Penrith Benchmarking - How We Compare

Please see below the Penrith benchmarking report.

Penrith

2014 Town Benchmarking Report

April 2015

Executive Summary

General

A Large Small Town

• 58% of the commercial units in the town centre are A1 Shops.
• Despite being classed as a Large Town the type of the A1 Shops in Penrith reflects that of a Small Town. 4% of the Shops are classed as Key Attractors the same as the National Small Towns figure, whilst 68% are Independent to Penrith, 1% lower than the National Small Towns average.
• 47% of town centre users visited Penrith for comparison shopping, 34% higher than the National Large Towns average
• Vacancy rates are 8%, lower than the National average recorded by the Local Data Company of 14%, but a 3% increase from the 2013 figure.

​Positive

Increased Footfall

• Footfall on Market/ Busy Day doubled from 121 persons per ten minutes in 2013 to 243 this year.
• Footfall in Penrith on a Non Market Day, a true baseline performance measure, at 238 persons per ten minutes is higher than National Large Towns (193) and Typology (123) averages.

Customer Spend

• Replicating the National pattern, 30% of town centre users spent £10.01-£20.00 on a visit to Penrith

Room for Improvement

​Car Parking

• Car parking vacancy on the Market/ Busy Day in Penrith (43%) is noticeably higher than the National Large Towns (31%) and Typology 2 (27%) averages. The 2014 figure also represents a longitudinal increase on the 2013 (38%) and 2012 (24%) records
• 62% of town centre users rated car parking a negative aspect of Penrith.
• Free car parking was a theme to emerge from the qualitative suggestions for improvements to the town centre.
• Replicating the National pattern, 30% of town centre users spent £10.01-£20.00 on a visit to Penrith

Retail Offer

• As in previous years improvements to the retail offer in Penrith were a theme to emerge from the town centre user suggestions.

Introduction

The Approach

The People and Places Town Benchmarking System has been developed to address the real issues of how to understand measure, evaluate and ultimately improve town centres. The approach offers a simple way of capturing data on 12 Key Performance Indicators selected by those involved in town centre management. By having the tools to measure performance, strategic decision making is both encouraged and improved. By considering performance, forward strategies and action planning can be more focused and effective.

People and Places Town Benchmarking licenses allow users to collect data on the 12 Key Performance Indicators from 1st January to 31st December in a systematic manner. All license holders are provided with a Town Benchmarking Handbook and associated data collection sheets to ensure standardization. Once the data has been collected it is sent to People and Places for analysis and report production.

The System

The Benchmarking system is divided into two sections:

• Large Towns; consisting of those localities with more than 250 units
• Small Towns; consisting of those localities with less than 250 units

Towns, depending on their size, contribute to either the Large or Small Town analysis. Penrith with 356 units is classed as a Large Town. The analysis provides data on each KPI for the Benchmarked town individually and in a Regional, National and where possible Typology context. Regional figures are an amalgamation of the data for all the towns in a specific region. The National figure is the average for all the towns which participated in Benchmarking during 2014.

Information on towns contributing to Benchmarking in 2014, whether they are part of the Large or Small Town cohort, Region and Typology can be found within the Appendix

The Reports

The People and Places Town Benchmarking report provides statistical analysis of each of the KPI’s. Individual towns are encouraged to add their own commentary to the analysis, noting specific patterns or trends and using local knowledge to provide specific explanations. The reports are used by a variety of key stakeholders such as local authorities, town and parish councils, local partnerships and universities to;

• benchmark clusters of towns to ascertain high performers / under achievers
• understand their locality in a Regional, National and Typology context
• measure town centre performance year on year
• identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement
• measure the impact of initiatives and developments within the town centre
• act as an evidence base for funding applications
• create an action plan for town centre improvements​

Methodology

Each KPI is collected in a standardized manner as highlighted in the Table below.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR

