Shop front design guide
As part of the Ramsgate High Street Heritage Action Zone project, Alan Baxter Ltd, the design team that carried out the Ramsgate Conservation Area Appraisal, has been appointed to create a Shop Front Design Guide for the District.
The Shop Front Design Guide will encourage greater care to be taken in shop front design and promote high quality design standards within the district’s main shopping areas in order to create settings in which retailers can establish and develop successful businesses.
The unique thing about the high street is its distinct identity, a personal service and the convenience and flexibility of neighbourhood shopping.
We know from high street customers that the visual appearance of shops and the quality of the retail offer directly impact on their decision to shop local. The shop front is the identity of the shop - regardless of the line of trade it pursues. It is also the single most effective marketing tool for most high street business. A well-ordered, tidy, contextual and cared-for appearance will almost always result in better business.
Every shop front is also part of a wider urban context. It impacts on the way the host building is read and it contributes to the look and feel of the high street as a whole, even when a shop is closed and at night.
The shop front design document is intended to be a useful guide for shop owners, developers and building owners wanting to undertake work to shop fronts and signs. It also gives guidance for new-built retail units.
The guide is aimed primarily at people who own their own shops and will be themselves responsible for its repair and economic success. As such the guidance covers a wide range of subject areas and is intended to aid owners find the most appropriate and cost effective way of keeping a good quality shop front and successful business. Shop fronts that require specialist architectural work or shops owned by companies with multiple outlets are less likely to need some of the guidance, however much of it will remain relevant.
Phases
Public consultation feedback is reviewed and taken into consideration
During this phase all of the feedback received during the consultation phase will be reviewed and the themes and content of the Shop Front Design Guide may be adjusted to reflect suggestions and ideas put forward. The final Shop Front Design Guide will then be published on Thanet District Council’s website as a recognised guidance document for future planning applications.