Swindon & Wiltshire News
Report names Marlborough High Street as an indie retail hot-spot
Vibrant and independent High Streets like Marlborough’s have added £40,000 to the value of nearby properties over the past 10 years, according to a report by American Express.
The town was singled out – along with Whitstable in Kent, Totnes in Devon, Yarm in North Yorkshire, and nearby Hungerford – as one of the top five hot-spots that has benefited from having a thriving High Street.
And the report suggests that in the next decade, a further £70,000 will be added to the value of homes – just because the High Street is flourishing.
Homes near a thriving independent High Street have risen by 54.6 per cent in value over the past decade, the report revealed, while other areas had seen a 46.5 per cent rise.
The top independent offerings for a local High Street were currently judged to be a café, baker, market, butcher and greengrocer.
This will shift over the next five years to add a fishmonger, restaurant and cinema – at the expense of the market, café and baker, said the credit card giant.
The report also found that consumers living in areas with a higher proportion of small, independent businesses spent an average 21 percent of their annual retail budget shopping locally, compared with those living near fewer independent traders, who spent six percent locally.
American Express UK managing director Colin Walsh said: “This report identifies what we’re calling the ‘shop small effect’, which is the reciprocal benefit consumers can enjoy simply by supporting their local independent traders.”
