TOWN CENTRE FOOTFALL COUNTERS PROJECT INITIATION DOCUMENT Project Sponsor Project Manager Version Jane Custance Andy Smith / Tim Woolridge V0.5 draft Date 3 rd April 2014 Project Start date April 2014 Project Completion Date Author Cherie Norris $1zkj1iax.doc Page 1 of 11
Document Control Please Read: This template is the Project Initiation Document (PID) template to be used by all projects at Watford Borough Council. If you need to set up a programme you can also use this template, but it is recommended that every project within a programme has its own PID. Guidance notes on how to complete this document is in blue and written as Hidden text. If you can t see the hidden text when you open this document, you need to go the Tools menu, Options and select the View tab. Under Formatting marks, check the Hidden Text box. If you want to hide the hidden text then select the Tools menu, Options and select the View tab. Under Formatting marks, uncheck the Hidden Text box. Alternatively you can just delete all the hidden text. This document is set to print without showing the Hidden text. Remember to delete this section once you have completed the template. Document Change History Version Status Date issued Comments / Reason For Change (Draft or approved) V0.1 Draft 19/12/13 Business case draft only, further detail required on technical spec and commercial options V0.4 Draft 01/04/14 Full detail of requirements V0.5 Draft 03/04/14 Including budgets Distribution Name Position Organisation/ Service Approval Name Position Date approved $1zkj1iax.doc Page 2 of 11
Contents 1 INTRODUCTION... 4 1.1 Purpose of the document... 4 1.2 Background... 4 2 BUSINESS CASE... 4 3 PROJECT DEFINITION... 5 3.1 Outputs and Outcomes... 5 3.2 Approach and Scope... 8 3.3 Dependencies... 9 3.4 Constraints... 9 3.5 Risks... 9 3.6 Assumptions... 9 4 PROJECT PLAN... 9 4.1 Timetable... 9 4.2 Costs... 9 4.3 Quality Plan... 10 4.4 Communication plan... 10 4.5 Equality Impact Assessment... 10 4.6 Procurement... 10 5 PROJECT ORGANISATION... 11 6 PROJECT CONTROLS... 11 Appendices can be added as required $1zkj1iax.doc Page 3 of 11
1 Introduction 1.1 Purpose of the document The Project Initiation Document provides the basic information needed to correctly direct and manage the project. It addresses the following fundamental aspects of the project and is the basis against which the project s success will be determined. Why is this project important What will the project do, what outcomes will be delivered, what are the success factors and risks How will the project be implemented, how will it be managed, how much will it cost When will the project be implemented Who will be involved and who will be impacted 1.2 Background Watford needs to consider implementing footfall counting infrastructure across the town centre to provide information about what is affecting town centre performance, and to assess the impact of town centre development initiatives and activities on pedestrian movements. This would inform future policy development and decision making aimed at improving town centre performance. 2 Business Case Watford Borough Council (WBC) is actively exploring ways to ensure the long term success of the town centre. Recent and future major investment projects within the town centre include redevelopment of The Parade, creation of the Met Quarter restaurant area, relocation of Watford Market and the redevelopment of Charter Place, as well range of other public realm improvement projects. The extension of the Croxley Rail Link in 2016/17, bringing tube access to the bottom of the High Street, is also expected to have a significantly positive impact on the town centre. In 2014 a new events programme is being launched in order to help drive more footfall into the town centre, encouraging a diverse, rich experience for visitors and ultimately contributing to a more successful and vibrant town centre. With such significant investment happening across the town centre monitoring impact and success is essential. With the exception of an occasional, sporadic manual count, there is currently no way to monitor and measure footfall and pedestrian movements within the town centre. A clear picture of footfall levels and trends is needed to evidence how these initiatives are impacting the town centre environment, and to enable much better quality decision making about future strategy, projects and investments. This would also help with development and monitoring of policies, particularly the Local Plan Phase 2. Also a Town Centre Partnership has been established bringing together local businesses and stakeholders, and a Town Centre Manager has been appointed. Together they will drive the strategy to deliver long term success within the town centre. It is anticipated that the TCP will evolve to become a BID over the next couple of years. Footfall counting infrastructure is in place within many town centre BID areas across the UK, and it has become a key tool for BIDs in order to aid effective decision making, to measure outcomes and demonstrate returns $1zkj1iax.doc Page 4 of 11
