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APPENDIX 06F - BerwickTownCentreHealthCheck - May09

The document is a report on the health of Berwick-upon-Tweed town centre. It provides data and analysis on a variety of metrics to assess the vitality of the town centre, including the diversity of uses, retail trends, retailer demand, rental rates, vacancy rates, footfall, accessibility, environmental quality, crime rates, customer views and investment. It was prepared by Lauren Widdrington and Alyson Forster of Northumberland County Council's Corporate Research Unit.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)

94 views

APPENDIX 06F - BerwickTownCentreHealthCheck - May09

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Paul Rooney

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BERWICK-UPON-TWEED TOWN CENTRE HEALTH

CHECK REPORT

Prepared by: Lauren Widdrington & Alyson Forster

Tel: 01670 534757, 01670 534755
E-mail: alyson.forster@northumberland.gov.uk / lauren.widdrington@northumberland.gov.uk
Working Paper Number: 92
Date: May 2009

Contacts
Philip Hanmer Research Manager
Tel: (01670) 533919
Laurie Turnbull Research Assistant
Tel: (01670) 533038
Fax: (01670) 533967
E-mail: InfoNet@northumberland.gov.uk
Website: www.northumberlandinfonet.org.uk

The Corporate Research Unit (InfoNet) is part of the Policy & Partnerships Service of
Northumberland County Council (in the Performance Directorate); it supports the Corporate
Policy Team, other sections of the council and the NSP.

Corporate Research Unit, Policy & Partnerships Service, Performance,

Northumberland County Council, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland,
NE61 2EF

BERWICK-UPON-TWEED TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT

CORPORATE RESEARCH UNIT

BERWICK-UPON-TWEED TOWN CENTRE HEALTH CHECK REPORT

CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................ 7
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................ 7
1.0

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 9

1.1

Why Measure Town Centre Performance? .................................................. 9

1.2

What should we measure?......................................................................... 10

2.0

DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN CENTRE..................................................... 13

2.1 Berwick-upon-Tweeds Town Centre Boundary .............................................. 13

2.2 Berwick-upon-Tweeds Town Centre A Definition ........................................ 15
2.3 History and Development of Berwick-upon-Tweed ......................................... 16
3.0

DIVERSITY OF USES ................................................................................... 19

3.1 Diversity of Use within Town Centre ............................................................... 20

3.2 Events ............................................................................................................. 22
3.3 Satisfaction with the range of provision retail ............................................... 22
4.0

RETAIL TRENDS .......................................................................................... 25

5.0

RETAILER DEMAND .................................................................................... 27

5.1 Interest in Vacant Outlets within the Town Centre 2007 - 2008 ...................... 27
5.2 A Review of New Town Centre Occupiers ...................................................... 30
6.0

RETAIL RENTS AND YIELDS ...................................................................... 31

6.1 Zone A Rental Information .............................................................................. 31

6.2 Yield ................................................................................................................ 34
6.3 Average Rental Rate....................................................................................... 35
7.0

VACANCY RATES ........................................................................................ 37

7.1 Vacancy Rates of Premises ............................................................................ 37

7.2 Changes in Town Centre Occupiers 2007 2008 (Property Flows) ............... 39
8.0

PEDESTRIAN FLOWS.................................................................................. 43

8.1 Footfall methodology....................................................................................... 43

8.2 Estimates of footfall......................................................................................... 43
9.0

ACCESSIBILITY............................................................................................ 45

9.1 Shoppers travelling to town by car .................................................................. 45

9.2 Access to car parking...................................................................................... 46
9.3 Cost of parking................................................................................................ 48
9.4 Berwick-upon-Tweeds Car parks ................................................................... 48

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9.5 Bus Connectivity ............................................................................................. 51

9.6 Shoppers travelling to town by bus ................................................................. 53
9.7 Train Connectivity ........................................................................................... 55
9.8 Shoppers travelling to town by train ................................................................ 56
9.9 Perception of Public Transport Services ......................................................... 56
9.10 Perception of Accessibility ............................................................................ 57
9.11 Origin and method of travel of Shoppers Interviewed ................................... 57
10.0

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OF TOWN ..................................................... 61

10.1 Review of Recent Improvements .................................................................. 61

10.2 Shopper perception of the town .................................................................... 61
11.0

PERCEPTION OF SAFETY AND OCCURRENCE OF CRIME..................... 67

11.1 Analysis of Reported Crimes......................................................................... 68

11.2 Perception or Fear of Crime.......................................................................... 70
11.3 Initiatives to Address Town Centre-Related Crime ....................................... 71
12.0

CUSTOMER VIEWS...................................................................................... 73

12.1 Regularity of visits ......................................................................................... 73

12.2 Expenditure/ Type of Purchases ................................................................... 74
12.3 The Catchment ............................................................................................. 77
12.4 Spending Patterns......................................................................................... 80
12.5 Retaining Shopper Spend ............................................................................. 84
12.6 Opinions on and use of Leisure and Entertainment ...................................... 87
12.7 The Future: what will improve the town as a place to shop or visit? ............. 92
13.0

INVESTMENT................................................................................................ 97

14.0

CONCLUSION............................................................................................... 99

15.0

RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................... 103

APPENDIX 1 .......................................................................................................... 105

Use Class Order ................................................................................................. 105
APPENDIX 2 .......................................................................................................... 107
VERBATIM RESPONSES FOR SHOPPERS SURVEY..................................... 107

