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As promised, here are our findings following a detailed, written survey which we have given to what we believe to be all those trading on the Parade. If anyone has missed out please get in touch!
The blank survey is up online for you to see. We believe that at short notice, this was a credible survey, with written responses from the owners of the businesses.
The results are telling, and vastly different from what was announced at the CPC meeting on the 21st July at the public meeting at the Village Hall. The CPC findings were based on informal verbal interactions with businesses and suggested that just 3 were against the proposed M&S development, 9 were for it and 13 had "mixed" opinions.
We are not “official” purveyors of surveys, we’ve done our best as residents of Claygate Village, but CcdB do believe that these findings should be noted very carefully by EBC given the total lack of consultation prior to their publicity with Kilo around the TLCP development.
Why has no Retail Impact Assessment report by an independent consultant been undertaken? Well, you may take your own views of why nothing has been done given the responses we can see from this survey.
1. c.43% response rate with 20 shops of the 46 responding in writing (we are hoping for a few more to make their way in)
2. 100% of respondents say they had not had any formal consultation (19 none at all)
3. 16 (80%) were not at all satisfied with the “Process” with 4 “no comment” (did not feel they had enough information)
4. 15 were not in favour of an M&S store, 1 was in favour, 4 were neutral or a guarded yes with many reservations given lack of details
5. Rating various statements or issues from 0 to 10, with 0 being extremely bad and 10 being utterly brilliant we found as follows just taking the average:
1. | Rating re M&S store | c.2 |
2. | Rating re Temp housing | c.4 |
3. | Rating re impact on business | c.3 |
4. | Rating re impact on traffic | c.1 |
5. | Rating re impact on pollution | c.1 |
6. | Rating re impact on parking | c.2 |
7. | Rating re impact on footfall | c.3 |
These are the headlines which we believe speak for themselves.
We kindly and robustly request that EBC do not sign the DFA given the further evidence above of how this M&S store could negatively affect our Parade & Village. And that a Full Options Appraisal is undertaken, and Retail Impact Assessment undertaken in consultation with the community and the Parade of shop business owners (and wider within the Village of pubs, restaurants etc) so that the correct decisions are made around the TLCP development. IF after all that an M&S is the right option, that is fine, that is democracy and the correct way of doing things to be very clear!!
Thank you, Claygate Village! Great teamwork.
Adrian & Steve
For and on behalf of CCdB
If you are an independent trader in Claygate and have not yet responded or would like to, please complete this survey and send to claygateresidents@gmail.com
