What our Grays town centre survey said (From Thurrock Gazette)

What our Grays town centre survey said

7:50am Thursday 12th April 2012 in News

BETTER shops look key to the revival of Grays Town Centre.

Here at the Gazette we’re backing Thurrock Council’s bid to restore the town centre to its glory days using Government cash and reported last week how the authority has a potential £300,000 for the scheme.

We launched an online vote on where you would most like to see that cash spent.

Of the 329 voters who took part between Monday, April 2, and Tuesday, April 10, 43 per cent want to see better shops encouraged to open in the town centre.

Twenty-six per cent would prefer free parking was introduced, 15 per cent think a more attractive High Street is the best use of the money, and 14 per cent want more restaurants, cafes and bars.

Gazette reporters also took to the town centre to find out how people use the town centre.

Backing up the winner of the website vote, 80 per cent of people surveyed wanted better shops in the town centre.

Just five per cent wanted free parking, five per cent more restaurants, another five per cent called for more office space in the town centre and the other five per cent wanted better entertainment facilities.

Our survey threw up some interesting results about what people do when they come to the town centre at the moment.

Thirty-five per cent had come to the town centre to use a bank and 30 per cent to do their food shopping.

Just two people had come for a general browse, one came to use the post office, one to buy a birthday card and one to shop in a few different stores.

Only one person had come to buy clothes.

We also asked people how often they use the town centre.

Forty-five per cent said they use it very often, 30 per cent often and 20 per cent rarely.

Five per cent said they very rarely came to the town centre.

While they are there, 55 per cent are very unlikely to stop for lunch or dinner, and 45 per cent might.

Forty-five per cent of people surveyed drove to the town centre, 35 per cent walked and 20 per cent used public transport.

We asked if people felt safe in Grays town centre and 55 per cent of people said yes.

A whopping 85 per cent of people surveyed said they wouldn’t be able to get all of their Christmas shopping in Grays at the moment and would shop elsewhere.