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Boundary for Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Centre (District Council)........... 13
Figure 2: Boundary for Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Centre (Experian) .................... 14
Figure 3: Floorspace by Use Class........................................................................... 20
Figure 4: Building Use class for Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Centre ........................ 21
Figure 5: How would you rate On the whole, Berwick-upon-Tweed offers a wide
choice of quality shops? .......................................................................................... 23
Figure 6: Multiple Chain and Independent Businesses by Category - Berwick-uponTweed....................................................................................................................... 25
Figure 7: Property Enquiries for Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Centre April 2007
March 2008............................................................................................................... 29
Figure 8: Valuation Office Zone A rental prices for Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Centre
................................................................................................................................. 32
Figure 9: Shopping Centre Yields - Berwick-upon-Tweed ........................................ 34
Figure 10: A comparison on average rental prices for commercial property between
Berwick-upon-Tweed and other Northumberland Towns.......................................... 35
Figure 11: Vacancy Rates of Premises .................................................................... 38
Figure 12: Is a Property Vacant ............................................................................... 39
Figure 13: Changes in Primary Activity Type 2007-2008.......................................... 40
Figure 14: Type of Changes in Premises 2007-2008 ............................................... 41
Figure 15: Estimated daily footfall in Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Centre................. 43
Figure 16: Frequency of visit to the town centre by those respondents travelling in by
car ............................................................................................................................ 45
Figure 17: How easy/difficult do you feel it is to travel into Berwick-upon-Tweed town
centre (those respondents that travelled by car)....................................................... 46
Figure 18: Percentage of respondents giving each rating for parking related attributes
................................................................................................................................. 47
Figure 19: Percentage of respondents giving each rating for the cost of parking ..... 48
Figure 20: Location of Car Parks .............................................................................. 49
Figure 21: Location of Car Parks .............................................................................. 51
Figure 22: Destination and Frequency of Buses from Berwick-upon-Tweed ............ 51
Figure 23: Frequency of visit to the town centre by those respondents travelling in by
bus............................................................................................................................ 54
Figure 24: How easy/difficult do you feel it is to travel into Berwick-upon-Tweed town
centre (those respondents that travelled by bus)...................................................... 55
Figure 25: Destination and Frequency of Trains from Berwick-upon-Tweed ............ 55
Figure 26: Percentage of respondents giving each rating for public transport related
attributes................................................................................................................... 56
Figure 27: Visitors to Berwick-upon-Tweed within Northumberland and Tyne and
Wear ......................................................................................................................... 58
Figure 28: Visitors to Berwick-upon-Tweed outside Northumberland ....................... 59
Figure 29: Street furniture ratings ............................................................................. 62
Figure 30: Ratings given for parks and open spaces................................................ 63
Figure 31: Ratings given for litter and overall cleanliness......................................... 64
Figure 32: Ratings given for the appearance of the town ......................................... 65
Figure 33: Analysis of Reported Crimes ................................................................... 68
Figure 34: Crime and Anti Social Behaviour ............................................................. 69
Figure 35: Ratings given for safety/security.............................................................. 71
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Figure 36: Approximately how often are you in Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Centre?73
Figure 37: Proportion of respondents shopping in Berwick-upon-Tweed and other
areas ........................................................................................................................ 75
Figure 38: Shopping centres used by respondents to purchase different items ....... 76
Figure 39: How much do you plan to spend in Berwick-upon-Tweed today? ........... 77
Figure 40: Berwick-upon-Tweed Retail Catchment .................................................. 78
Figure 41: Berwick-upon-Tweed Catchment Summary Profile ................................. 80
Figure 42: Total Expenditure (in 2006 prices) Comparison ...................................... 82
Figure 43: Expenditure on Comparison Retail .......................................................... 83
Figure 44: Expenditure on Comparison Retail .......................................................... 83
Figure 45: 2007 Total Expenditure Convenience Retail ........................................... 84
Figure 46: Population Leakage................................................................................. 85
Figure 47: Spend Leakage ....................................................................................... 86
Figure 48: Proportion of Retail Expenditure.............................................................. 87
Figure 49: Have you ever attended any of these events? ........................................ 88
Figure 50: How would you rate the following venues for eating and drinking in
Berwick-upon-Tweed? .............................................................................................. 89
Figure 51: How would you rate the following arts and leisure facilities in Berwickupon-Tweed?............................................................................................................ 90
Figure 52: How do you rate Berwick-upon-Tweed as a place to enjoy yourself?...... 91
Figure 53: How would you make this town centre better? ........................................ 93
Figure 54: What are the main problems with the shopping experience in Berwickupon-Tweed town centre? ........................................................................................ 93
Figure 55: What improvements would you like to see to the retail offer in Berwickupon-Tweed?............................................................................................................ 95

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

51% of the floorspace in Berwick-upon-Tweed was for retail.

Shoppers perceptions of the range of retail provision was somewhat negative

- 40% did not think Berwick-upon-Tweed offered a wide choice of shops.

Shoppers felt that the range and choice of shops needed to be improved.

There were more comparison retail (clothing, household goods, furniture, DIY
and electrical goods) than convenience or retail service.

There was 5% of vacant floorspace in Berwick-upon-Tweed.

The amount of vacant floorspace had reduced when looking at property flows.
This was a result of more buildings changing from being vacant to occupied
from 2007 to 2008, than occupied to vacant.

78% of shoppers interviewed found it easy to travel into the town centre by
car.

49% of these shoppers felt that the parking in the town centre was either poor
or very poor.

29 shoppers commented on the lack of parking and a further 9 said parking in

general was a problem.

Berwick-upon-Tweed also has good bus connectivity by the frequency and

number of destinations reached from Berwick-upon-Tweed.

79% of shoppers interviewed found it easy to travel into the town centre by
bus.

Approximately one quarter of respondents rating the quality, regularity and

destinations served by public transport negatively.

51% of Berwick-upon-Tweed residents shopped in Berwick-upon-Tweed. 12%

of expenditure was lost to Newcastle and a further 7% to the Metro Centre.

Recommendations

The town centre should be monitored over a number of years to track

changes.

Comparisons can also be made with towns which have similar functions.
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Use class data will take all floors (from which businesses operate) within town
centre buildings into consideration, as opposed to solely the ground floor.

