (including accommodation) together using only individuals providing responses for all categories (accommodation; food and drink; shopping; recreation; travel Total inc acc and transport) (see total base). Because base number of respondents for each category differs, totals cannot be derived from adding each sub category together – this would be statistically invalid.

© Northumberland Tourism 2010

6.7.2 Average spend per person per trip

Itemised Wooler spend per person per trip Staying Non- Staying in out Combined Serviced serviced VFR Other Wooler Wooler Day Wooler Accommodation 121.04 100.49 * 27.60 99.47 140.60 * 99.47 Food & drink 66.65 37.87 20.80 15.60 37.91 4.88 4.15 20.19 Shopping 12.80 25.44 14.58 20.13 23.59 4.24 3.23 13.72 Recreation 9.17 4.75 † † 4.53 0.17 0.28 2.23 Travel/transport 3.96 7.02 † † 6.22 2.77 3.65 4.64 Total exc acc 101.30 82.23 32.74 † 79.42 10.92 11.08 45.27 Total inc acc 241.50 194.89 32.74 † 178.26 - - 77.01 Total base 9 62 11 - 82 83 41 208 * Not appropriate for spend calculation † Zero figures and therefore excluded from calculation

Itemised MTW spend per person per trip Non- Staying in Staying Combined Serviced serviced VFR Other MTW out MTW Day MTW Accommodation 93.20 105.80 * 84.06 100.84 124.22 * 100.84 Food & drink 42.68 41.79 35.59 20.76 40.23 6.44 6.21 16.59 Shopping 20.34 32.16 62.06 14.27 34.88 5.92 9.63 16.48 Recreation 12.11 11.00 2.95 12.50 9.88 2.04 1.26 4.14 Travel/transport 19.46 9.30 12.35 8.29 11.97 3.84 4.26 6.43 Total exc acc 77.76 99.25 120.35 67.68 98.21 17.32 20.69 44.39 Total inc acc 166.06 222.34 - 154.76 181.74 - - 59.35 Total base 102 197 102 9 409 566 683 1691 * Not appropriate for spend calculation

© Northumberland Tourism 2010

6.8 Visitor demographics

6.8.1 Age and gender

The following chart shows the gender of the respondent completing the survey.

Q36. Gender

67%

33%

Male Female

Source: NT 2009 Base: 412(all respondents)

The following table is a breakdown by age and gender, based on the respondent’s answers, of all those in the respondents’ immediate party.

Q37. Age/Gender Male Female Total 0-15 9% 10% 19% 16-24 4% 4% 7% 25-34 4% 4% 8% 35-44 9% 10% 18% 45-54 8% 10% 18% 55-64 7% 9% 16% 65-74 6% 5% 11% 75+ 1% 2% 3% Base 47% 53% 1197

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6.8.2 Work situation

Q38. Which of the following best describes your current situation?

Employed full time (30 hours or more) 49%

Wholly retired from work 24%

Employed part time (less than 30 hours) 17%

Looking after the home 3%

Self Employed (full or part time) 3%

In full time education 2%

Permanently sick/ disabled 1%

Unemployed 1%

Source: NT 2009 Base: 462(all respondents)

6.8.3 Disability

Q40. Do you consider yourself to have a disability?

93%

7%

Yes No

Source: NT 2009 Base: 437(all respondents)

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6.8.4 Ethnicity

Q39. What is your ethnic origin?

White 99%

Chinese 0%

Black or Black British 0%

Mixed White 0%

Asian or Asian British 1%

Other 0%

Source: NT 2009 Base: 436(all respondents)

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Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 52

7. Conclusions

The data suggests that Wooler is a place where predominantly local people (residents in the North East) like to go but benefits from tourists who travel to see its attractions.

Wooler attracts the second largest proportion of first time visitors of all market towns (36% compared to 26% average).

Whilst Wooler is close to the Scottish border, it receives only 6% of its visitors from there whilst Berwick upon Tweed receives 23% of its visitors from north of the border. Berwick upon Tweed perhaps as a larger, arguably more recognised (outside of the North East) town, attracts more visitors from outside of the North East in general, corroborated by analysis (Wooler receives 44% of its visitors from outside of NE whilst Berwick upon Tweed receives 51%).

