Town Centre Regeneration: TCRF Case Studies Report

10 JEDBURGH

Context and Background

10.1 Jedburgh is a town in the Scottish Borders, approximately 10 miles north of the border with England. Located in the central Borders area, and built on either side of the Jed Water, the town had a population of around 4,000 people in 2008.

10.2 The central Borders area is characterised by a network of small towns (of which Jedburgh is one), rather than one single large town. In light of this, the Scottish Borders Structure Plan (2001-2011) identifies three hubs within which future economic development activities will be focussed ^[16]. Jedburgh is located within the 'Primary Hub' - the preferred area within which future housing, retail and employment generation development is to take place ^[17]. The Local Plan (2008) for the area indicates that the key development issues within Jedburgh town are centred upon the need for improvements to existing road and transport infrastructure, upgrading of community facilities, expansion of primary school capacity, and protection of existing open spaces. At the same time, the revitalisation of Jedburgh Town Centre is recognised as a priority area for further action.

TCRF Project

10.3 The Jedburgh TCRF project aims to improve the socio-economic performance of the town centre with the delivery of a number of key projects (see Table 10.1 overleaf). The overall project will increase investment into Jedburgh town centre by creating a more viable town centre with additional facilities. In particular:

• The project will enhance Mercat Place as a key civic centre & events space, including the restoration of the Jubilee fountain. In addition, a range of hard and soft landscaping improvements will be implemented around the town centre;
• A high quality destination play area visible from the A68 is being developed and the main car park is being extended;
• Wi-Fi will be installed in the town centre area;
• The Port House complex has been acquired for future business workshop space and community facilities.

Table 10.1: Jedburgh TCRF Project: Key Outcomes
(Source: TCRF Application Form)

Project	Summary of Key Project Outcomes
Enhancement of Mercat Place	6 additional events	1,200 additional visitors	£15-20k additional revenue
Acquisition of Port House	Phase 1: 1-2 FTE jobs (letting) and income generated from letting	Phase 2: 20 FTE jobs (construction) and 23 FTE jobs (letting)	Phase 2: 14 business supported
Car park expansion (Canongate)	28 additional car parking spaces
Development of Play Area	Increased usage of play area by 25%
Digital Connectivity/Wi-Fi coverage	Estimated increase of additional users by 20% on Town website
Landscaping, signage & orientation	Enhanced orientation/signage	4 key sites improved (car park, TIC area, play area, Canongate)	15% reduction in crime and youth disorder issues in this part of town.

10.4 The project aims to link tourism marketing and business support mechanisms.

10.5 The concept of the Jedburgh TCRF project was originally initiated by the Jedburgh Alliance and Jedburgh Town Community Trust. There is a huge momentum from these organisations to improve the town. There is a great deal of competitiveness and pride amongst Borders towns which has helped to progress the project.

10.6 The project will complement existing work undertaken by the community planning partners within the town and will add real value to the town centre environment. The investment opportunity is crucial not only to support the redevelopment of a vibrant town centre but also to build confidence in the local community.

10.7 Jedburgh is in a key gateway location to Scotland and is well positioned to capitalise on those travelling north and south. It was highlighted that action was required to draw people into Jedburgh town centre and to encourage them to stay. The destination play park will act as an attraction as it is visible from the A68.

10.8 The Trust and Alliance have been aspiring to buy the Port House, a large under used listed building, since 2002. However, they experienced difficulties in obtaining the money to buy the building as opposed to just renovating it. A number of development partnering options were explored, however none of these proved viable.

10.9 Jedburgh Town Centre will benefit from the project with direct benefits for visitors, businesses, and investors as well as those living within the locality, who use the town for shopping and other business purposes. Businesses will benefit from the additional facilities, which will make the centre more vibrant and attractive for visitors. The project will link tourism, marketing and business by the town web-site. This will create opportunities for cross-selling, promotional campaigns and increased trade.

10.10 It is anticipated that the project will attract new investment to shops in the town centre and more events such as farmer and international markets.

10.11 The project application and our discussion with the project contact suggested that the project was designed to:

• Make the town centre more accessible;
• Improve the appearance of the town centre;
• Improve tourism facilities;
• Increase footfall in the town centre;
• Acquire a derelict building to develop for community benefit;
• Install Wi-Fi.

Population

10.12 Table 10.2 reveals that Jedburgh was home to approximately 4000 people in 2009. This represents a decline of around 3% since 2001. By contrast, the population of the Scottish Borders rose by 5% over this period, ahead of the Scottish trend of 3%.

10.13 Fifty-eight per cent of the population of Jedburgh are of working age. This is lower than both the regional and national averages of 59% and 63% respectively.