METHODOLOGY

KPI 1: Commercial Units; Use Class

Visual Survey

KPI 2: Commercial Units; Comparison/Convenience

Visual Survey

KPI 3:Commercial Units; Trader Type

Visual Survey

KPI 4: Commercial Units; Vacancy Rates

Visual Survey

KPI 5: Markets

Visual Survey

KPI 6 and 7: Zone A Retail Rents and Prime Retail Property Yields

Valuation Office Agency/ Local Commercial Agents

KPI 8: Footfall

Footfall Survey on a Busy/Market Day and a Quiet/ Non Market Day

KPI 9: Car Parking

Audit on a Busy/Market Day and a Quiet/ Non Market Day

KPI 10: Business Confidence Surveys

Postal Survey

KPI 11: Town Centre Users Surveys

Face to Face Surveys/ Online Survey

KPI 12: Shoppers Origin Surveys

Shoppers Origin Survey

Before any KPI data is collected the core commercial area of the town centre is defined. The town centre area thus includes the core shopping streets and car parks attached or adjacent to these streets.

Key Findings

KPI 1: COMMERCIAL UNITS; USE CLASS

It is important to understand the scale and variety of the “commercial offer” throughout the town. A variety of shops and a wide range of services in a town are important to its ability to remain competitive and continue to attract customers. Sustaining a balance between the different aspects of buying and selling goods and services ensures that the local population (and visitors from outside) can spend time and money there, keeping the generated wealth of the town within the local economy. Importantly, it forms the employment base for a substantial proportion of the community too, helping to retain the population rather than lose it to nearby towns and cities.

The following table provides a detailed breakdown of each of the Use Classes

Class

Type of Use

Class Includes

A1

Shops

Shops, retail warehouses, hairdressers, travel and ticket agencies, post offices (but not sorting offices), pet shops, sandwich bars, showrooms, domestic hire shops, dry cleaners, funeral directors and internet cafes

A2

Financial and Professional Services

Financial services such as banks and building societies, professional services (other than health and medical services) including estate and employment agencies and betting offices

A3

Restaurants and Cafes

Food and drink for consumption on the premises- restaurants, snack bars and cafes

A4

Drinking Establishments

Public houses, wine bars or other drinking establishments (but not nightclubs)

A5

Hot Food Takeaways

Sale of hot food for consumption off the premises

B1

Businesses

Offices (other than those that fall within A2) research and development of products and processes, light industry appropriate in a residential area

B2

General Industrial

General Industrial

B8

Storage and Distribution

Warehouses, includes open air storage

C1

Hotels

Hotels, boarding and guest houses where no significant element of care is provided (excludes hostels)

C2

Residential Institutions

Residential care homes, hospitals, nursing homes, boarding schools, residential colleges and training centres.

C2A

Secure Residential Institution

Use for a provision of secure residential accommodation, including use as a prison, young offenders institution, detention centre, secure training centre, custody centre, short term holding centre, secure hospital, secure local authority accommodation or use as a military barracks.

D1

Non Residential Institutions

Clinics, health centres, crèches, day centres, schools, art galleries (other than for sale or hire), museums, libraries, halls, places of worship, church halls, law court. Non residential education and training centres.

D2

Assembly and Leisure

Cinemas, music and concert halls, bingo and dance halls (but not nightclubs), swimming baths, skating rinks, gymnasiums or area for indoor or outdoor sports and recreations (except for motor sports, or where firearms are used).

The following table provides a detailed analysis of the commercial offering in the town centre by Use Class. The figures are presented as a percentage of the 326 occupied units recorded.

National Small Towns %

National Large Towns %

North West Small Towns %

North West Large Towns %

Typology 2 %

Penrith %

A1

51

54

51

60

53

58

A2

15

12

15

11

13

10

A3

8

9

8

7

8

6

A4

4

4

4

5

4

7

A5

5

3

6

4

4

4

B1

3

3

3

2

2

2

B2

1

2

1

0

2

0

B8

0

0

0

0

0

0

C1

1

1

1

2

1

3

C2

0

0

0

0

0

0

C2A

0

0

0

0

0

0

D1

6

5

6

4

6

6

D2

1

1

0

1

1

1

SG

5

5

6

4

5

3

Not Recorded

0

0

0