CLIENT: MINIStry of housing, communities & local government
PROJECT: Morpeth Night-time Economy Study
What were MAKE asked to do?
Morpeth is a very special market town about 15 miles north of Newcastle – the gateway to beautiful Northumberland. However, while it has a population of just over 10,000, it also features 20 evening and night-time venues – a number typically found somewhere much larger.
MAKE were asked by the council to identify: what was working after dark, what wasn’t and what was missing from the town’s offer. .
How did MAKE do it?
We identified a sufficient (perhaps even oversupply) of venues catering to 18- 30 year olds. For some events people were actually coming for a night out in Morpeth from Newcastle! However, despite a few good real ale pubs and a couple of quality restaurants, there was a demonstrable lack of activities for other residents, e.g. film, live music, comedy or theatre. Yet talking with residents revealed an unmet demand for this type of provision.
We engaged with a wide range of stakeholders including the late night premises, residents’ groups and public agencies to identify management problems as well as to explore how a better ‘cultural’ offer could be provided for residents.
Using our overnight audit technique, we identified clear operational problems such as littering and taxi marshalling and that Morpeth became (like many other towns) a tumbleweed town between 5pm and 8pm.
We developed an action plan with named lead individuals to take responsibility for delivering its specific actions rather than a vague ‘wish list’ like many consultants provide.
What happened next?
The town has implemented many of the recommendations - from shifting taxi ranks, encouraging later opening in its new shopping arcade and bringing in operators like Costa coffee who will open past 5:30pm to a bring post -office vibrancy to Morpeth. The evening community cinema facility has been a real success and provides a multiuse cultural template for other small towns.
What unique value did MAKE bring to this project?
This was the first study of the night-time economy in a market town. Traditionally the night-time economy has been considered something that big cities have. But at MAKE our view has always been that nearly every town or city needs an evening and night-time economy strategy, not just to address problems, but to seize opportunities and enliven community life after dark for everybody.