The town’s visitors are predominantly adult couples (45%); group travel features less frequently in Wooler compared to other market towns in the region.

There is a clear desire for an increased range of shops in Wooler, with respondents feeling the town would benefit from both an increase in well known chain stores as well as ‘local produce’.

People from nearby regions tend to be the repeat visitors. Despite an apparent dissatisfaction with the retail offer, repeat visitors still return for shopping in the town.

Relative to the other towns, Wooler visitors are the most likely to be staying overnight (83% compared to 62% average). In general for the market towns, the ratio of staying visitors to day visitors appears to be approximately proportional to the size and ease of access of the towns. However, Wooler is especially dominated by non-serviced accommodation (82%), a reflection of the influence of the large caravan park in the town. Those that stay in Wooler town in serviced accommodation are highly satisfied with their accommodation.

Local arts and leisure facilities are not experienced by the majority of visitors and the data does not suggest that first time visitors are coming to Wooler for specific events. Those that have visited the town before are attracted by Glendale Show.

For those in a car, van or motorhome, travelling in and around the town, including parking and parking charges, is generally perceived as easy and reasonable. The data suggests, however, that once in the town, traffic and illegal parking become an issue for some visitors.

There is potential to increase satisfaction with public transport in and around the town which may, in turn, help to reduce any perceived traffic problems by visitors.

Wooler visitors alone among the market towns except Morpeth are more likely to be visiting for the shopping (37% compared to 29% average). The principal primary reason for people visiting the town (when subtracting secondary reasons from primary reasons) is shopping, whilst the principal reason for people visiting all the other towns is tourism. Given Wooler’s position next to Northumberland National Park and the high proportion of people staying in non-serviced accommodation here (82% compared to 58% average), as well as the relatively large proportion of people visiting here undertaking activities such as wildlife watching (16% compared to 8% average), suggests that Wooler may be frequently used as a revictualling station.

Wooler visitors appear to be more likely than the average to undertake the greatest variety of activities, namely walking, wildlife watching (16% compared to 8% average), cycling (12%

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Northumberland Market Town Visitor Surveys 2009: Wooler, March 2010 Page 53 compared to 9% average), fishing (5% compared to 3% average), and horse-riding (3% compared to 1% average).

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8. Recommendations

Subject/issues Recommendation Wooler receives the highest proportion of Investigate ways to grow higher spend markets overnight stays (83% v 38% MTW). Most are – opportunity for product development staying in rented or owned caravans or camping Keep existing customers satisfied, identifying product gaps/opportunities A small proportion (6%) visit from Scotland – Develop marketing strategies to raise profile of compared to Berwick’s 23% town with Scottish visitors, opportunity to attract day visitors too Visitors like the ‘relaxing, quiet, peaceful’ Communicate Wooler’s higher than average nature of the town – but are also attracted by cycling and wildlife stats to stakeholders the outdoors walking, cycling and wildlife Use in town marketing activities Wooler is commonly used for shopping and Wooler’s retail offering should therefore provisions. It is also frequently used for a range reflect its frequent use for a range of activities of activities In addition to this report, there are 7 other Read this report in conjunction with town reports and one comparison report comparison report for further context and to allow for performance benchmarking Develop cross marketing strategies

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9. Appendices

9.1 Survey

Q1. Which of the following best describes your Q6.What sort of accommodation are you staying visit to Wooler today? in? Hotel -01 ONE RESPONSE ONLY B&B/Guest House -02 Pub/Inn -03 Leisure trip/ Holiday Rented self catering accommodation -04 Visiting friends or relatives Touring caravan -05 Shopping trip (special) Static caravan –owned -06 Shopping trip (household) Static caravan - rented -07 Business trip Camping -08 Work/study here Youth hostel -09 Other (specify) Holiday centre -10 Home of friend/relative -11 Q2. Where do you live? Second home -12 Other (specify) -13 Home town Q7a. How much has/ will you and your party be Postcode spending on your accommodation for the Country (if overseas) duration of your stay at this location (inclusive of breakfast if included in the price of your Q3a. Have you come from there today? accommodation)?