Table 10.2: Population

	Jedburgh	Scottish Borders	Scotland
Total Population 2009	4,000	112,700	5,194,000
Population Change 2001-09	-3%	5%	3%
% Working Age 2009	58%	59%	63%

Sources: ONS Mid-Year Population Estimates

Age Profile

10.14 Figure 10.3 shows that the age structure of the Jedburgh population is broadly similar to that of the Scottish Borders. Compared with national averages, Jedburgh and the Borders population is characterised by lower shares of residents who are of working age (16-49) and higher proportions of those aged 50-64 and 65+. Similarly, there are lower levels of 0-15 and 16-24 year olds in Jedburgh, when compared to the Scottish average.

Figure 10.3: Age Profile of the Population 2009
(Source: ONS Mid-Year Population Estimates 2009)

Labour Market

10.15 Table 10.4 shows the 2010 labour market participation levels (as measured by employment, unemployment and economic inactivity) in the regional area are generally below the national average.

10.16 Using the benefit claimant rate as a proxy for labour market participation, it can be assumed that labour market participation levels are slightly higher than across Scottish Borders as a whole, and higher than the Scottish Average.

10.17 In January 2010, 3% of all working age residents in the Jedburgh area were claiming the benefit, in line with the equivalent rate for Scottish Borders and below the Scottish average.

10.18 Relative to Scotland, less of the Scottish Borders workforce are educated to degree level, 33% as opposed to the national average of 34%. Similarly, a lower percentage of the Scottish Borders workforce has no qualifications at all - 10%, compared to 13% for Scotland.

Table 10.4: Labour Market

	Jedburgh	Scottish Borders	Scotland
Labour Market Participation
Employment Rate	N/A	75%	72%
Unemployment Rate	N/A	7%	7%
Economic Inactivity Rate	N/A	19%	23%
Benefit Claimants
Workless Benefit Claimant Rate	10.5%	10.7%	14.6%
Jobseekers Allowance Claimant Rate	3.1%	3.1%	4.2%
Qualifications of the Working Age Population
% WAP Qualified to Degree Level or Above	N/A	33%	34%
% WAP with No Qualifications	N/A	10%	13%

Local Economy

10.19 Table 10.5 shows that there were approximately 1,700 jobs in Jedburgh in 2008, representing an increase of 13% since 2008. This rate of increase was greater than for both the region (6%) and Scotland (3%).

10.20 Only 6% of employee jobs in Jedburgh are based within the financial & business services sector. This is below both the regional and national averages, where this sector accounts for 10% and 19% respectively.

10.21 There were 200 business located in the local area (town/town centre or ward) in 2007 which was 2% lower than in 2004. This decline was in contrast to the growth rates experienced in both the region (8%) and Scotland (8%) over the same period.

10.22 However, when compared with the regional and national averages, Jedburgh has a slightly higher business density rate. In 2008, there were five businesses per 100 of the population in Jedburgh. This was above the regional and Scottish averages of four.

Table 10.5: Local Economy

	Jedburgh	Scottish Borders	Scotland
Employment
Number of Jobs 2008	1,700	42,000	2,420,400
% Change 2004-08	13%	6%	3%
% Jobs financial & business services	6%	10%	19%
Business Base
Number of Businesses (2008)	200	4,900	181,500
% Change 2004-08	-2%	8%	8%
Businesses per 100 Head of Population	5	4	4

Source: Annual Business Inquiry & ONS Mid-Year Population Estimates

10.23 Table 10.6 shows a breakdown of all jobs by industry in Jedburgh, Scottish Borders and Scotland. The largest employer in Jedburgh is the manufacturing sector which accounts for 29% of jobs. This percentage is well ahead of the regional average of 14% and national average of 9%. The second largest employment sector is retail and catering which represents 26%, which is equal to the regional percentage and ahead of the national average of 22%.

10.24 Only 15% of the population are employed in the public sector in Jedburgh. This is in contrast to the region (33%) and the Scottish average of 30%.

Table 10.6: Employment

	Jedburgh	Scottish Borders	Scotland
Total Number of Jobs 2008	1,700	42,000	2,420,400
% Agriculture & Energy	1%	2%	3%
% Manufacturing	29%	14%	9%
% Construction	11%	8%	6%
% Retail & Catering	26%	26%	22%
% Transport & Communications	7%	4%	5%
% Financial & Business Services	6%	10%	19%
% Public Sector	15%	33%	30%
% Other Services	4%	5%	5%

Source: Annual Business Inquiry ( ABI)

Business Base

10.25 Figure 10.7 shows the profile of the business base in terms of sizeband in the local area, relative to the regional and national areas. It shows that the vast majority of businesses across each of the areas employ between 1-10 people. In Jedburgh, these employers account for a larger share of employment (83%), similar with Scottish Borders (83%) and Scotland (81%).