Investigate the location and quantity residential properties within the town
centre.

Work in partnership with local estate agents to gain further insight on property
enquiries received.

Align footfall counts across all town centres to enable fair comparisons.
Additionally, footfalls to take place on Sunday to enable a weekly footfall to be
estimated.

A map to show all bus and train routes would prove useful in the analysis
process.

Investigate impact of crime initiatives on shoppers perception of crime and

safety within the town centre.

Investigate impact of future proposals for Berwick-upon-Tweed on shoppers

overall perception of the town centre.

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1.0

INTRODUCTION

1.1

Why Measure Town Centre Performance?

Through Planning Policy Statement 6 (PPS6), the Government sets out its key
objectives for town centers.

Overall, PPS6 describes the need to promote town

centre vitality and viability by planning for the growth and development of existing
centres; promoting and enhancing existing centres; by focusing development in such
centers; and encouraging a wide range of services in a good environment, accessible
to all.
More generally, the UK Government is committed to:

Enhancing consumer choice by making provision for a range of shopping, leisure

and local services, which allow genuine choice to meet the needs of the entire
community, and particularly socially-excluded groups.

Supporting efficient, competitive and innovative retail, leisure, tourism and other
sectors, with improving productivity.

Improving accessibility, ensuring that existing or new development is, or will be,
accessible and well-served by a choice of means of transport.

The importance of town centres and the contribution that they make to the local
economy is also highlighted in the Regional Economic Strategy.

According to

Leading the Way, the draft Regional Economic Strategy (2006), thriving town
centres are at the heart of our communities and it is essential that they continue to
provide a good range of services such as shops, leisure, transport and other
services.

Town Centres provide employment in many areas and attract new

businesses to sustain the local economy. Research has shown the importance of
strong Town Centres as the focus for driving wider economic growth and productivity.
The Regional Economic Strategy also emphasises the importance of building on the
potential of all town centres so that more remote economies and communities of the
settlements around them can be supported.
The importance of the role played by town centres is also highlighted in
Northumberland Local Area Agreement (LAA). The LAA Economic Development and
Enterprise block includes an outcome to improve the impact of public/private sector

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intervention on economic performance of Northumberland Town Centres.

Whilst

stretch targets leading to additional government funding are not proposed for this
outcome, it is hoped that improved town centre performance can help achieve other
LAA targets.

1.2

What should we measure?

Government policy contained in PPS6 recognises that:

Comprehensive, relevant and up to date monitoring is essential to the effective
planning and management of town centres. It should be used to inform the review of
site allocations and town centre policies and enable early signs of change of town
centres to be identified and appropriate action taken.
In order to ensure that monitoring is effective, data collection on the quality, quantity
and convenience of retailing in the area and potential capacity for growth or change
of shopping centres is essential. In order to measure the vitality and viability and
monitor the health of their town centres and how this is changing over time, local
authorities should regularly collect information, preferably in co-operation with the
private sector, on the following key indicators:

Diversity of main town centre uses (by number, type and amount of floorspace):
the amount of space in use for different functions such as offices; shopping;
leisure, cultural and entertainment activities; pubs, cafes and restaurants; and,
hotels.

The amount of retail, leisure and office floorspace in edge-of-centre and out-ofcentre locations.

The potential capacity for growth or change of centres in the network:

opportunities for centres to expand or consolidate, typically measured in the
amount of land available for new or more intensive forms of town centre
development.

Retailer representation and intentions to change representation: existence and

changes in representation of types of retailer, including street markets, and the
demand of retailers wanting to come into the centre, or to change their
representation in the centre, or to reduce or close their representation.
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Shopping rents: pattern of movement in Zone A rents within primary shopping

areas (i.e. the rental value for the first 6 metres depth of floorspace in retail units
from the shop window).

Proportion of vacant street level property: vacancies can arise even in the
strongest town centres, and this indicator must be used with care. Vacancies in
secondary frontages and changes to other uses will also be useful indicators.

Commercial yields on non-domestic property (i.e. the capital value in relation to

the expected market rental): demonstrates the confidence of investors in the longterm profitability of the centre for retail, office and other commercial
developments. This indicator should be used with care.

Pedestrian flows (footfall): a key indicator of the vitality of shopping streets,

measured by the numbers and movement of people on the streets, in different
parts of the center at different times of the day and evening, who are available for
businesses to attract into shops, restaurants or other facilities.

Accessibility: ease and convenience of access by a choice of means of travel,

including the quality, quantity and type of car parking; the frequency and quality
of public transport services and the range of customer origins served; and, the
quality of provision for pedestrians, cyclists and disabled people and the ease of
access from main arrival points to the main attractions.

Customer and residents views and behaviour: regular surveys will help
authorities in monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of town centre
improvements and in setting further priorities. Interviews in the town centre and at
home can be used to establish views of both users and non-users of the centre,
including the views of residents living in or close to the centre. This information
could also establish the degree of linked trips.

Perception of safety and occurrence of crime: should include views and

information on safety and security, and where appropriate, information for
monitoring the evening and night-time economy.

State of the town centre environmental quality: should include information on

problems (such as air pollution, noise, clutter, litter and graffiti) and positive
factors (such as trees, landscaping and open spaces).

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In response to the monitoring requirements set out above, the InfoNet has developed
the Northumberland Town Centre Performance System, which is designed to assess
the vitality and viability of rural market towns and larger centres within the former
coalfield areas.

The system uses intelligence from the InfoNet Organisation

Database; the Northumberland Property Data Service (NPDS) database; the County
Public Transport Team; and from the Community Safety Analysis function maintained
for the 6 Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) in the County. This is
complemented by additional primary research designed to capture footfall estimates
and shopper perception of town centres.

