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The Council commissioned specialist consultants to undertake a research survey to understand how and where people like to shop, spend their leisure time and use their town centres. The survey is part of a wider Retail Capacity Study for North Northamptonshire that will inform the preparation of planning policies and strategies for town centres.
The survey methodology involved contacting around 1,300 households in the area to gain a representative sample of residents living across North Northamptonshire. The outcomes of the household survey will be included within the Retail Capacity Study, which is expected to be finalised in June 2023.
The findings from the household survey will inform the Retail Capacity Study, which is a technical evidence document that will underpin the emerging planning policies within the North Northamptonshire Strategic Plan. The timetable for the Strategic Plan and other planning policy documents is currently under review; however, regular update reports relating to the this and the technical evidence base work are presented to Members via the Council's Planning Communities Executive Advisory Panel (formerly Planning Policy Executive Advisory Panel). The latest planning policy work programme was presented to Members at the Panel meeting on 30th January 2023, explaining the next stage in preparing the Strategic Plan will be the Options Consultation. The Retail Capacity Study will inform this next stage in the preparation of the Strategic Plan, which is scheduled for consideration by Members at the Planning Communities Executive Advisory Panel meeting on 13th September 2023.
The Council has commissioned specialist consultants Nexus Planning to carry out a Retail Capacity Update, which is a study that will give a better understanding of how and where people like to shop, spend their leisure time and use their town centres.
This research into the shopping and leisure habits of people in North Northamptonshire will help shape future planning policies and strategies for town centres and help to ensure that town centres within North Northamptonshire are supported to adapt to changing trends and recover strongly from the pandemic.
As part of the study there will be a telephone survey which will involve around 1,300 households in the area over the next few weeks. The methodology for choosing households to contact involves separating North Northamptonshire into zones with random households selected within each zone to ensure the survey reflects a representative sample of residents living across North Northamptonshire.
Survey questions will ask things like: “Where did you last do your main food and grocery shopping?”; “How often does your household do a main food and grocery shop”?”; “Where did you last buy other goods such as home furnishings, recreational items, DIY goods etc.?”
The survey will be conducted by NEMS Market Research and should take approximately six or seven minutes to complete. Most approaches will be made outside normal working hours to make sure working households can take part. No personal information will be collected other than age and gender. Any information provided will be used in statistical form only, so that it will not be possible for people to be identified from their answers.
If you would like to know more about the study, then please contact the Planning Policy team at planningpolicy@northnorthants.gov.uk.
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