from the projects and activities. There is potential for future costs of footfall count infrastructure to be transitioned to the BID, as it is a non-statutory service Footfall counters have been used in Watford town centre before, when the last Town Centre Partnership was in place. However, the contract with the provider (Experian) ended in 2009. The technology is now outdated and has not been maintained. There is also concern that the location of the three cameras used historically gave a subjective view of footfall linked to particular units, rather than a holistic picture of the patterns of pedestrian movement across the area. A footfall counting system should be considered a long term investment for Watford, not a quick fix, as this will enable the town to gain the most benefit from the data gathered. Decision making based upon sound evidence of longer term trends will enable the best outcomes for the town and its stakeholders. 3 Project Definition 3.1 Outputs and Outcomes Benefits Cameras would capture the flow of pedestrians around an area, enabling understanding of peaks and flows of movement related to variables including events, promotions, season, time of day / of week, weather, historical performance. Being able to monitor footfall and pedestrian movements across the town would enable Watford to: Monitor the impact of major development projects and individual schemes Provide evidence of return on investment of projects and initiatives Assess material changes at street level Better understand the factors affecting town centre success Monitor town centre vibrancy and vitality Track long term trends across the town centre and at individual access points Create an evidence base to balance anecdotal reports of town centre performance Achieve confidence that data gathered is robust and consistent It would also enhance these functions: Town Centre Management this would provide key data to improve the effectiveness of all Town Centre Management functions Inward Investment - prospective businesses moving into the area want to see evidence of footfall Local Economic Assessment the data would enable Watford to compare town centre performance locally, regionally and nationally Policy Development supporting decision making about design and development Community Safety Analysis understand the flow of pedestrian movement relating to, for example, the night-time economy. Use cases Footfall counting solutions help towns and cities across the country monitor their footfall patterns to evidence impact of interventions and provide an evidence base to support investment. Examples include: $1zkj1iax.doc Page 5 of 11
. Monitoring of pedestrian flow during the Bridgend Mashup (May 2013) and Bury St Edmunds (Nov 2013) enabled these towns to gain corporate sponsorship and private sector funding for future events, because they could evidence the positive impact of the event on the town. Through long term monitoring, these towns also measured return on investment over time, and establish how much should be spent on events. For example, if the year 1 investment in events is a baseline figure and a corresponding increase in footfall is measured, if spending is increased or decreased in subsequent years, does this result in similar increases and decreases in footfall? Guildford asked the council to trial free parking on a Saturday. The town could then measure the positive impact on footfall that day but, critically, there was also evidence that the impact of doing this wore off after it had been done once or twice. Camera Locations Cameras could be located at key access points within the town centre because activities and projects are intend to attract more people into the town centre, and encourage them to stay for longer periods of time. Several of the town centre businesses already monitor their own footfall in and out of their units, which enables them to monitor their own ability to attract customers. The proposed town centre footfall count infrastructure should provide an holistic view, not one linked to individual premises. Ideally, camera infrastructure would be installed across the whole town centre area in order to provide a complete picture. Wide pedestrian areas may require multiple cameras in order to cover the span of the road / precinct. These are the proposed camera locations: Area 1: The Parade, Events Space and NTE 5 count points including1 bi-direction count points Top of Town Hall subway covering West side of Parade Top of The Parade on CCTV pole outside Bodega, to cover East side of the Parade and events area. Corner of Yates covering East side of Parade Best One Off Licence covering East side of Parade Gade House, bi-directional count point covering West side of Parade and Bentine Lane access point Area 2: The Market 2 count points Market entrance from High Street Market entrance from Beechen Grove Area 3: The High Street 5 count points including1 bi-direction count points Halifax building at the junction with Clarendon Road to capture East side of High Street $1zkj1iax.doc Page 6 of 11
