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Alnwick shop front survey
The background
Twenty-five years ago the Planning and Economic Development Committee of Alnwick District Council recognised that traders were facing increased competition from out-of-town shopping. They believed that the vitality of an historic town centre depends on it being attractive to residents and visitors. They wanted to enhance visual appeal at the heart of Alnwick. So they commissioned Alnwick Civic Society to prepare a shop front design guide, then applied the principles when taking planning decisions.
Most independent shops in Alnwick still have a traditional shop front, retain the classical design of a stone-faced building, and maintain the regularity of the medieval burgage plots. That set the standard for our original guide. This survey is part of an exercise to revisit those principles today.
The survey is anonymous. It should only take a couple of minutes to complete. First we will ask you some questions about yourself. Then we would like you to consider the appearance of nine local shop fronts, and select those which you regard as representing either good practice (that others should follow); poor practice (that should be prevented); or a missed opportunity to enhance the town (where things could have been better).