Agenda item

To consider the report of the Economy and Enterprise Manager.

The Economy and Enterprise Manager presented the report to update Members on footfall within the city centre and factors affecting the High Street. The report also determined trends within Exeter, to enable officers to plan and mitigate against any negative impact. She commented on the Grimsey Review 2, which was discussed by officers from City Council officers. There were recommendations in the report which would be suitable for Exeter and would be included in the City Centre Strategy Review. She referred Members to the findings of the CACI Ltd report, which highlighted that Exeter city centre had a very strong national ranking and was ranked 2^nd in the South West, just behind Bristol as a dominant retail centre in the South West.

Exeter had a comparison goods market potential of £665.3 million, and had the opportunity to gain market share in surrounding towns in the region. The Economy and Enterprise Manager stated that any targeted marketing and promotional campaigns should be developed in conjunction within InExeter to promote the city centre to increase market share.

Members were informed that the Growth & Enterprise team had been collating information on the reasoning for shop closures, and could not identify any trends, but confirmed there was a still a demand for retail in the city centre. The Economy and Enterprise Manager commented on online shopping, and how this also had an impact on high street stores and referred Members to the footfall information in the report, detailing trends within the city centre and annual comparisons. She also noted that the fire at the Royal Clarence Hotel in 2016 had a significant impact on footfall within Cathedral Green, as did external events to the city such as the World Cup, the Royal Wedding and adverse weather.

The Economy and Enterprise Manager discussed how people travel into Exeter, indicating that 19,000 commuters travelled to the City Centre on a daily basis. Commuters by car had reduced by 18.3%, whereas commuting by alternative means had risen by 21.5% but the number using Park and Ride had declined. She commented on the various commuter options and where improvements had been made. She considered having a 21st century city centre that was fit for purpose and agile enough to cope with change was vital. The report would be used to develop the new City Centre Strategy, and the initial findings would be presented to Place Scrutiny Committee in January 2019.

In response to questions from Members, the Economy and Enterprise Manager and the Director responded that:-

·         Devon County Council were involved with City Centre Strategy and were regularly consulted;

·         Congestion was an issue and impacted on the experience of visiting Exeter;

·         The Car Parking team would be involved with resolving the wider city centre issues and would be meeting with Devon County Council;

·         Devon County Council and Stagecoach, had provided information which indicated that the number concession passengers had declined;

·         The footfall had increased in Fore Street, which could be explained by the range of shops and premises at the location.

Place Scrutiny Committee noted the report and

(1)   supported the stance for closely monitoring footfall, car park and park & ride data, as well as the closure and opening of shops and restaurants within the city centre; and 

(2)   that the Grimsey Review 2 continues to inform the review of the Exeter City Centre Strategy and the work of InExeter.