Richmond Council recently released its 'findings reports' from their town centre engagement project.

Last autumn nearly 1,500 people contributed to an engagement project that set out to hear the voice of Richmond Town Centre. 

Richmond, like many other town centres, is seeing the effects of changing public habits.

The council says: "If we want to avoid Richmond losing its vibrancy, we need to adapt.

"We need to look to the future and make sure it's a place that people want to spend time."

The next stage will be to take the insights from this report, merge with other data and research, and develop a vision.

The report highlights six key themes that capture people's experiences:

• Diversity of use on the high street 
• Movement 
• Heritage and identity 
• Public spaces 
• Spaces for young people 
• Culture, leisure and sport 

Over the next couple of weeks, Nub News will break down the findings of the report - with this article focusing on 'visiting the town centre'.

The survey asked participants what their main reasons for visiting the town centre are and it revealed that the most common reason for visiting the town centre was for 'eating or drinking out'.

The survey revealed that 88% of participants' main reason for visiting the town centre was for eating or drinking out.

76% said that their main reason for visiting was for non essential shopping and 61% for essential shopping.

The main reasons people visit Richmond Town Centre. (Photo Credit: Town Centre Engagement Survey).

The report said: "The vast majority of people who responded to the survey indicated that they visit the town centre to eat or drink out.

"This was true for individuals regardless of their residential status (live, work, or visit), as well as for participants across all age groups."

However, whilst 87% of all visitors listed dining and drinking s their primary purpose, only 30% of Richmond residents listed it as their primary reason for visiing.

The report says: "This suggests that dining and drinking hold greater appeal for non-residents, who may be seeking a more recreational or leisurefocused experience.

"In contrast, Richmond residents demonstrated a more balanced distribution of reasons for visiting the town centre."

"For those who live in Richmond, the spread of uses was more equal between eating and drinking out (30%), essential shopping (28%), non essential shopping (25%) and services (21%).

"This pattern aligns with the town centre's role as a hub for daily needs and local amenities".