With the Leamington Transformation Board looking to the views of residents for their ideas of transforming The Parade into a traffic-free area, what are the chances that this could boost local businesses? By looking at this and the current move to online services, we can better understand whether this move would be a boost for companies operating in the area.
Could The Parade Offer More Possibilities
The Warwickshire County Council’s information on this project suggests that the overall idea is to help improve the town’s economy. This would be achieved by encouraging people to spend more time in and around the Parade, as well as by adding a new town square that would be next to the Town Hall. With more events and markets taking place there, it would arguably make it easier to do business in this central location.
There are various studies online on the subject of pedestrianisation, with most of them concluding that this is a good thing for the business community. This BBVA article looks at how a sense of false remoteness has been created by dividing our cities into territories with separate functions. It suggests that creating pedestrianised areas brings benefits like less pollution and noise, as well as more income for retailers.
This report from the Harrogate Business Improvement District weighs up the pros and cons, pointing out that this is currently a worldwide debate. Among the examples given, Bridgend in Wales is one British town where the locals plan to remove pedestrianised streets due to a perceived drop in footfall damaging businesses. On the other hand, businesses on Oxford Circus in London saw a 25% turnover boost when traffic was removed.
The Online Alternative
There’s a lot of information to take into account before deciding whether this project is a good idea or not. While making The Parade a traffic-free zone could bring a range of benefits, there are other ways of boosting the local economy that have already been working well. There’s been no shortage of local businesses moving online to offer a more convenient way of shopping. They’ve been helped in this approach by the growth of online comparison and aggregator sites that let locals see all their best options.
This is part of an overall retail revolution that has seen 85% of the British population shop online in recent years, using sites like PriceRunner and PriceSpy. We’ve also started enjoying more of our leisure activities online, as can be seen by looking at the list of online casinos produced by BetterGambling. Casinos offer players a simple way to start playing online at any time. This industry shows us how classic activities like playing slot machines and card games can be transformed by moving them online and adding new themes and features.
By comparing the bonuses and games on offer, we can see which sites are best suited to different types of players. This allows online operators to concentrate on offering the best possible package, knowing that potential players will see them if they do it well enough.
What to Expect Next?
The consultation period for this ambitious project runs until Monday, July 28, with locals encouraged to make their opinions known. This isn’t the first time that a plan to pedestrianise The Parade has been put forward, with last year’s plans strongly dividing opinion. However, it’ll be interesting to see what feedback is gained and how this defines the way forward for local businesses, who can also continue to gain customers online more easily now.
Submitted article written by Ben Spenceer