Yes -1 No -2 £...... Put "0" if spent/expect to spend nothing Q3b. Are you returning there today? Don't know /Can't recall/ Refused -

Yes -1 No -2 Q7b. How many people does this amount cover? Q4. Do you: (Researcher read out) People

Live in Wooler but don’t work 1 Close Q8. On this scale how would you rate your here interview accommodation establishment in terms of the Live and work in Wooler 2 Close following? interview Don’t live in Wooler but work 3 Close Very Poor -1 Good -4 here interview Poor -2 Very Good -5 Don’t live in Wooler but shop 4 Close Average -3 Don’t Know -6 here interview Just visiting (not business trips) 5 Go to Quality of Service -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 Q5a Quality of -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 Other 6 Close accommodation interview Value for money -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6

“Close interview”: Thank you very much for Q9a. Have you ever visited Wooler before? your time and cooperation Yes -1 Go to Q9b No-2 Go to Q10a Q5a. Where are you staying? Q9b. How many times have you visited Wooler in Wooler -1 the last 12 months? Other -2 Specify town: County: None -1 Once -2 Q5b. How many nights are you spending/will you 2-5 times -3 have spent in total in this location? More than 5times -4 nights

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Q10a. How likely are you to recommend Wooler Q13. How would you rate the Tourist Information to someone else? (READ LIST) Centre against this scale, in terms of:

Very unlikely -1 Go to 10b Very Poor Ave Good Very Don’t Poor Good Know Unlikely -2 Go to 10b Ease of Possibly -3 Go to 10b finding -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 Likely -4 Go to 10b Quality of Very likely -5 Go to 10b service- -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 Don’t know -6 Go to 11 Usefulness of -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 information received Q10b. Why do you say that? ...... Q14. How would you rate the overall enjoyment ...... of your visit to Wooler? ...... (READ LIST)

...... Very low -1 High -4 ...... Low -2 Very high -5 Average -3 Don’t -6 ...... Know ...... Q15. What did you like most about Wooler? ...... …………………………………………………………… Q11. Which of the following areas have you ………………………………………………………….. visited, or do you intend to visit, as part of your trip? (TICK ALL THAT APPLY) Q16. Are you part of an organised group or coach party? Cheviot Centre/Glendale Gallery -01 Fenton Centre -02 Yes -1 No -2 Ingram & Breamish Valley -03 Ford & Etal -04 National Park/Cheviots -05 Q17. What, if any, additional facilities or services Cycling/Walking Store -06 would have added to the enjoyment of your visit Food/drink establishment -07 to Wooler? Chillingham Castle -08 …………………………………………………………… Chillingham Wild Cattle -09 …………………………………………………………… Haltwhistle -10 …………………………………………………………… -11 Hadrian’s Wall -12 Q18. Which of the following best describes your Kielder Forest -13 main reason for choosing to visit Wooler Woodhorn -14 today?(CIRCLE ALL RESPONSES) The Alnwick Garden -15 Main Other Reason reasons (One (All Q12. Have you been into the Tourist Information response) responses) Centre in Wooler during your visit? The market -01 -01 Shopping/looking -02 -02 Yes -1 Go to Q13 No -2 Go to Q14 around the shops General sightseeing -03 -03

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To visit a specific -04 -04 Q21. How easy did you find it to park in Wooler? attraction in the town (READ LIST) (specify attraction) To visit a specific -05 -05 Very difficult -1 event in the town Quite difficult -2 (specify event) Neither particularly difficult or easy -3 Somewhere for lunch -06 -06 Quite easy -4 Somewhere for -07 -07 Very easy -5 coffee/tea Don’t Know -6 To use the toilets -08 -08 For a specific service -09 -09 Q22. How would you rate the cost of parking in (eg bank/post Wooler? (READ LIST) office/chemist) To visit the Tourist -10 -10 Very expensive -1 Information Centre Quite expensive -2 Just passing through -11 -11 About average -3 Visiting friends or -12 -12 Reasonable -4 relatives Very reasonable -5 No specific reason -13 -13 Not applicable (free parking) -6 Other (specify) -14 -14 Don’t know -7

