Press releases
 

10/10/2006

Neigh-Bore-Hoods

Dissatisfied Brits speak up over under-serviced communities

From organic food stores to yoga centres, internet cafes to extreme sports shops, contemporary communities appear to have everything yet much of the UK still feels deprived.

Local Life, a new study commissioned by high-street retailer, Somerfield, names Milton Keynes and Blackpool as the worst serviced towns in the UK*, followed by Watford and Colchester.

Conversely in Somerfield’s study of the 42 largest towns and cities, Birmingham boasts the highest number of services per capita, followed by Glasgow and Manchester.

When it comes to what British towns and cities are lacking, police stations suffer the greatest shortage with 23 per cent of the population demanding more. Four fifths (80 per cent)** of Britons are also unsatisfied with the level of foot patrols in their neighbourhood despite recent investment to boost officer numbers***.

While we crave the watchful eye of the police, we are less interested in the omniscient eye of God - only 28 per cent of Britons cite the church as a neighbourhood necessity. In fact, seven per cent would like to see its spires disappear for good.

Instead, Britons are replacing pews with pilates as gyms outstrip churches in popularity two-to-one (49 per cent). Clean living doesn‘t end there, since the rise of JK Rowling and Dan Brown, the library (67 per cent) proves more popular than pastimes such as the pub (54 per cent) and cinema (45 per cent).

The supermarket is still deemed one of the most crucial amenities within UK neighbourhoods (67 per cent) - even more so than the police station in fact. Largely, Britons feel sufficiently serviced by their local supermarkets, Birmingham and Ipswich boasting the most aisles per capita.

The much talked about farm shop, meanwhile, is considered scarce with 42 per cent crying out for more. Traditional farm shops are actually in greater demand than both WiFi areas (17 per cent) and night clubs (five per cent).

‘Bookies’ are no longer the favourite as three fifths (57 per cent) would like to see them disqualified from our neighbourhoods. Strip clubs are even more unwelcome with 73 per cent wanting them stripped from our communities.

Pauline Fowler and Dot Cotton may also be hitting the job centre as just five per cent of Britons consider the laundrette a useful addition to the community. Meanwhile, thanks to Friends, coffee shops are no longer considered a luxury with over half (56 per cent) the nation citing a hip cafe as essential.

The plight of the planet is of increasing significance to the nation, recycling facilities being a neighbourhood necessity for 61 per cent of the public. The UK is still deeply under-provided however with Aberdeen, Cardiff and Blackpool the most deprived of somewhere to stash their trash, according to the study.

Pete Williams, head of press and PR at Somerfield, said: “So it’s farewell to strippers, bookies and vicars and hello to libraries, gyms and recycling centres. In the age of binge-drinking and celebrity obsession, one would expect pubs and cinemas to win the popularity poll but interestingly our minds, bodies and the planet come first.”

“It’s not really surprising to see local supermarkets so high up the list of necessities. Not only do they offer a convenient place to shop for food; they also act as a hub of local life for communities.”

“Local Life is a landmark study delving into the past, present and future of UK communities. The study builds a broader picture of today’s communities and the expectations of those living in the neighbourhoods of our stores.”

The 10 most serviced cities and towns in the UK (from a sample of the 42 largest)

  1. Birmingham
  2. Glasgow
  3. Manchester
  4. Swansea
  5. Liverpool
  6. Sheffield
  7. Leeds
  8. Northampton
  9. Southampton
  10. Edinburgh

The 10 least serviced cities and towns in the UK (from a sample of the 42 largest)

  1. Blackpool
  2. Milton Keynes
  3. Colchester
  4. Watford
  5. Plymouth
  6. Kingston upon Thames
  7. Exeter
  8. Bolton
  9. Chester
  10. Stockport

Top four best equipped cities and towns in the UK per amenity

Doctors Surgeries

  1. Birmingham
  2. Manchester
  3. Glasgow
  4. Liverpool

Supermarkets

  1. Birmingham
  2. Ipswich
  3. Stoke on Trent
  4. Edinburgh

Recycling Centres

  1. Birmingham
  2. Glasgow
  3. Sheffield
  4. Doncaster

Coffee Shops

  1. Glasgow
  2. Birmingham
  3. Greater London
  4. Kingston upon Thames

Pubs

  1. York
  2. Glasgow
  3. Stoke on Trent
  4. Exeter

Top four worst equipped cities and towns in the UK per amenity

Doctors Surgeries

  1. Ipswich
  2. Chester
  3. Watford
  4. Milton Keynes

Supermarkets

  1. Preston
  2. Bolton
  3. Watford
  4. Reading

Recycling Centres

  1. Aberdeen
  2. Cardiff
  3. Blackpool
  4. Milton Keynes

Coffee Shops

  1. Stoke on Trent
  2. Coventry
  3. Plymouth
  4. Middlesbrough

Pubs

  1. Coventry
  2. Cardiff
  3. Greater London
  4. Kingston upon Thames

Notes to Editor

The research upon which this release is based includes:

  • Shop*Point, a comprehensive database covering all retail locations in the UK and the main towns and cities in the Republic of Ireland. It combines data from Experian’s Goad Retail database, a definitive source of information for the retail and property markets, derived from retail occupancy information obtained through direct site surveys by Experian surveyors, at a rate of 30,000 retail occupiers per month. and the National Business database, the UK’s largest and most detailed database of commercially active organisations, covering in excess of 900,000 retail occupiers and combines data feeds from two main UK business to consumer (b2c) data sets – Yell and Thomson and Companies House data on business registrations.
  • Original quantitative online omnibus research by YouGov among 2,000 UK respondents aged 18+
  • The league of services are calculated by taking the proportion of amenities in the each of the cities and towns against all corresponding amenities in total GB and indexing this against the proportion of the GB population living in each of the towns and cities.
  • Secondary desk research


Findings reported here are taken from the second of five chapters of the Local Life report by the Future Foundation, commissioned by Somerfield. The report takes the premise that the nature of local communities is changing in response to a wide array of social, demographic and consumer trends that have transformed UK society over recent decades. The purpose of the Somerfield Local Life report is to explore how these many different factors are affecting the ways in which people experience their everyday lives.

About Somerfield
Somerfield places the customer at the heart of its decision-making and works with specialist qualitative and quantitative research agencies to develop its consumer insight. A range of bespoke continuous and ad hoc research studies provide an insight into customer opinion of everything from the store environment and customer service levels to perceptions of the brand and its fresh food range.

The Local Life study complements this focused consumer research by building a broader picture of the state of today’s communities and the expectations of those living in the neighbourhood of its stores.

  • Somerfield’s strategy is to be the UK’s leading convenience and local food retailer with a focus on fresh foods in easy to shop store locations.
  • Its stores offer a genuine alternative to the big out-of-town superstores providing local customers with a full-service supermarket, exciting choice and a wide range of fresh and convenient foods at great value prices.
  • Somerfield operates over 1,000 stores across the UK with nine out of 10 located in town centre or neighbourhood locations. The supermarket employs over 50,000 colleagues and has more than 10 million customer visits every week.


* Calculated comparing the provision of police stations, doctors, supermarkets, recycling centres, cafes and pubs with the 42 largest towns/cities within the UK
** A 5.4% increase in the past year according to Home Office figures
*** Figures according to the Audit Commission

For further information, please contact Kevin O’Sullivan at Brando on 020 7419 8632 or lisa@brando-world.com or Paul McCaffrey on 020 7419 7311 paul.mccaffrey@brando-world.com

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