TSB building at the junction with Clarendon Road to capture West side of High Street Lloyds Bank building at the junction with Market Street East side of High Street Nat West building at the junction with Market Street, bi-directional camera to capture West side of High Street and access from Market Street. Intu wall, opposite Costa Coffee to capture Met Quarter and South of King Street, which would also allow provision for future footfall count from the CRL at Watford High Street. Requirements of a Solution Core Requirements Hosted service with full data protection, WBC has no responsibility for installing, maintaining or upgrading hardware or software, or for delivery of data and standard reports 3 year contract (to coincide with the creation of a potential future BID) Use of 3G technology to enable optimal location of cameras and count points and remove dependency on hardwired connectivity Automated footfall counting, continuous monitoring 24x7 / 365 Audit of data and infrastructure to ensure accuracy and continuity of data at all times Optional height threshold to be applied to count Information delivered daily, online Standard reports to include: o Daily online reports o Live footfall reporting o Weekly footfall reporting o Monthly benchmarking report o Bespoke reporting on request Retailers able to access the system to view online reports The ability to incorporate data from other sources, such as car park data, footfall from other retailers or shopping centres, or from the NTE (ScanNet). Access to the High Street Index which monitors footfall of high streets nationally, enabling Watford to understand the performance of the town centre relative to others in the UK. The provider to take responsibility for getting permissions for camera locations and full install. Future Upgrade Potential for the TCP A consideration is the future upgrade potential of any system, whereby a basic level of monitoring could be implemented initially, with the potential to include more functionality at a later date, if required by the TCP and TCM. Options include: $1zkj1iax.doc Page 7 of 11
Mobile device tracking could be incorporated at a future date without needing to add hardware infrastructure. Detailed High Street Sales Tracking enabling retailers to monitor and understand changes in their sales is compared to changes in footfall, so how retailers are converting footfall into sales and accessing the available market. They can understand the impact of their own performance as a result of promotions and events. For the TCP this could validate data, avoiding anecdotal sources to understand sales performance in the town. This service could be part of TCP membership offer, with retailers paying for this additional service. Town centre performance, monitoring and benchmarking, enabling Watford to compare its town centre to other peer towns on a regional and national basis. This would incorporate a range of factors including economic trends, property trends, consumer demands, centre provision, centre quality, and detail such as catchment and share, tourism, customer profile, quality of mix, rents and yields, car parking, provision and vacancies, employment, crime, transport, spend and sales as well as footfall. Data Management The Town Centre Manager would have responsibility for the data, reports and their use. It would be an asset available to WBC, the TCP and potentially other stakeholders. Reports could be provided to stakeholders on a regular basis. However the data itself would reside with the provider. Footfall counters will track trends over time and provide intelligence around daily, weekly and seasonal fluctuations. Other Considerations Any provider should have wide experience of delivering footfall count solutions in external urban areas, not just shops and shopping centres. They should have experience of working with TCPs and BIDs, and be endorsed by relevant authorities such as DCLG and bodies such as the British Retail Consortium and Association of Town and City Management. 3.2 Approach and Scope This is a procurement of a service, therefore the approach is simply: WBC Leadership Team approval WBC procurement process Engage provider to gain permissions for camera locations, likely to take 4-6 weeks, then camera installation which is likely to take a further 2-3 weeks Service delivery by provider for 3 years $1zkj1iax.doc Page 8 of 11
