NRU Shopping Access

=Intro=

The NRU's 2000 document on shopping access is all about developing an integrated strategy, and supporting local retailers. E.g.

"We recommend that efforts should be made where possible to both recruit and procure locally. Value for money should assess the social benefits to the local economy as well as the price, when awarding contracts through the competitive tendering process using funds from regeneration programmes." (Page 14)

"From our work so far, we have concluded that the current trends in neighbourhood retailing can be reversed. Using the very latest information and technology, neighbourhood stores have increased their turnover by as much as 40% with no capital outlay. This was simply by putting the right product in the right place and giving it the right amount of selling space. In controlled tests, where the store had been refitted as well, sales increased from £700 to £10,000, £4000 to £20,000 per week."

"Take, for example, a community of 4,000 households, with a total average weekly spend of £275,000 (i.e. on average £66 per week). They need spend only 10% of this at the local shop, and its turnover would be £27,500 per week, over £1m a year - a healthy business. This data5 suggests that small communities can sustain small stores if they sell the right goods and are supported locally."

p.2

... which = improving business support for small retailers.

The goals, they say, are:

"Based on the initial discussions we have had with communities, retailers and their representatives, we set ourselves the following goal:-

to support the provision of accessible retail opportunities which:-


 * respond to locally identified needs in an integrated way;
 * provide a range of quality goods at affordable prices;
 * offer facilities which are vibrant, viable and sustainable.

=RESEARCH=

Planning and regeneration
We recommend that the following research be undertaken. (Page 64)

i. Mapping
Regeneration programmes should include an audit of current provision and usage, including an assessment of community needs/views resulting in the development of a strategy to provide a viable and accessible shop. Research may be needed to identify how regeneration audits of current local provision can best be conducted. Research is already underway in both academic and community settings to develop mapping indices of access to shops based on a number of variables.

ii. Assessing effectiveness of measures to improving the viability of local facilities
Assessing measures for retaining or capturing sufficient trade to make local facilities viable, including improvements to local centres.

iii. Assessing the feasibility of creating "enterprise areas" in poor neighbourhoods:
Assessing the feasibility of identifying areas within deprived neighbourhoods which would enjoy greater planning freedom, incentives and reduced rents and rates to encourage a full range of outlets to provide everyday needs within the housing area or local centre.

iv. International experience:
A review of how the issue is addressed in other countries, especially Europe and North America.

v. Flats over shops
Research should be commissioned to investigate and quantify the benefits, or Otherwise, of increasing residential occupation above shops (and other commercial premises) for crime reduction and increased viability of the retail units.

Crime reduction and the threat of crime.
New Deal for Communities (NDC) Pathfinders, as potential testbeds for experimenting with new ideas, may wish to consider the following:-


 * NDC Pathfinders may wish to consider the levels of crime against small businesses and, where repeat victimisation is a problem, develop a strategy to combat it together with an enhanced awareness programme to illustrate the full impact of retail crime for the sustainability of the Local community.

Should any Pathfinders wish to develop this, we recommend that they:-


 * examine the best way to promote links between local businesses and residents on crime matters facilitated by Housing Associations, residents associations, caretakers, or others - this may link in with other work being undertaken on Neighbourhood Wardens (PAT 6).


 * consider piloting work on sector-based policing, supported by local traders (possibly in the West Midlands).

research should be commissioned to investigate and quantify the benefits, or otherwise, of increasing residential occupation above shops (and other commercial premises) for crime reduction.

=A local retail strategy=

(I'll stop putting quote marks around things!)

The Problem (p.4)
There is no established practice of developing a retail strategy when local regeneration strategies or plans are constructed; consequently, there is no single person, organisation or body responsible for pulling together the views and needs of local key stakeholders (including the retailers themselves) so that retail needs can be planned and implemented successfully at the local level.

The way forward
Working with appropriate agencies, communities should be given support and encouraged to develop their strategy for improving access to shops and services in their neighbourhood.