Q23. How easy/difficult do you feel it is to travel into Wooler Town Centre? Q19. Which of the following activities are you likely to do during your visit to Northumberland? Very easy 1 Fairly 4 difficult Walking -1 Fairly easy 2 Very 5 Cycling -2 difficult Watersports (specify) -3 Neither 3 Golf -4 easy/nor Fishing -5 difficult Wildlife Watching -6 Horse Riding -7 Q24. Can you tell me what, if anything, are the main problems with the shopping experience in Wooler Town Centre? (UNPROMPTED) Q20. What was the main form of transport you used to reach Wooler today? Traffic 1 Street 5 Lighting Car/van/motorhome -1 Go to Q21 Road 2 Signage & 6 Motorcycle -2 Go to Q22 safety Information Bus/coach service -3 Go to Q22 Illegal 3 Quality of 7 Coach Tour -4 Go to Q22 parking Footpaths Train -5 Go to Q22 Safety & 4 Other 8 Bicycle -6 Go to Q22 Security (please Walked -7 Go to Q22 specify) Q25. On a scale of 1 to 5 (where 5 is very good Other (specify) -8 Go to Q22 and 1 is very poor) how would you rate the following:

1 2 3 4 5 d/k Street Furniture 1 2 3 4 5 6 Availability of 1 2 3 4 5 6 public parking spaces

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Cost of parking 1 2 3 4 5 6 Don’t know/Can’t -1 Safety/security 1 2 3 4 5 6 recall/Refused of parking Shopping (including £ facilities souvenirs Availability of 1 2 3 4 5 6 guidebooks, clothes, disabled sweets, drinks, parking spaces food, other purchases). The quality of 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bus / Rail Put "0" if spent/expect to services spend nothing The regularity 1 2 3 4 5 6 of bus/ rail services Don't know/Can't -1 The 1 2 3 4 5 6 recall/Refused destinations to Entertainment (including £ and from admissions to Wooler served attractions, by public theatre/cinema tickets, transport leisure activities) Safety & 1 2 3 4 5 6 Security – Put "0" if spent/expect to Daytime spend nothing Safety & 1 2 3 4 5 6 Security – Nighttime Don't know/Can't -1 recall/Refused Q26. To what extent do you agree/disagree with Travel and Transport £ the following statements? Circle the appropriate Costs number, where 1 is strongly agree and 5 is How many people do strongly disagree. these amounts cover?

1 2 3 4 5 d Q28. What improvements would you like to see / to the retail offer in Wooler? (circle all that apply) k

‘On the whole, 1 2 3 4 5 6 More 1 Longer 5 Wooler offers Chain opening a wide choice Stores hours of shops’ More 2 Don’t know 6 ‘On the whole 1 2 3 4 5 6 shops the shops in offering Wooler are of local a good quality’ produce

Fewer 3 Other 7 Q27. Thinking about today as a whole, how charity much do you expect that you and your shops immediate party will have spent today and this evening in total in Wooler on the following: Increased 4 variety of Eating & drinking (in £ shops cafes, pubs, restaurants, Please hotels etc.). give examples Put ‘0’ if spent/expect to spend nothing Q29. Have you ever attended any of these events?

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level of Christmas 1 Weekly 4 cleanliness Lights Market Shop Switch On frontage Glendale 2 Farmers 5 Show Market Q33. On a scale of 1 to 5 (where 5 is very good Glendale 3 I have not 6 and 1 is very poor) how do you rate Wooler as: festival attended any 1 2 3 4 5 d/k A place 1 2 3 4 5 d/k to shop A place 1 2 3 4 5 d/k Q30. On a scale of 1 to 5 (where 5 is very good to visit and 1 is very poor) how would you rate the A place 1 2 3 4 5 d/k following venues for eating and drinking in to enjoy Wooler: yourself

1 2 3 4 5 d/k Resturants/Bistros 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sandwhich shops 1 2 3 4 5 6 Q34. We are interested in your opinion of Take aways 1 2 3 4 5 6 various aspects of Wooler. On this scale Coffee shops 1 2 3 4 5 6 (SHOWCARD 2), how would you rate the Pubs and clubs 1 2 3 4 5 6 following:

