Regular followers will know that I am always on the lookout for opportunities to share positive messages about the places where I am working.
In part, that’s because we are in a weird situation where messages about businesses and high streets doing well almost seem taboo amid the prevailing – and skewed – narrative of doom.
At the same time, where there are challenges to overcome, my mantra is that we don’t achieve that by moaning about how awful everything is. Rather, we do it by supporting and celebrating what is already good, and looking at how we can make more of that good stuff happen.
So, I was pleased to feed into, and appear in, a brilliantly positive report about Durham on BBC Look North on Saturday evening, showcasing the city on the final – and always busy – weekend before Christmas.
You can watch the full report below.
Festive
Once you’ve appeared on the BBC as many times as I have, you tend to get called up whenever there is a story opportunity that can use your expertise.
In this case, the BBC’s Newcastle-based news team got in touch with me last week and wanted to interview me at the out-of-town Metrocentre in Gateshead.
However, when I said I’d be Christmas shopping in Durham on Saturday – I always like to support the businesses I work with! – the BBC agreed to change its plans and work around my availability by filming me in Durham instead.
I suggested gift shop Elvet & Bailey to the BBC as a suitably festive backdrop, and owner Mark Taylor was delighted to participate.
As part of my Indie Durham City work, funded by City of Durham Parish Council, I have worked with Mark since before Elvet & Bailey opened at Prince Bishops Place in 2020, and it has been marvellous to see both he and the business – which specialises in handmade items from North East makers – grow in confidence and stature over that time.
“You can see the quality”
In the report, the voiceover by reporter Stuart Whincup notes that Elvet & Bailey has “never been busier” than it has this Christmas, and features Mark talking about the qualities of craftsmanship and uniqueness that encourage shoppers to visit the store in person:
“The past six weeks we sort of had a crowd control issue which you don’t get in January.
“The vast majority of our sales come through the store and I think that’s indicative of the sort of things that we we make and sell.
“A lot of them do benefit from having been seen and – without being a salesperson – you can see the quality which you don’t necessarily get online with a photograph.”
“We don’t have enough empty shops”
I was pleased to follow up Mark’s excellent contribution with my own typically upbeat thoughts, with the voiceover setting the scene by noting how Durham has “more and more shops and restaurants opening up”:
“If we’ve learned one thing post-Covid it’s that high streets are really resilient and Durham is a place that is doing really well in many ways.
“In fact we don’t have enough empty shops for all the businesses that want to trade here.”
“Not enough empty shops” is hardly a phrase you hear all the time, and part of me was being deliberately a little provocative.
It’s absolutely true, though – I am talking to several national retailers, as well as a few independents, who would like to trade in Durham city centre but cannot currently find premises that meet their needs.
Rents and rates can be factors, of course – though there are many examples in recent years of landlords in Durham being more realistic about what rents their properties can sustain – but more often the challenge is that the city centre does not have many units of the right size available in the right locations.
That’s why my ongoing Retail Cupid work in Durham is so important in helping to understand and overcome those barriers.
The power of TV
Despite all the more modern marketing channels at our disposal, I’ve learnt by now that TV remains an incredibly powerful medium for getting important messages out there. After all, it is still one of the few ways to get yourself inside people’s homes uninvited!
And, using the networks and profile I have built up over the years, nothing gives me greater pleasure than being able to facilitate a news report that shines a light on people and places that are working hard to keep the high street interesting and successful.
Hopefully this latest excellent coverage will drive even more customers to the beautiful shop that Mark and his wife Anna have created together!