One mechanism for delivering a retail strategy would be through the development and establishment of local retail forums as part of the neighbourhood management package that PAT 4 is currently considering.

Such forums would enable communities and key stakeholders, including local traders and landlords, to work in partnership to:-


 * audit the current local retail provision, identify local assets, including long term vacant properties, overlaps and gaps; use tried and tested retailing industry models to assess demand;
 * develop and agree a local strategy for improving access to shops and services, in the context of district, town, city and regional wide plans and in the context of achieving a longer term health gain as described in the forthcoming white paper “Our Healthier Nation”;
 * work together to implement, monitor and review the strategy.

It will be important that landlords, whether they are the LA, housing agencies, private sector organisations or individuals, are all part of the development of the strategy and all sign up to it.

ACTION 1: (pages 33-34)
We recommend that the work of PAT 4 in developing models for neighbourhood management should explore the potential of local retail forums in developing local retail strategies at the neighbourhood level. PAT 4 should also consider how these local forums might link with other agencies to input into the development of retail strategies as part of authority-wide community plans. There are links here with PAT 17: Joining it up locally.

=A Practical Example of one Potential Way Forward: Community Owned Retailing=

p.5

Community Owned Retailing (COR) uses an approach similar to that described above. It has been developed by Toby Peters, with the support of Booker, Business in the Community, Mace, William Reed Publishing and nine manufacturers. It aims to:-

“provide the community with a range of healthy food, products and services, which are tailored to their needs and can be stocked economically, when they are required from an accessible, well presented and hygienic store (or stores) giving friendly service at a cost to the consumer which is seen to be offering value.”

COR is community driven. The neighbourhood stores are community owned and run by the community on a commercial basis (including properly salaried staff). The profits are re-invested back into the community. Marketing, training and funding are the three core elements. A market analysis is a crucial element in assessing the viability of a vibrant and sustainable new store. This forms the basis of the business plan.

COR includes the potential for the longer term health benefits that form the heart of the Government’s health strategy as well. Its aim is to promote access to those foods which form part of a healthy and balanced diet e.g. pasta, low fat dairy products and fruit and vegetables. The first pilot store was opened recently in Longley, Sheffield by David Blunkett, the local MP, and Tessa Jowell, the Minister for Public Health.

Next Steps
The Department of Health has asked for more work to be done on the feasibility of rolling out this programme further, with a view to making development funds available. (More details on pages 41-42)

=Proactive planning=

The problem
We found:-

understanding of the constraints and drivers for successful retailing is not developed;
 * hollow consultation: too often communities are consulted about the future pattern of shopping facilities in their neighbourhood but are not listened too, their views not acted upon; often it appears that consultation is not integrated with discussions with local retailers and a common
 * reactive planning: planning has for too long been about controlling development rather than actively promoting local retail centres or improving access for local communities to a range of everyday needs;
 * low quality local shops: where local centres exist or small neighbourhood shops remain, too often they provide a service of variable quality, from premises in various states of repair, and planners and retailers fail to take advantage of the opportunity for retail centres to act as a focal point in the neighbourhood where people can meet for a chat.

The way forward
The thrust of the Social Exclusion Unit’s work is that solutions need to work with the grain of local community needs as viewed by residents. We recommend that the principles of any future planning strategy should :-


 * be proactive, rather than reactive;
 * strengthen local centres within urban centres rather than weaken them;
 * work with communities within their existing structures, however informal, to develop locally generated solutions;
 * take account of social needs and recognise the value of community meeting places;
 * capitalise on the local authority’s role as an enabler.

7.3 Following these principles will foster and underpin the provision of local shops and services and limit the growth of out-of-centre retail developments in locations that are relatively inaccessible without a car. It is more consistent with other Government health and environmental objectives which encourage less use of the car and encourage more use of other forms of transport such as walking, cycling and public transport.