Very poor 1 Good 4 Poor 2 Very good 5 Average 3 Don’t 6 know Q31. On a scale of 1 to 5 (where 5 is very good and 1 is very poor) how would you rate the The Market Didn’t use/Not on -7 following arts and leisure facilities in Wooler: Range of -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 stalls 1 2 3 4 5 d/k Presentation -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 Arts/Leisure Centre 1 2 3 4 5 6 of stalls # 1 Quality of -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 Arts/Leisure Centre 1 2 3 4 5 6 goods on # 2 sale Arts /Leisure 1 2 3 4 5 6 Quality of -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 Centre # 3 service from stallholders Q32. On a scale of 1 to 5 (where 5 is very good Shops Didn’t use -7 and 1 is very poor) what do you think of the Range of -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 general state of the Town Centre with regard to: shops (of interest to 1 2 3 4 5 d/k me as a Litter visitor) Graffiti/fly Quality of -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 posting goods on General sale state of Quality of -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 buildings Service Street Places to eat and drink Didn’t use -7 furniture Range -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 Overall Quality of -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6

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Quality of -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 Q35. How would you make this town centre food better? (Unprompted) Quality of -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 service Improved Improved Value for -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 Parking Leisure money Facilities Museums and other Didn’t use -7 Improved Safety and places to visit in the Accessibility Security town Better Other 6 Range -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 Retail offer Level of -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 interest Quality of -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 service Value for -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 money (where admission Q36. Sex (DO NOT ASK) charges are Male 1 Female 2 made) Ease of finding way Q37. Including yourself, how many people in around: your immediate party are male and female, Road signs -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 and which of these age groups do they fall Pedestrian -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 into? (WRITE IN NUMBERS) signs Age Male Female Display -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 A 0-15 maps and B 16-24 information C 25-34 boards D 35-44 Cleanliness -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 E 45-54 of streets: F 55-64 Public Toilets: Didn’t use -7 G 65-74 Availability -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 H 75+ Cleanliness -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 Overall impression of Q38. Which of the following best describes your Wooler in terms of: current situation: General -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 atmosphere Employed 1 Wholly 6 Feeling of -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 full time (30 retired from welcome hrs or more) work General -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 Employed 2 In full time 7 appearance part time education (less than 30 hrs) Self 3 Permanently 8 employed sick/disabled (full or part time) Unemployed 4 Other 9 Looking 5 Please after the specify other home

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Q39. What is your ethnic origin? To be completed by interviewer:

(White) 1 (Mixed) White 9 Q41. Location of Interview: British and Black African Good Life 1 Bus station 4 (White) Irish 2 (Mixed) White 10 Shop and Asian (White) Other 3 (Mixed) Other 11 Farmfoods 2 Other 5 Butchers (Asian or 4 (Black or Black 12 Asian British) British) Car park at 3 Pakistani Caribbean Cheviot (Asian or 5 (Black or Black 13 Centre Asian British) British) African Bangladeshi Q42. Day of Interview: (Asian or 6 (Black or Black 14 Asian British) British) Other Wednesday 1 Friday 3 Indian Thursday 2 Saturday 4 (Asian or 7 Chinese 15 Asian British) Q43. Time of Interview (24-hour clock) Other (Mixed) 8 Other 16 White and Black Caribbean Q44. Please state other Interviewer name Interviewers signature Date Q40. Do you consider yourself to have a Checked by supervisor disability?

Time Weather Yes 1 No 2 1100-1300 -1 Wet -1

1301-1500 -2 Cloudy -2 I declare that this interview has been carried out (Completely strictly in accordance with your specification and has overcast) been conducted within the MRS Code of Conduct with a person unknown to me. 1501-1700 -3 Sunny (or -3 sunny Thank you very much for your time and intervals) cooperation 1701+ -4