10.26 Businesses in Jedburgh with between 11 and 49 employees account for around 14% of all businesses in the area as opposed to the regional average of 12% and national average of 14%.

10.27 In 2008, 2% of businesses in Jedburgh employed between 50 and 199 and 1% employed more than 200 employees; this was identical to the equivalent Scottish rate.

Figure 10.7: Businesses by Sizeband 2008
(Source: Annual Business Inquiry ( ABI))

Tourism

10.28 This section provides an overview of the tourist market in Jedburgh, providing some assessment of the recent performance at a regional and national level.

10.29 Unfortunately it is not possible to use the data zone definition to look at the tourism market in Jedburgh and so this section looks at the 2003 CAS wards.

10.30 Table 10.8 shows that the local area's tourism sector employed around 200 people in 2008, representing a massive growth of 51% since 2004. This rate of growth was faster than the across the regional area (27%) and the national area (5%).

10.31 There were around 30 tourism businesses in the local area in 2008, which was the same figure as in 2004. Hence, although the number of employees increased by 51%, this could possibly be reflecting a growth in part time working in the sector. This lack of growth was behind both the regional average of 8% and the national average of 4%.

Table 10.8: Tourism

Tourism Employment & Workplaces	Jedburgh	Scottish Borders	Scotland
Employees (2008)	200	3,800	215,000
Change in Employees 2004-2008	51%	27%	5%
Workplaces	30	500	19,500
Change in Workplaces 2004-2008	0%	8%	4%

Source: Annual Business Inquiry ( ABI)

Town Centre

Table 10.9: Jedburgh: Town Centre Baseline Measures (Jan 2010 or proxy)

Measure	Specific Data	Source	Comment
Economic Activity
Recent Investment		Planning applications and building warrants	Not collected proactively
No of Businesses		Scottish Assessor and Town Centre Retail Study	Not collected proactively
No of jobs	-	-	Not available for town centre
Land use by type	Method required	Local Plan Amendment Settlement Statement	Only available at ground floor level
Retail Performance
Rental levels	-	-	Not available, although SBC owns some properties
Vacancy levels	13%	SBC Retail Survey	December 2009
Range of shops/ services	52 Class 1 shops 19 Class 2 shops 18 Class 3 food	SBC Retail survey	December 2009
Retailer requirements	-	-	Not proactively collected
Use and Accessibility
Parking	Canongate CP 0% of weekday counts > 85% full 8% of Saturday counts > 85% full Murray's Green CP 58% of weekday counts > 85% full 0% of Saturday counts > 85% full Lothian CP 0% of weekday counts > 85% full 0% of Saturday counts > 85% full	Car park survey due	SBC Technical Services Department
Pedestrian Flow	208 (index) (taken at RBS for one week)	SBC/ PMRS	Data for October 2009 covers 12 locations and 3 periods.

Linkages & Catalyst for New Investment

10.32 Scottish Borders Council is now more proactive in tourism promotion and the project is linked to the events forum, which helps promote and attract events to the town.

10.33 The Port House will have to be commercially viable. Alba Conservation Trust is undertaking an options appraisal in order to find a feasible occupier mix. It is important to provide something different for the town that will be flexible moving forward. This part of the TCRF will trigger Lottery, ERDF and other match funding. There may also be a role for a town co-ordinator to be employed by the Trust.

10.34 The Port House has been bought, therefore the next stage can be progressed and new investment can be obtained to refurbish the building. However, obtaining further funding to ensure successful end use of the building is an uncertain process. It is anticipated that the project will attract new investment to shops in the town centre and more events such as farmer and international markets. It is likely that the pub operation which has its beer garden adjacent to the destination play area will be refurbished.

10.35 The Jedburgh Alliance had been looking at ways of improving Jedburgh Town centre long before the recession hit. Therefore, the TCRF project is just one of many strategies that the Alliance is involved in: for example, they are looking at taking over the town hall and museum. George Bert's view, the Chairman of the Alliance, was that the TCRF is a great idea and has proved a significant boost to a number of towns at a very tough time. He felt that as a result of the short timescales it was difficult to undertake the required level of supporting work in order to make a 'fresh' TCRF application. Therefore, it was easier for projects that had already been worked up and were waiting for funding, as opposed to new projects that had come forward in direct response to the TCRF fund.