The Service is also designed to

complement the Retail Distinctiveness work undertaken for One North East and the
Northumberland Strategic Partnership by Millers Consulting; and the Retail
Distinctiveness Toolkit that has been developed for use by Town Centre Partnerships
and Managers.
The service currently covers the towns of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Amble, Ashington,
Bedlington,

Belford,

Haltwhistle,

Hexham,

Berwick-upon-Tweed
Morpeth,

upon

Newbiggin,

Tweed,

Ponteland,

Blyth,

Cramlington,

Prudhoe,

Rothbury,

Seahouses and Wooler using town centre boundary definitions included in Local
Development Frameworks. There will, however, be flexibility to include additional
settlements as the system develops.

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2.0

DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN CENTRE

2.1 Berwick-upon-Tweeds Town Centre Boundary

Throughout this report there are two different boundaries for Berwick-upon-Tweed
Town Centre that will be used depending on the section: the town centre boundary
as defined by the former Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council (Figure 1), and the
boundary as defined by Experian (a source of data used in this report) (Figure 2).

The area of Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Centre in relation to the District Council

boundary is 435,153.51 m.
Figure 1: Boundary for Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Centre (District Council)

Source: Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council

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Figure 2: Boundary for Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Centre (Experian)

Source: Experian

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2.2 Berwick-upon-Tweeds Town Centre A Definition

The RSS (Regional Spatial Strategies) definition of a town centre is that it includes a
range of different sized centres, including market and country towns, traditional
suburban centres, and quite often, the principal centre(s) in a local authoritys area.
Town centres contain a Primary Shopping Area, the area where retail development is
generally concentrated.
(From Northumberland County Council): Berwick-upon-Tweed is a key market town
set within a distinctive landscape, and benefiting from outstanding buildings and a
rich cultural heritage.

It is one of only a few walled towns in the UK, and its

geographical proximity and connections to both Newcastle and Edinburgh are major
economic strengths.

Berwick-upon-Tweed suffers from a declining and ageing population particularly with

young people relocating elsewhere to pursue a higher quality of life through better
employment, training opportunities and affordable housing. Tourism accounts for
most of the economic activity in the area, with food processing, and agriculturerelated businesses also important.

The town comprises three parts the town centre, Tweedmouth and Spittal.

provides an important rural service centre, located on both the A1 and the East Coast
Main Railway line. Vacancy rates in the town centre are below the national average,
and there is currently only one vacant shop in Marygate, the towns main street. In
the last eighteen months, many new shops and cafes have opened, including a
champagne bar, a florists, and a bridal shop.

Three major new housing

developments have been agreed for the town centre, on the site of the former
Playhouse Cinema, the former Youngmans store, and the former Blackburn and
Price car dealer premises, although it is likely that these will now be delayed until the
property market improves. A new edge-of-town Tesco Supermarket has been given
the go-ahead, and subject to the detailed plans being agreed, construction is likely to
begin later this year.

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2.3 History and Development of Berwick-upon-Tweed

Berwick-upon-Tweed-upon-Tweed is the northernmost town in England. It is situated
in North Northumberland, 4km from the Scottish Borders, at the lowest crossing point
of the river Tweed.

It is unclear as to where the name Berwick-upon-Tweed derived from. Ber may

have come from baer (meaning Barley) or bar referring to the headland which cuts
across the Tweed estuary. Wick may have derived from vik (meaning bay) or wic
(meaning settlement). An alternative suggestion is that Berwick-upon-Tweed
means Corn Farm.

Berwick-upon-Tweed has had a turbulent history in which it changed hands at least

13 times during over 300 years of Border warfare. It was finally captured by Richard
Duke of Gloucester in 1482, and has remained under the administration of England
since this time. Walls were built in the 14th century to protect the town. These were
replaced in 1558-80, and this is now the only example of an intact Elizabethan town
wall in England.

In the 18th Century, Berwick-upon-Tweed-upon-Tweed was a thriving port and

market town. The harbour was improved in the late 18th and 19th centuries, and by
the early 19th century it had become the third most improvement grain exporting port
in the UK.

In 1846-7, the railway was brought to Berwick-upon-Tweed on the north side of the
river Tweed, and Tweedmouth on the south side. A temporary viaduct over the river
was built 18 months later, and the more permanent Royal Border Railway Bridge in
1850. The bridge is still in use, and this, together with the Old Bridge (1634) and the
Royal Tweed Bridge which carries the old A1 into the town (1928), forms a key
feature of the town.

The railway caused a decline in the harbour and in the fishing fleet. However,
commercial operations from the port have recently been revitalised, and it is now the
second largest Northumberland port.
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Today, Berwick-upon-Tweed-upon-Tweed is a popular tourist resort, with a

population of 11,6651. It has a market day twice weekly on Wednesdays and
Saturdays, and also has a Farmers market on the last Sunday of each month. As
well as the town wall walk, there are many things to see and do in and around
Berwick-upon-Tweed, including visiting the Berwick-upon-Tweed Barracks Museum
(1719) and the spired town hall (1754), and attending the events of the Riding of the
Bounds and the Border Marches.

2001 census
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3.0

DIVERSITY OF USES

The diversity of uses within a town centre contributes to the attractiveness of the
centre to the local community. In this section the use class of buildings within the
town centre will be investigated in terms of the percentage of floorspace occupied
within the town centre and which areas of the town centre particular uses of buildings
are situated. This chapter will also look at the events that take place throughout the
year in Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Centre and also the opinions of shoppers
surveyed on the range of retail provision in Berwick-upon-Tweed.

The full breakdown of use class analysed in this section can be found in Appendix 1.

