HSDS Data Science Incubator: borough & BID case studies#

In December, seven teams from London boroughs & BIDs joined us in City Hall to give lightning talks concluding their participation in the High Street Data Science incubator programme. Teams spent the 3 months working with expert mentors Paul Lauren and Amanda , with support from the Alan Turing Institute and ONS Local, to learn how to analyse HSDS data and communicate results.

The video recording is now available: Day Day Final Presentations.mp4 (basecamp.com)

• Jump to 18:02 for Zan from WeAreWaterloo discussing a model predicting that extending Lower Marsh Market's open hours would increase retail spending in local businesses
• 22:43: Denise , Gabrielle Jane and James from Camden Council found North Camden had stronger-than-expected footfall relative to the rest of the town centre, informing the stakeholder engagement approach for a potential pedestrianisation
• 30:57: Marcos from Central District Alliance found in the period after Prince Circus North re-opened, spending levels in nearby businesses climbed 16.8%
• 38:50: Josephine from Richmond & Wandsworth determined that outsized fuel poverty in Tooting was a likely key driver of a sharp drop in retail spending in the town centre
• 52:12: In another markets-related project, Mary-Anne from Islington found that activity in Whitecross was more worker-led compared to Chapel Market, where busyness and spend was more resident-led
• 1:06:40: Bromley's Lorraine and Michael found, contradictory to expectations, no evidence that leisure businesses like pubs and bars were associated with more anti-social behaviour
• 1:12:54: Martin , Ilkka , and  Mia from Lewisham also studied anti-social behavior, finding a correlation between footfall counts and reported ASB, helping to promote a targeted local approach to interventions

Friday effect: 36% fewer daytime workers on Fridays than Wednesdays in Central Activity Zone (CAZ)#

At our High Streets Insights Briefing last week, Damilola presented recent insights on the "Friday effect," building on Lauren 's analysis from August 2023. Damie shared that:

• The Friday Effect is most prevalent in the daytime and in the central activity zone (CAZ). It is more prominent amongst workers than visitors. 
• There is a widening gap between Fridays and midweek. Between 2022 and 2023, midweek activity increased by 8.6%. Fridays only increased 1.1% year-on-year.
• Night time activity is strong on Fridays compared to midweek, with higher visitor footfall (14%), higher spend amount (18%), and higher transaction counts (13%).  

Christmas 2023: 92% of high streets had increased footfall relative to 2022#

Paul presented Rachel 's analysis on how last year's holiday shopping period compared to the 2022 Christmas season:

• Visitor footfall and spend were higher across all times of day and days of the week in the 2023 pre-Christmas period in comparison to 2022
• The non-CAZ saw more of an increase in night-time activity compared to the CAZ
• 92% highstreets and 97% BIDs had an increase in visitor footfall at peak shopping times (12pm-3pm)

BT Cities After Dark report: London leads UK in Saturday night busyness#

• Central London leads as the UK's Saturday night capital, with the highest daily trips originating between 10pm and 4am
• Across the UK, around 3 million workers set off for work each hour between 7pm and midnight, with a pronounced drop-off to around 1 million per hour between midnight and 6am.
• London was home to the many of the UK's top 10 night worker hotspots, with the City, Heathrow and Gatwick airports, the Strand, Fitzrovia West & Soho hosting the most workers between 2am and 5am

  

  
  

  

Night Time Enterprise Zone (NTEZ) report: potential to double footfall after 6pm #

The GLA's 24-hour team led by Paul , in partnership with Didobi's Matthew , has shared its impact report on the Night Time Enterprise Zones | London City Hall. The Night Time Enterprise Zones extended activities and opening hours into the night through events, targeted business support, marketing campaigns and engagement with local residents and businesses.

• Vauxhall organised 24 ‘VauxhAll Night’ events, attracting 15,202 attendees, boosting 6pm-midnight footfall by 13%, 9pm-midnight visitor footfall by 26% and 6pm-9pm spend by 31%. 
• The Royal Borough of Greenwich organised 29 Woolwich Lates events attracting 13,000 people, boosting 6pm-9pm visitor footfall by 25% and spend by 63% 
• Bromley Council organised three ‘BR1 Lates’ events, boosting 6pm-9pm footfall by 107%, 9pm-midnight footfall by 132%, and 6pm-9pm spend by 70%.