Table 10.10: Project: Jedburgh Town Centre Regeneration Project: Performance Indicators

Objectives	Performance Indicators Gathered/available: Before & After	Source
The project aims to improve the socio-economic performance of the town centre with the delivery of a number of key strategic projects identified as priorities for Jedburgh.	Increase footfall	SBC Town Centre Retail Study
	Number of businesses in town centre	SBC Town Centre Retail Study
	Increased units in retail use	SBC Town Centre Retail Study
	Improved visitor perception of town centre	Proposed Survey
	Improved residents' perception of town centre	Proposed Survey
	Increased events in TC	SBC & JT
	Rental income for Port House	Port House Business Plan
	Stabilised/increased lets/use of Port House	Port House Business Plan
	Jobs Created by Port House	Port House Business Plan

Notes

Indicators that SBC need to measure in the future are indicated in italics.

Addressing Theory of Change

10.36 The table below summarises the review of outputs and outcomes using the emerging Theory of Change (public realm, accessibility and townscape and business space models).

Table 10.11: Jedburgh Town Centre: Project Specific Measures

Objectives/ Activities	Outputs	Short Term Outcomes: 2011	Interim Term Outcomes: 2013	Longer Term Outcomes	Measure In Place
To improve the socio-economic performance of the town centre with the delivery of a number of key strategic projects identified as priorities for Jedburgh.	Enhancement of Mercat Place	Key public places are protected, publicised and accessible	Increased awareness and knowledge of town heritage and quality of buildings	Sustained use of local retail and improved business performance	Proposed survey
	Restoration of Queen Victoria's Jubilee Fountain	Increased attractiveness of the town centre Increased social interaction/ sense of identity	Improved visitor perception of town centre	Improved residents and visitors perceptions	Proposed survey
	Extension of Cannongate car park	Increased accessibility to the town centre	Increase footfall/ spend	Increased spend	Traffic Survey
	Development of high quality destination play area	Increased awareness, perceived value & use of service	Increased no. of, stability & mix of residents and visitors	Increased spend in TC	Proposed survey
	Installation of Wi-Fi	Increased Wi-Fi connectivity	Locals and visitors use space, meet more and increased interaction	Increased number of visits to TC	Monitor through number of visits to Wi-Fi homepage Proposed survey
	Landscape Improvements	Increased sense of pride and care of the space	Improved visitor perception of town centre	Increased spend in TC	Proposed survey
	Acquisition of Port House complex for business workshop space and community facilities	Increased spend on local contractor, supplies & initial job related to regeneration work	Business space fit for purpose Sustained employment in local business Increased income for local business	Increased inward investment for retail and sustained job opportunities	Port House business plan

Notes

Indicators that SBC need to measure in the future are indicated in italics.

Progress: Jan/Early Feb 2011

10.37 Progress of the Jedburgh project at January 2011 was as follows:

10.38 Completed works of the Jedburgh project include the development of the destination play area, the extension of the town centre car park and the various landscaping works.

10.39 The enhancement of Mercat Place as a civic centre and events space was largely completed in April 2010. However, there are still some specialist granite elements of the fountain which require to be completed.

10.40 Wi-Fi installations have largely been completed but have been delayed due to winter weather and listed building issues.

10.41 The Port House complex was successfully acquired and has been made weather proof. Further funding will be required to fully convert the building, however, the ground floor unit is now available for let.

10.42 Due to the listing of the fountain in Mercat Place not being taken into consideration a small delay to the works was experienced.

Conclusions

10.43 As a result of an increased buzz in the town due to the TCRF project a number of new projects are now being proposed in the town:

• Pedestrianisation of the road leading to Jedburgh Abbey;
• A skate park is proposed as a result of the success of the destination play area;
• A bid for Lottery funding - "growing community assets" will be made to progress the Port House project;
• The purchase of further buildings is being considered.

10.44 It would have been beneficial to the running of the project if:

• Some of the TCRF guidance had been clearer;
• The project had not run over the winter months;
• Signage outside the town centre to compliment the town centre improvements was allowed.

10.45 In terms of monitoring the project there is nothing new in place right now. However, once everything is complete a robust programme is intended to be put in place. There is a legal agreement between Scottish Borders Council and Jedburgh Trust which states that Jedburgh Trust must set up a method to monitor and evaluate some of the proposed outputs.

Case Study Interview Details

Main Contact Name	Julie Hogg
Position	Principal Officer (Regeneration)
Organisation	Scottish Borders Council
Phone Number / Mobile	01835 826527
E-Mail	jhogg@scotborders.gov.uk
Other Contacts:
Name	George Bert
Position	Chairman of Jedburgh Alliance