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3.1 Diversity of Use within Town Centre

Figure 3 shows that just over half (58%) of the floorspace in Berwick-upon-Tweed
Town Centre are classed as shops. Financial and professional services account for
9% of the floorspace in Berwick-upon-Tweed, with businesses occupying 8%.
Figure 3: Floorspace by Use Class

Floorspace by Use Class - Berwick Town Centre

4%
5%
3%
2%
2%

8%
0%
1%
4%
58%
4%

Source: Experian

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A1 Shops
A2 Financial and professional services
A3 Restaurants and cafs
A4 Drinking establishments
A5 Hot food takeaways
ASG (Sui Generis )
B1 Business
B8 Storage or distribution
C1 Hotels
D1 Non-residential institutions
D2 Assembly and leisure
UC - Unclassified

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Figure 4: Building Use class for Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Centre

Source: Experian

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The map (Figure 4) shows that the majority of shops within the town centre are
clustered around Marygate which is the main street. The main cluster of financial and
professional services is situated on Hide Hill. Businesses are generally distributed
evenly throughout the town centre. Restaurants are also distributed throughout
Berwick-upon-Tweed with a

particular cluster around Bridge Street and behind

Marygate.

It must be noted that the use class information in this section is based on the ground
floor of the premises from the data that was provided by Experian, and with the
assumption that the majority of the commercial property in the town centre is situated
on the ground floor.

3.2 Events
There are a number of events that happen throughout the year. Every Saturday the
Market takes place at Marygate. A Traditional Music session is held at The Pilot Inn,
Low Greens every Thursday. Family Fun Days every Sunday in July at the Marshall
Meadows Hotel, where there is a barbecue, bouncy castle, football and garden
games for all the family.

The League of Friends Summer Fete is held in the

Guildhall, Town Hall, Marygate from 10am-12.30pm this normally takes place in July,
also held in July is the Berwick-upon-Tweed Animal Rescue Kennels novelty pet
show and fun day at the stanks from 11.30 till 4pm. The Berwick-upon-Tweed Food
Festival which takes place on September 12-13th 2009, this is a feast of culture,
heritage and food which is centred round Berwick-upon-Tweeds 18th Century
Barracks with venues and events throughout the town. There is a producers market,
tasting sessions, demonstrations, gardeners produce, real ale tent, photographic
displays, historical re-enactments, music, competitions all organised by Slow Food.
A producers market ran by Slow Food is held in the Buttermarket form 9.30am till
1.30pm in August. The Christmas lights switch on takes place on the 23rd November.

3.3 Satisfaction with the range of provision retail

Question 14 in the Berwick-upon-Tweed Shopper Questionnaire asked:

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To what extent do you agree/disagree with the statement On the whole, Berwickupon-Tweed offers a wide choice of quality shops?
The level of disagreement with this statement was considerably higher than the level
of agreement (33% vs. 17% of respondents) (Figure 5). The majority of respondents
(47%) neither agreed nor disagreed.

Figure 5: How would you rate On the whole, Berwick-upon-Tweed offers a

wide choice of quality shops?
(Excludes 'don't know' responses unless otherwise specified)
47%

50%
45%
40%

% respondents

35%
30%

27%

25%
20%

15%

15%
10%

0%
Strongly
Agree

Agree

Neither
Agree nor
Disagree

Disagree

Source: Shopper Surveys

Base: 288 respondents

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Strongly
Disagree

d/k

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4.0

RETAIL TRENDS

The range and diversity of the retail offer directly influences the appeal of a town
centre to visitors and shoppers. Convenience goods are consumer goods purchased
on a regular basis, including food, groceries toiletries and cleaning materials.
Comparison goods are durable goods such as clothing, household goods, furniture,
DIY and electrical goods.

In this section, the category of shops will be investigated and analysed in terms of
both category and whether they are part of a multiple chain or are an independent
business.
Figure 6: Multiple Chain and Independent Businesses by Category - Berwickupon-Tweed
Multiple Chain and Independent Businesses by Category - Berwick
100
90
80

60
multiple chain
independent

50
7

40
58

7
8
38
24
1

1
Wholesale Trade

22
6

Vacant Non-Retail

General Offices

Financial &
Business Services

Convenience

Comparison

1
5

Unclassified
Building

Retail Service

Religious Services

Public Services

Vacant Retail

Leisure Services

Industrial Activities

Health & Medical

Services

Number of Businesses

37
70

Figure 6 shows that in Berwick-upon-Tweed town centre, the majority of businesses

are comparison retail (58 independent, 37 multiple chain). The category which has
the 2nd highest amount of businesses is leisure services: 38 of which are independent
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and 7 multiple chain. There are 22 convenience retail premises and 31 retail service
in total.

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5.0

RETAILER DEMAND

This section aims to investigate the types of property enquiries that are being made
in the town centre and whether the enquirer was of local, regional or national
significance. The aim was also to investigate the new occupiers within the town
centre over the past year, for which we have referred to section 7.2 (Changes in
Town Centre Occupiers 2007 2008).

5.1 Interest in Vacant Outlets within the Town Centre 2007 - 2008
Figure 7 shows that the enquiry for vacant properties within Berwick-upon-Tweed
Town Centre as recorded on the Northumberland Property Database (April 2007
March 2008) was local (within Northumberland). The only enquiry recorded was for
Berwick-upon-Tweed Workspace which is a business centre consisting of 35 offices
situated at the heart of Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Centre on Marygate. The
remaining enquiries for the Berwick-upon-Tweed area were all for properties in
Ramparts Business Park which is an out of town business park, from both local and
national enquirers. However, it must be noted that this data is based solely on one
source (Northumberland Property Database) and other sources may provide further
insight.

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Figure 7: Property Enquiries for Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Centre April

2007 March 2008

Source: Northumberland Property Search.com

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5.2 A Review of New Town Centre Occupiers

See section 7.2 (Changes in Town Centre Occupiers 2007 2008) for an analysis of
the new town centre occupiers in 2008.

