Rushden Lakes Case Study

Rushden Lakes brings together the very best in retail, leisure and dining, set beside 200 acres of protected Nene Wetlands nature reserve and a stunning lake. Visitors are able to enjoy shopping, walking, alfresco dining and watersports in equal measure.

Rushden Lakes has attracted local independents and many new and well-established brands to Northamptonshire, including Primark, JD Sports and M&S, as well as Rock Up and 360 Play.

The trail-blazing Rushden Lakes retail and leisure location has welcomed in excess of 10 million visitors since opening in 2017.

With this number of visitors, parking spaces are at a premium and there was a big challenge to ensure that the customer experience and sales weren’t affected by the limited number of available spaces.

In addition to high visitor numbers there was also the challenge of accommodating over 900 members of staff needing long-term parking.

Working alongside the management team from the early planning stages, we were tasked with putting measures in place to meet these key challenges.

We developed a solution that was based on providing a positive customer experience, as opposed to an enforcement led regime.

ANPR Cameras

The first step to solving this problem was to install ANPR cameras at the entrance and exit to the site, allowing the traffic to free-flow. We used the data captured to monitor and analyse the traffic flows – peak days/times, dwell times, staff usage.

An additional benefit was that our data could be used to inform retailers about footfall and visitor demographics.

Staff Travel Plan

We worked closely with Savills to support their Staff Travel Plan. The Plan set-out recommendations for using public transport, carpooling and separate staff parking areas. We supported this by suggesting a limit to the maximum stay time within the customer car park of 5 hours in order to encourage staff to use one of the alternative options.

By working closely with staff from the outset and explaining the reasons behind the system we were introducing, an expectation was set that helped ensure that staff parking did not impact upon the customer experience.

 Clear signage

We installed VMS (Variable Messaging Screens) at the entrance in order to provide useful information as customers entered the site. Reminders about the maximum stay time and opening hours allowed customers to feel fully informed. And these signs can be used to provide real-time service updates and even customer offers.

Plus, we developed bespoke parking signage for Rushden Lakes, ensuring that it was plentiful, clear and customer-friendly, with coverage throughout the site.

Data in the hands of their on-site staff

We developed an app that empowered on-site staff.

High visitor figures were expected in the first few months – with people keen to check out this exciting new destination. In order to help customers to navigate this large new site, Rushden introduced on-site marshals to help direct traffic to available spaces and establish good patterns of customer behaviour during the early months.

Making use of our app, they were able to use real-time data to understand on-site visitor volumes.

Our app has continued to be used to great effect by the Rushden Lakes Customer Service Team, to provide customer parking extensions, monitor traffic flow and for enforcement when required – e.g. disabled parking bays.

Customers have described the site as a ‘spaced out, relaxed, calm environment’.

We’re delighted to have worked with the team at Rushden Lakes from the planning stages to help them to achieve this and we continue to work with the management team to build on the customer experience.

With daily car count in excess of 7,000, we will continue to review the site data and implement changes that optimise the use of the car parks to ensure customers to Rushden Lakes continue to have a wonderful experience and footfall continues to increase.