Does Barnard Castle have a perfect high street?

Does Barnard Castle have a perfect high street?

Based on a recent nationwide survey, our town might be a contender.

A study of more than 2,000 shoppers and 650 retailers identified strong interest in towns with a good mix of independent traders and high street chains.

And the Voices of Retail report, by industry lobbyist Faire, also highlighted the experience, with shoppers appreciating the personal touch over automated checkouts and faceless brands.

Graham Soult, a Gateshead-based retail analyst and chairman of the Durham Business Group, offered an outside view on what makes Barney work.

“Barnard Castle tends not to have empty shops for very long,” he said. “You can often judge how a town is doing by how quickly units are filled and by that measure Barney seems to do pretty well.

“There’s a nice blend of multiple retailers, so you can do routine shopping at places like Boyes and Morrisons.

“But there’s also a nice mix of indie retailers and places to eat and drink. It hangs together quite well.”

However, that success might be more accident than design. Unlike out-of-town retail, traditional high streets have a lot of different landlords rather than a single curator.

What isn’t a fluke is the town’s geographical advantages – big enough to be a local centre, but small enough to be affordable.

“It’s a natural centre for quite a wide area, even if that area isn’t densely populated, so people travel to shop in Barnard Castle,” Mr Soult added.

“And for businesses looking to open on a high street, it’s often better to go to a smaller town. Places like Middlesbrough or Newcastle don’t always have those indie places because property there is so expensive.

“Smaller towns can maintain a higher proportion of independents because the costs of doing business are lower.”

Units tend to be smaller as well, with Barney protected from the problems of repurposing a huge former department store.

It’s not all perfect. Parking was identified as a nationwide issue, and next month sees charges increase in Barnard Castle at the town’s two paid car parks.

That has attracted the ire of town mayor Paul Ing, who runs Ingnet Antiques on Horse Market.

“We have free parking for two hours, which works well when it’s managed,” he said.

“The same system should be adopted in Morrisons to encourage shoppers.

“But the County Council appears only to be interested in revenue.

“It’s a tragedy that the town council don’t still hold title to the car park as it was originally given to the town.”

However, Mr Soult is unconvinced that parking charges are make-or-break for the high street. “The importance is usually overstated,” he said.

“It’s important to have enough, and that it’s easy to use. But if a place is attractive, people will pay to park; if a town is fairly dismal, not even free parking will encourage people to visit.

“Barney is always going to draw people in for the castle, the fabulous Bowes Museum, and the riverside walks.

“Probably it should be even more popular than it is.”