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6.0

RETAIL RENTS AND YIELDS

Retail rent and yield are important indicators of viability. This section will investigate
the zone A rent for properties within the town centre and also the yield of Berwickupon-Tweed Town Centre in comparison with the other town centres in
Northumberland for which this information was available; the North East; and
England.

6.1 Zone A Rental Information

Zoning is a method of valuation where the highest level of value is attributable to the
front part of the shop because that is the part nearest to the pavement, the frontage.
It is therefore the part that all shoppers must pass to enter the shop and is also the
part where the main display is generally situated in order to entice customers into the
shop. The zoning theory is that the level of value within a shop decreases as the
shop depth increases. The Valuation Office adopts a zoning pattern of three zones
(A, B and C), each measuring 610 metres in depth, and then a remainder. The
principle is to determine a price for zone A (the highest level of value), use half that
price for zone B, half the zone B price for zone C and half the zone C price for the
remainder. This is known as "halving back" though in reality the areas are adjusted in
the valuation process with each area being expressed "in terms of zone A"
(ITZA).The zoning process is restricted to areas of ground floor retail space. Other
parts of the property will be measured to NIA and be valued in relation to a fraction of
the zone A price. (Valuation Office, October 2008)

Figure 8 shows the zone A rental information from the Valuation Office. The values
relate to the 2005 Rating List, which are based on a valuation date of 1 April 2003.
The properties have been banded by intervals of 100, as we cannot publish the
exact figure for each building. This will also make it easier to identify trends when
analysing the data on the map.

There are some properties which are shown as unknown on Figure 8. These
premises could be retail in nature but are not valued on a zoned approach. The
reason for this is that zoning is generally not used in various circumstances including:

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Larger retail properties (i.e. shops with a NIA (net internal area) greater than
1500m).

Where the retail areas are spread over several floors, again resulting in the
Zone A being only a small fraction of the total.

Larger shops may not have traditional shop fronts, such that the zoning
approach is not appropriate.

The market does not typically zone larger shops when letting and the VOA tries
to follow the market in its analysis and valuation.

Figure 8: Valuation Office Zone A rental prices for Berwick-upon-Tweed Town

Centre

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Source: Valuation Office

Figure 8 shows that the properties on Marygate generally have the highest zone A
rent, with a large proportion being 500 - 599 per m, especially in the centre of this
particular street. The prices decrease towards the edge of the town centre (including
Hide Hill and Castlegate) and either end of Marygate where the majority of properties
are 100 - 199 per m, 200 - 299 per m, or unknown. Only on the very outskirts
of the town centre do some properties have zone A rents of 0 - 99 per m namely
on the top end of Church Street and the top end of Castlegate.

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6.2 Yield
Yield is the ratio of rental income to capital value and is expressed in terms of the
open market rent of a property as percentage of the capital value.

It provide a

consistent basis for understanding how the property market assesses the
comparative attractiveness of shop investments in different locations across the
country... low yields indicate that a town is considered to be attractive and as a result
be more likely to attract investment than a town with high yields.3

Yield =

Annual Rent
Capital Value / Sale Price of Property

Source: Valuation Office (www.voa.gov.uk)

In Northumberland, this data is only available for 5 towns: Berwick-upon-Tweed,

Ashington, Berwick-upon-Tweed upon Tweed, Blyth and Hexham.

Figure 9: Shopping Centre Yields - Berwick-upon-Tweed

Shopping Centre Yields - Berwick
10
9

Yield

8
7

Berwick upon Tweed

Average for
Northumberland

Average for North East

4
Average for England

3
2
1
0
Apr- Oct- Apr- Oct- Apr- Jan- Jul- Jan- Jul- Jan- Jul- Jan- Jul01 01 02
02 03 04 04 05 05 06 06 07 07

Source: Valuation Office (www.voa.gov.uk)

2
3

www.voa.gov.uk
www.voa.gov.uk
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Figure 9 shows that in 2001 (April and October), the average yield for Berwick-uponTweed (8.5 in both months) was just slightly lower than the average for
Northumberland (8.6 in both months), but higher than the North East of England
(8.22 in both months), and England (8.10 and 8.08 respectively). In 2002 (April and
October), the average for Northumberland dropped to 8.25, and below Berwick-uponTweeds constant 8.5. The most significant change to the yield in Berwick-uponTweed occurred between January 2005 and July 2005 where the yield dropped from
9 to 7 within the space of 6 months. The reason for this could be the result of
significant regeneration in the area at this time.
Berwick-upon-Tweeds yield continued to drop at a fairly steady rate to 5.75 in both
January and July 2007 which was the last time the figures were published. Since July
2005, the yield for Berwick-upon-Tweed has also remained lower than the averages
for Northumberland, the North East and England indicates that based on yield, it has
been derived that there is less of a risk associated with setting up business in
Berwick-upon-Tweed.

6.3 Average Rental Rate

The average monthly rental rate for vacant commercial property in Berwick-uponTweed town centre between 1st January 2006 and 31st December 2007 was 163.66
per square metre. Figure 10 show this rate in comparison with other town centres.
According to Figure 10, in comparison with other Northumberland town centres,
Berwick-upon-Tweed has the 4th highest average monthly rental rate in
Northumberland for the 11 towns recorded here with only Ponteland, Morpeth and
Ashington with higher average rental rates. However, it must be noted that these
rental figures are based solely on properties that were vacant between 1st January
2006 and 31st December 2007 and does not take the rental prices of buildings that
were occupied throughout this period into consideration.