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9.2 Verbatim comments

Q17. What, if any, additional facilities or services would have added to the enjoyment of your visit to this area? a baby change for visitors a few more shops eg shoe shops would be good a shelter in the park to shield from clemtns to sit there and enjoy surroundings seating exposed to clements a shop to be able to buy electrical items if something breaks or you forget to bring it an indian restaurant an indian restaurant or chinese restaurant would be fab also a better takeaway better bus facilities better car parking better childrens play area better choice of shops better free parking and a bigger parking area better known small supermarket like tesco extra sainsburys local better parking better parking better parking better range of eating places better quality better service better quality eating place better campsites better shopping/more variety bigger car park busier atmosphere more shops re-opened camping shop car park is shut unfortunately car parks chillingham castle being open cinema cinema cleaner signage for pedestrians creche decent shops with longer opening hours delivery service for take aways to camp site after 9.30pm don't know dungeons etc more tourist attractions fair or something like that few more road signs easier to find fine as it is food & pubs should be available all day shops shut on thursday afternoons for what we want its ok general store for clothes etc hate co-op another supemarket would be nice hotter weather although its nice today improve and update toilets

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indian restaurant its a peaceful town just more parking knowledge of area larger choice of shops & pubs learn to hang glide looks a little run down a bit of tidying up is required lots more shops maybe a club for adults only maybe a few more cafes thats better more car parking more car parks more entertainment for children more entertainment i e bowling more flower pots and better paved areas more kids clothes shops more parking spaces more public seats more pubs more retail shops more shopping facilities more shops more shops & leisure facilities more shops specialist shops more to do for children more variety shops more washing facilities and showers at caravan park nice the way it is none none none none none none none none none none none none none at all none at all none at all none for me

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none for me none for me not sure very happy with everything so far nothing at all nothing got everything we need open wifi access would really make my life easier have my own business and need to keep in contact playground for children shop on camp site could be much better shop where you could by a towel shopping not that good some district places of interest a visitor attraction tennis courts the road signs could be better there is no plastic recycling facilities i know there aren't many around but a plastic one really is a must! town market good to have a market on variety of shops vegetarian cafe weather always helps otherwise nothing young persons club

Q18a. your MAIN reason for choosing to visit this area today? bus church grocery hairdresser the buy a sweeping brush to stay in caravan visit to gp waiting for castle to open walk wanted to visit northumber weekend break

Q18b. any OTHER reason for choosing to visit this area today? art galler campsite coast dog walk food drink library walking

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Q24. Can you tell me what, if anything, are the main problems with the shopping experience in the town centre? better shops can't find a towel shop can't find pipe tobacco cars parking along shopping st charity shop shut clothes shop co-op is slow coop lorry blocks are upto 1hr getting parked lack of choice lack of parking lacking in choice of s/markets lots of local shops closing more childrens clothes shops more clothes shops more parking need more parking need tesco extra or sainsburys noise and pollution not a nice fruit & veg shop not enough nice shops not enough parking not enough shops not enough supermarkets not have for the shopping not many places to park not really here for shopping parking parking and road works parking in general paths are uneven for pushchair poor road from campsite so busy road works road works road works road works road works place in right mess roadworks crossing road some shops difficult access

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theres not much of it

Q28. What improvements would you like to see to the retail offer in the area? please give examples a greengrocer a shop giving info on wooler a sort of gallery better looking shops more for tourists browsing shops camping shop clothes shoe shops clothes shoes big supermarket clothes shop not chainstore clothes shops clothes shops for younger people clothing for both young and old clothing shoes craft & home produce shops craft shops craft shops craft type shops not high street stores different types of restaurants doesnt need anything else electrical shop fashion wear/outdoor fishmonger food shop reasonabley priced clothes shop fruit & veg shops / deli shop generally more shops and decent restaurants get road works finished gift shops clothes got what we need here already grocery grocery store grocery/camping shops kids outdoor clothing store ladies clothes shop large supermarket level paving local craft centres more charity shops more charity shops more charity shops more clothes shop for men and women

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more clothes shops more clothes shops we live near newcastle and have it all more clothes shops/men/women more gift shops which are cheaper more internet access lots of places closed today more of them more shops geared towards walkers nice indian resturant none other than a fruit and veg shop shoe shop shoe shops clothes shops shoe shops tailors walking shop speciality shops craft shop supermarket tesco extra or similar too much traffic on main street toy shops for the kids waterproof reasonable prices walking/sports store

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