Last Thursday I was at a meeting of the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce and heard a very good report about the work carried out by the Derbyshire Market Town Forum. It centred around the research on seventeen market towns in Derbyshire as to what makes some tick better than others. It appears that it is horse for courses but there are some similarities between Derbyshire market towns and some of the UK’s city “High Streets”.

Basically it is about competition from a variety of different sources:

• The financial power of supermarkets, especially TESCO which seems to have an uncontrollable appetite to gobble up any vacant site and build either a Metro, an Extra or 24/7 hypermarket. The immediate result is an immediate huge influx of cash to the local council and then a few months later begins the closure of local shops as they are unable to compete with low prices and the wide offer. This brings along with it reduction of retail offer, considerable emotional  problems for the family who ran the closing shop, increased unemployment and reduced business rates for the council. This is happening in the High Streets of cities like Derby and in small market towns like Heanor
• The growth of sales on the internet, at just over 70% last year, is sucking the lifeblood out of High Streets and Market towns alike. This will continue for ever whilst we have electricity, Broadband and a very competitive logistics sector, which provides a very efficient next day service
• Retail Parks are also increasing their sales provide lower prices, due to lower rents and rates, invariably have a large offer, instant delivery, the opportunity to feel, weigh, test, measure, etc.. and staff who can help with awkward questions. All of this means that there are lot of reason why Retail Parks with easy free parking are growing their sales by over 10% year on year.
• Finally shopping centres are taking an increasingly larger slice of the retail market as they offer lots of different variety of shops all under cover, invariably with a wide selection of food from all over the world. Shopping centres have almost become entertainment where you can buy or not as the mood grabs you

The High Streets and Market Towns have therefore to find their unique offer and each place will have a different solution to the challenge of attracting shoppers and stop them being attracted by the above offers. This has to take into consideration not just what they have had, what they have now but what they could have by creating something new. In Derbyshire of course Bakewell has its tart to attract people and it does this very well and Ashbourne has it’s small upmarket shops but what does Ilkeston have now that pedestrianisation has made it difficult for shoppers to park close to the shops. The thing is that it is very important for our comfortable, soft society to make it very easy for people. Any difficulty and they will drive elsewhere.

An example of what can be created almost from nothing is Todmorden in Yorkshire at the bottom of the Peak District, halfway between Burnley and Huddersfield. Since 2009 with a volunteer Community Gardening movement they have transformed the small town with plots and allotments of vegetable and fruit outside Police Stations, in front of Council offices and on waste land. Now branded as “Incredible Edible Todmorden, there are now walks around the allotments and hey have even created the Todmorden Egg by accident. The result is that tourists come from all over the UK and other countries to find out how they have done it.. here is a video on what they have done, made by Transition Bath on a presentation about “Incredible Edible Todmorden”… http://bit.ly/localfoodbath  It lasts for about 1 hour but is split up into easy 10 minutes slots.

Just imagine what say “Derbylicious”, on the same lines as “Incredible Edible Todmorden”, could do for Derby and other Market Towns in Derbyshire.

©William Barron

Creating Insight

June 19^th2011