Figure 10: A comparison on average rental prices for commercial property

between Berwick-upon-Tweed and other Northumberland Towns

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A comparison on average rental prices for commercial property

between Berwick and other Northumberland Towns
250.00
200.00
150.00

Other Northumberland Towns

Average Rent per sqm

100.00

Berwick Average Rental per

sqm

50.00

As ble
hi
ng
Be to n
dl
in
gt
Ha
o
ltw n
hi
st
l
He e
xh
am
M
or
p
Ne eth
wb
ig
P o g in
nt
el
an
d
Ro
th
bu
ry

nw
ic

0.00

Source: Northumberland Property Database

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7.0

VACANCY RATES

All town centres experience a baseline level of vacancy rates and this should not
always be interpreted as a sign of weakness. A large number of vacant units within
centres may indicate decline related to poor performance of the town or that shop
premises are inadequate to meet the demands of modern retailers. Furthermore,
units may be located in parts of the centre unsuited to retailers' requirements. This
section will investigate the vacancy rates of premises within the town centre by road
and overall vacancy rates within the town. Additionally, this section will look at
property flows within Berwick-upon-Tweed town centre between 2007 and 2008 in
terms of both primary activity type and type of change (i.e. change in occupier,
occupied to vacant, vacant to occupied).

It must be noted that the vacancy information in this section is based on the ground
floor of the premises from the data that was provided by Experian the majority of the
commercial property in the town centre is situated on the ground floor.

7.1 Vacancy Rates of Premises

Figure 11 shows that the streets within Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Centre with the
most vacant premises are Chapel Street and Foul Ford each with 100% of premises
vacant.
Silver Street was ranked 3rd when looking at number of vacant buildings with 67%.
However, when looking at vacancy rates in terms of floorspace, Silver Street was
ranked 5th with 35% of its total floorspace vacant. The street with the 3rd most vacant
floorspace in Berwick-upon-Tweed was Walkergate with 73% of premises vacant.

Figure 12 shows that in Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Centre, there were 91% of

occupied premises and 9% of vacant premises overall.

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Figure 11: Vacancy Rates of Premises

Road
CHAPEL STREET
FOUL FORD
SILVER STREET
WALKERGATE
WOOLMARKET
SANDGATE
GOLDEN SQUARE
WEST STREET
CHURCH STREET
BRIDGE STREET
CASTLEGATE
MARYGATE
HIDE HILL
BORDER COURT
BRIDGE END
CRAWFORDS ALLEY
DEWAR LANE
EASTERN LANE
QUAY WALLS
SCOTTS PLACE
SIDEY COURT
ST MARYS PLACE
TWEED STREET

Vacant (number of buildings)?

yes
Rank - vacancy
100%
100%
67%
30%
29%
14%
10%
9%
6%
6%
6%
5%
3%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%

1
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

Source: Experian

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Vacant (floorspace sqm)?

yes
Rank - vacancy
100%
100%
35%
73%
25%
36%
3%
7%
3%
7%
4%
5%
2%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%

1
1
5
3
6
4
11
7
11
7
10
9
13

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Figure 12: Is a Property Vacant

Is Property Vacant? (Berwick Town Centre)

no
yes

91%

Source: Experian

7.2 Changes in Town Centre Occupiers 2007 2008 (Property

Flows)
Figure 13 shows changes in Town Centre Occupiers in 2007 and 2008 within
Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Centre. The graph shows the number of vacant outlets
have decreased in from 21 in 2007 to 18 in 2008. There has also been a decrease in
the number of Video Rental and Printing and Photocopying from 2 in 2007 to 0 in
2008 showing that these types of businesses have disappeared altogether from
Berwick-upon-Tweed town centre within this time.

However, there has been a number of increases, with the most significant being and
increase of Beauty Salons there were just 2 in 2007 but 6 by 2008. There were no
Coffee Shops, Delicatessens or Grocers in 2007, but 2 of each in 2008. Estate
Agents increased from 6 in 2007 to 8 in 2008.

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Figure 13: Changes in Primary Activity Type 2007-2008

25
21

14
13
10
9

8
7

6
5

4
3
2
1

3
2

2
0

4
3

2
1

1
0

3
1

2
1

1
0

2
1

1
0

3
2

2
1

1
0

2
1

1
0

2
1
0

ts
en

Am
us
em

Ar
t
R Ba k
es
e
Be tau r
au ran
ty
t
Sa
lo
Bu
n
ild
B
in oo
g
k
So s
ci
et
y
B
ut
C
h
c
C arit her
hi
y
ld
re Sho
ns
p
W
C
e
on
C ar
fe
l
ct Co oth
io
i
n f fe ng
C ery e S
on
ho
&
ve
B
p
ni isc
en u
ce its
El
D
ec
el Sto
ic
t ri
at re
ca
l & Dr ess
G y C en
Em as lea
pl Ap nin
oy pl
g
m ian
en
c
t A es
Es g e
ta nc
te
y
Ag
en
Fl t
or
ist
G
ift
s
G
ue Gro
st ce
r
H
H
ai ou
rd
s
re e
s
H
ea sin
lth g
Fo
H od
ob
H
bi
ou
es
se
h
It a old Ho
t
l
T
La ian
ex el
di
es Res tiles
M
ta
&
ot
M ura
or
en
nt
C
s
yc
W
Pr le S Me ea
in
a
n
t in les s W r
g
& & R ea
Ph e r
ot pa
o c i rs
op
yi
ng
Su S h
pe oe
rm s
Te ar
le ket
p
Va hon
ca es
Va n t
ca B a
n
n
Vi t O k
de ut
le
o
R t
en
ta
l

Number in Town Centre - 2007

Number in Town Centre - 2008

Source: Experian

Figure 14 shows the type of changes in premises in Berwick-upon-Tweed Town

Centre between 2007 and 2008. Over half (53%) of the changes were a change in
occupier. Almost a third (31%) of these changes were premises that were vacant in
2007 but were occupied in 2008. Only 16% of premises were occupied in 2007 but
vacant in 2008, therefore a reduction of vacant premises is evident.