(p.6)

=CRIME=

The problem
8.1 There are two aspects to neighbourhood crime. Firstly, retail crime itself, and secondly, crime and the fear of crime within the neighbourhood. Both should be taken into account in developing a local retail strategy.

8.2 Crime and the fear of crime, particularly perceived or actual threats to personal safety, can negatively impact on the number of people circulating around the neighbourhood. This may limit the amount of passing trade that the store might otherwise capture. Poor quality environments due to vandalism or graffiti also inhibit a vibrant shopping area and may also deter local people from using the local shops as a community gathering place where they can meet for a chat.

8.3 There is a high level of repeat victimisation, particularly amongst Asian and other minority communities traders, it can impact negatively both on personal safety and the individual’s willingness to trade in that area, and on the viability of a retail outlet by increasing overheads beyond what the business can sustain.

The way forward
8.5 Reducing retail crime should be taken more seriously. More resources should be invested in targeting the crime and disorder problems of deprived neighbourhoods in order to make them a more attractive place for retail investment. The new audits and strategies being drawn up by the local crime and disorder partnerships provide the right local mechanism.

8.6 There is also extensive applied experience on successful crime prevention and security measures that can assist retailers but there has been little attempt to promote and help them adopt these. More work could be done to promote greater awareness of these measures among small retailers, particularly those operating in deprived neighbourhoods.

'''... then there's a whole heap on busines support for local retailers... v. important, but I'd better stop pasting here! This is a 100 page doc, after all...'''

Business relief...
I wonder if anything came of this:

ACTION 6: (pages 55-58)'

More work should be undertaken on assessing the benefits and effectiveness of providing fiscal incentives, such as rate, rent and tax relief, linking into the Urban Taskforce report, the Urban White Paper and the European Commission’s White Paper on Commerce. Pending the outcome of DETR’s rate review, it should clarify whether a “community store” could be eligible for discretionary relief.

=Two very good points!=

We have, therefore, built our report around the two main principles which we consider critical to improving shopping access in deprived neighbourhoods:-


 * the need for locally-developed strategies, with the local community playing a full part in the process and working together with local retailers; and
 * the need to produce solutions that are commercially viable in the long term, building on good practice.

=Approaches=

Community based and community run initiatives
(p.25)

“Our volunteers are too tired to run a food co-op!”

3.10 The Mapping Group on community responsive initiatives explored in some detail projects which communities themselves develop and run to improve shopping access. These are often a last ditch response to providing food at affordable prices, including fresh fruit and vegetables, for some communities and we recognise the valuable role they play in meeting these needs. Annex 3 provides more details of these initiatives. Community run projects have a valuable role in improving access to services, can increase the confidence and skills of the those running them as well as providing a mechanism for local communities to form partnerships and work with different agencies. However, we do not consider that they should be seen as a long term solution. Our vision is for them to compliment existing provision, although we realise that currently this is far from reality in some places.

Multiple retailers
3.11 Most of the bigger retailers we spoke to said that the size of the neighbourhood we were focusing on, around 3,000 to 4,000 households, was too small to commercially sustain one of their conventional supermarkets. Population density was generally too low, servicing access was often inadequate and there was generally insufficient customer parking space to attract significant custom from outside the neighbourhood. Nevertheless, all the major retailers we spoke to expressed a willingness to contribute expertise. Examples of private sector initiatives can be found at Annex 4.

This describes, amongst others, the new £20m Asda store superstore in Hulme that we visited earlier this year. The store is the anchor of the Hulme High Street redevelopment that aims to attract new retail, leisure and business developments. Another retailer, Somerfield, is developing a delivery scheme which will be tailored to meet the needs of people living in deprived neighbourhoods and is hoping to pilot it through one of the New Deal for Communities (NDC) Pathfinders. There may, therefore, be scope for doing more work with the bigger retailers on, for example, mentoring.