Romsey and District Society

SHOPFRONT AUDITS 2006

1. Methodology
The 2009 audit covered all 153 shopfronts, banks, restaurants etc. in the town centre and within the Conservation Area. Comparisons were made with the 2004/5 shopfront assessments as amended by the 2006 audit. A team of five Society members photographed changes that had taken place and printed the date and the nature of the change on the pictures as in 2006.

2. Summary of findings
A total of 63 changes were noted (32 to listed buildings) and recorded in approximately 200 marked-up photographs that were added to the files. New discs were made to replace those in the front of the files. No data was discarded.

3. Conclusions
The three years since the last audit have been kind to Romsey shopfronts thanks to the good taste of the shopkeepers and the fine work of Rod Hoyle who designed and painted many of the new fascias. The new shops in Latimer Walk are a welcome addition and those which turn into Latimer Street blend in well with the streetscape (fig.1). Another improvement is the decoration and lettering on 21 Market Place where Rapid Travel and its garish signs have been replaced by Kit & Caboodle (fig.2) which is also to be found in 4 Church Street (fig.3). The tiny shop, number 8 Cornmarket was previously occupied by JAG who had ruined its appearance. JAG has been succeeded by Moda boutique (fig.4), which has tidied up the facade and renewed the fascia with an unusual but attractive design. Blazes, 29/31 Bell Street, has been replaced by two attractive new shops (fig.5)

Unusually for large stores, the Co-operative food shop that has replaced Woolworths in The Hundred has carried out changes to the shop front which are unusually restrained and quite acceptable (fig.6). Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Boots the Chemist which has managed to spoil the fascias of numbers 7 and 8 Market Place (fig.7). Traditional gold lettering has been replaced by plastic lettering and logos. This is a disappointing outcome as the shop is the most visually important in Market Place. Nero (fig.8) also looks poor compared with its predecessor, the attractively decorated 'Age of Elegance'. The gradual 'cloning' effect of large chains like Boots and Caffé Nero is to be regretted.

4. Recommendations
In 2003, Society and Council representatives met to discuss how the town centre streetscape might be better protected and perhaps improved. It was decided that the Council would insert some clauses into the Borough Local Plan and the Society would organize a team to carry out shopfront assessments followed by audits. Council and Society would jointly write a Shop Front Design Guide. Shopfront assessments, in a format prescribed by TVBC, were carried out in 2004/5 and the first complete shopfront audit was carried out in 2006. Reports on these were put on the web and can be found here Romseynet Town Reports. Just before the 2006 audit took place, Carphone Warehouse had ruined the appearance of Chas Smith's old shop (34, The Hundred, described in the assessments as attractive and with traditional features) without applying for planning consent. The audit team wondered if their efforts were worthwhile if things like this could happen. However, it has recently emerged that the Council had to abandon the fight because of the high costs involved and perhaps it has to be accepted that such events will happen occasionally.

The audit carried out at the end of 2009 was inspired by the fact that a member of the Council's Design and Conservation Department had begun writing a Shop Front Design Guide. The draft of this document was reviewed with the Council in January 2010 and a formal consultation with the Society will take place following its passage through the Council's Cabinet Committee in March. It is then expected to become Supplementary Planning Guidance. This is good news: three years is a practical interval between audits so the next one could be at the end of 2012.

Geoff Morris
February 2010

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

List of changes in Bell Street, Market Place, Latimer Street and Church Street

List of changes in Cornmarket and The Hundred

TOP Shopfronts Audits