3.3 Dependencies The main dependencies for this project are financial, and whether funding is available to support the service over 3 years. There are no existing agreements or services in place that will be affected by this service. 3.4 Constraints The primary constraint is availability of funding. Also, ideally implementation of this service would align with the launch of The Parade and the Big Events programme, but timeframes are more likely to be September. 3.5 Risks There is limited project risk associated with this because it is procurement of a service. There is a risk that the timeframe for WBC approval and procurement process will mean that the cameras will not be in place for the launch of the new market. Also its possible that the timeframe is affected by the time required for suppliers to get permissions for camera hosting. 3.6 Assumptions This is a straight forward procurement of a service. It is assumed that town centre resources will be available to monitor and manage data over term of the contract (Town Centre Manager), and that the quality of the service delivered meets expectations. 4 Project Plan 4.1 Timetable This is the anticipated timeline through 2014: April LT approval May-June WBC procurement process July supplier appointed July August permissions for camera locations 4-6 weeks September camera installation 2-3 weeks Mid September system go-live to coincide with the new Watford Market opening 4.2 Costs Three suppliers were approached to help shape requirements and budgets; Springboard Experian and Countwise. After two meetings and a site survey, Countwise decided not to provide a proposal as they felt their technology would not meet the requirement, a view that we concurred with. Axiomatic Technologies were then approached to give a third comparison, but their solution did not meet our full requirements. $1zkj1iax.doc Page 9 of 11
Indicative pricing from Springboard and Experian (the two market leaders) was comparable over 3 years, but the project team felt at this point, Springboard offered the stronger solution, therefore these costs below are based on their indicative pricing. This can be used as an indication of likely costs. The costs below are based upon and three year contract and 657 per camera, on the basis of 12 cameras covering 14 count points Springboard offered 2 count points free. Area Requirement Per Quarter Annual Cost 3 Year Cost Initial Set Up Cost Area 1: The Parade, Events Space and NTE 5 cameras Springboard include 6 th count point, bidirectional at Gade house 9,200 3,285 13,140 39,420 Area 2: The Market 2 cameras 1,314 5,256 15,768 Area 3: The High Street 5 cameras Springboard include 6 th count point, bidirectional at Nat West 3,285 13,140 39,420 Total 7,884 31,536 103,909 Further discussion is required to clarify sources of funds. Impact on capital or revenue budgets needs to be considered - the model based upon a quarterly charge for the duration for the contract, however providers are able to support capitalisation of costs up front if this enabled budgets to be managed more effectively. There is also potential to exploring funding contributions from stakeholder groups including HCC and the TCP. 4.3 Quality Plan A high quality, market leading service is required, and will be stipulated in the procurement process. 4.4 Communication plan The key stakeholders are Head of Development and Regeneration, Head of Community and Customer Services, Town Centre Partnership and Town Centre Manager, Economic Development Manager, Culture and Play Section Head, Transport and Infrastructure Section Head, Procurement Manager, Planning Policy Team, Finance Team 4.5 Equality Impact Assessment Not applicable in this instance 4.6 Procurement $1zkj1iax.doc Page 10 of 11
WBC procurement process will be followed. 5 Project Organisation Make sure you clearly describe how many resources you need and what type to complete this project. This will be derived from your project plan and should cover the quantities and types of resources you will need, when you will need them and where to get them from. This should include staff, skills and also any non-human resources (e.g. accommodation or equipment) you require. If more detailed job descriptions are to be included in the PID then they are best held in an appendix. Include also any resource commitment you need from services or external partners or agencies. Name Organisation/ Service Role Cherie Norris WBC Economic Development Officer Andy Smith WBC Transport and Infrastructure Section Head Sheila WBC Buildings and Makokha Physical Projects Andrew Gibson WBC Officer Economic Development Manager Tim Woolridge WBC Transport and Projects Officer Jane Custance WBC Head of Regeneration and Development Howard Hughes WBC Procurement Manager Responsibility/ Authority within the project Project coordinator Project manager for supervision and reporting Validation of service approach and project delivery Validation of economic benefit to be delviered Technical validation of service Project sponsor Procurement advice and coordination 6 Project Controls The reporting of the project progress will be to the Economic Development Manager and Head of Regeneration and Development. REPORT ENDS. $1zkj1iax.doc Page 11 of 11