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Figure 14: Type of Changes in Premises 2007-2008

Source: Experian

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8.0

PEDESTRIAN FLOWS

Pedestrian counts are a useful measure of vitality, in relation to the number and
movement of people in different parts of the town centre and at different times of the
day. The counts provide a clear picture of footfall patterns across the centre and of
the number of people in the town. Over time trends can be identified and the success
or decline of locations monitored. This section will analyse the results of the footfall
counts that took place in Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Centre in November 2008 and
estimate a weekly footfall total.

8.1 Footfall methodology

Footfall counts were taken for 10 minutes of each hour between 9am and 5pm on
Thursday 13th November, Friday 14th November and Saturday 15th November 2008.
They were carried out by interviewers at four access points within the town centre
(see Figure 15). These counts were used to give estimates of hourly and daily
pedestrian rates.

8.2 Estimates of footfall

It is estimated that the footfall for a typical Saturday in Berwick-upon-Tweed town
centre is around 21,300, although this will obviously vary depending on the time of
year. The data suggests that the footfall on a Thursday is slightly lower than this
(around 20,400) and substantially lower on a Friday.

Figure 15: Estimated daily footfall in Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Centre

Estimated daily footfall4
Location

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Co-op Travel, 124 Marygate

3,228

2,316

4,884

Somerfield, 2 Castlegate

4,776

4,758

5,622

WHSmiths, 69-75 Marygate

5,142

5,628

6,324

Boots, 60-68 Marygate

7,284

4,824

4,506

Total

20,430

17,526

21,336

Source: Northumberland Footfall Counts

Daily footfall has been estimated by summing the footfall counts for each location, then multiplying the totals
by 6 to account for the footfall count being carried out for 10 minutes in each hour.
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On this occasion, footfalls were calculated for the individual days that they were
carried out to give an indication of daily footfall totals on particular types of day of
the week. In the future, it is the intention to calculate average weekly footfalls for
each town.

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9.0

ACCESSIBILITY

The availability of different access modes to a town centre is important if shoppers

are to be attracted to a centre for frequent visits. This section will investigate various
aspects of accessibility into Berwick-upon-Tweed town centre including the different
methods of transport used to access the town centre by shoppers that were
surveyed, their origin and their perceptions on accessibility and transport, availability
of parking within the town centre and bus connectivity.

9.1 Shoppers travelling to town by car

39% of respondents travelled into Berwick-upon-Tweed by car on the day of the
interview (Figure 16). 65% of these said that they go into Berwick-upon-Tweed at
least once a week during the daytime (although it cannot be deduced how often they
use a car for these trips). This figure dropped to 14% in the evenings.
Figure 16: Frequency of visit to the town centre by those respondents
travelling in by car
(Excludes 'don't know' responses unless otherwise specified)
45%

41%

40%
35%
28%

30%
25%
20%

21%
17%

15%
10%
5%

Daytime

19% 19%
17%
8%

10%
7%

Evening

0%
Every
Day

Once a Twice a Once a

Week
Week Month

Less One-off
than
visit
once a
week

Source: Northumberland Infonet Shopper Questionnaires

Base: 115 for daytime; 115 for evening

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Over half (54%) of the respondents that travelled by car found it fairly easy or very
easy to travel into Berwick-upon-Tweed town centre. 14% found it fairly or very
difficult (Figure 17).

Figure 17: How easy/difficult do you feel it is to travel into Berwick-upon-Tweed

town centre (those respondents that travelled by car)
(Excludes 'don't know' responses unless otherwise specified)

13%

14%

Very easy
Fairly easy
Neither easy nor difficult
Fairly difficult

32%

Very difficult
40%

Source: Northumberland Infonet Shopper Questionnaires

Base: 115

9.2 Access to car parking

Parking in Berwick-upon-Tweed town centre was not rated very highly (Figure 18).
Only 21% of respondents rated the availability of public parking spaces as good or
very good, whereas nearly half (45%) gave a poor or very poor rating. Similarly, the
safety/security of parking facilities and the availability of disabled spaces were given
a positive rating by only 18% of respondents, whereas over one third gave a negative
rating in each case.

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Figure 18: Percentage of respondents giving each rating for parking related
attributes
(Excludes 'don't know' responses unless otherwise specified)

100%

32%

28%

90%
80%
70%

37%

Very Poor

60%

Poor

50%

40%

45%

43%

34%

Good
Very Good

30%
20%
10%

20%

18%

Availability of
public parking
spaces

17%
1%

Safety/security of
parking facilities

1%
Availability of
disabled parking
spaces

Source: Northumberland Infonet Shopper Questionnaires

Base : 164 to 211 respondents depending on question (note: this excludes those
respondents that gave a dont know response)

Parking was mentioned by a number of people when asked what the main problems
were with the shopping experience in Berwick-upon-Tweed town centre:

Parking (2 responses).

Parking in general.

Poor parking overall.

Parking is a nightmare!

Parking spaces (2 responses).

Not many places to park.

Need more disabled parking.

Parking limited.

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When asked how they would make the town centre better, 29% gave the response
improved parking. Two verbatim responses were also noted:

Better disabled parking.

More spaces to park.

9.3 Cost of parking

Respondents did not rate the cost of parking particularly highly. Nearly one half
(46%) gave a poor or very poor rating, and only 16% gave a positive rating (Figure
19).

Figure 19: Percentage of respondents giving each rating for the cost of parking
(Excludes 'don't know' responses unless otherwise specified)

1%
15%

Very Poor
Poor
OK
36%

Good
Very Good

39%

Source: Northumberland Infonet Shopper Questionnaires

Base : 202 respondents (note: this excludes those respondents that gave a dont know
response)

9.4 Berwick-upon-Tweeds Car parks

Figures 20 and 21 show the location of car parks within and surrounding Berwickupon-Tweed Town Centre.

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Figure 20: Location of Car Parks

Location

Type of Car
Park

Long/Sh
ort Stay

Spaces

Disabled
Spaces

Car Park

Cost of Parking