Campaign to boost town centre shopping

 

27-APR-09

Issued by: Jeanette Hedley

A campaign to encourage more shoppers to use borough retail centres is to be launched by North Tyneside Council.

A £20,000 marketing campaign will take the message about the benefits of shopping local across the borough and wider region.

The Retail Centres Task Group - bringing together representatives of the Chambers of Trade, the Homes and Communities Agency, USDAW the shop workers union, Jobcentre Plus and North Tyneside Council services - has agreed that a marketing campaign is a key part of the borough's response to the economic downturn.

North Tyneside Council has agreed to provide £20,000 funding.

Now the details of the scheme will be discussed with the Retail Centres Task Group.

Elected Mayor, John Harrison said: "We know that the economic downturn has had a significant impact on our retail centres across the borough.

"They each offer a very different shopping experience, with many specialist and independent businesses that can offer a personal service to customers right on their own doorsteps.

"This campaign will aim to remind shoppers across the borough and the wider region about the important of shopping local - supporting local businesses and local jobs to ensure our town centres remain vibrant places to live, work and visit."

The marketing campaign joins a list of projects being implemented by the group - set up to support the retail sector in January. This includes:

• Setting up a retail enquiry search and matching service, funded by North Tyneside Council to ensure any potential investors in town centres are matched to vacant properties.
• Lobbying government to request the go-ahead to use the business rate mechanisms as a way of providing wider business rate hardship relief to small and medium sized enterprises in North Tyneside.
• Investigating solutions to specific problems identified by the Chamber of Trades for their own areas, including a one-hour free metered parking scheme being piloted in North Shields and additional CCTV and security arrangements.
• Ensuring everyone who pays business rates has received information about sources of help, including how to access business relief schemes.
• Launching a new targeted retail centres business grants scheme that will provide grants of up to 70 percent for qualifying businesses to improve premises and reduce energy costs.
• Working with Nexus and other partners on issues relating to public transport, bus routes and improving timetable information. A new 'shopper bus' is one of the initiatives that uses school buses during the day to take older people to borough retail centres.

North Tyneside Council is also implementing other initiatives to help businesses.

Every business in the borough has received a letter identifying key contact numbers for help and information about the different support available.

The council is also continuing with its longer-term commitments to regenerate the borough's retail centres. It has appointed consultants Arup to research and develop master plans for the improvement of retail centres throughout the borough.

Additionally, the council's strategic investment plans are continuing to drive forward key schemes including the River Tyne North Bank project - to build on existing marine industries and regenerate Wallsend, and the Coastal Zone programme which includes initiatives to enhance the tourism and visitor related business as well as support the retail sector.