BUSINESSES in both Tavistock and Okehampton are being asked to play a key role in measuring the ‘health’ of the towns by taking part in two surveys.

It’s part of a project to ‘benchmark’ the towns to see how they are performing compared with other market towns in Devon and across the country.

There are two surveys — Business Confidence and Town Centre User. The findings will be shared with the towns via the council’s website and will be fed into a programme of activity to help shape the future of both towns.

It is the second time surveys such as these have been carried out in Okehampton and the third year for Tavistock, which is helping to measure trends year on year.

Leader of West Devon Borough Council Cllr Philip Sanders said: ‘We need as many businesses as possible to take part in the survey in order to make this a success. This gives the business community the opportunity to play a practical role in gathering vital evidence which will ultimately help shape the future of the towns.’

The surveys take just a few minutes to complete. Public facing businesses such as shops, cafés, restaurants, pubs and hotels are also being asked to record the postcode of customers over the next couple of weeks. A copy of shopper origin form can be downloaded from the council’s website.

Reviewing the postcodes of consumers provides a clear indication of where customers travel from to visit the locality. Local stakeholders use this data to assist with both general place marketing and more specific events and initiatives. The findings will be shared with the towns and fed into a programme of activity to help shape their future.

For the online Okehampton Business Confidence Survey — for business owners and managers to complete, visit www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Oke16BCS

For the online Tavistock Business Confidence Survey, visit the website www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/TAV16BCS

For the online Town Centre User Survey — for members of the public to complete, visit the website www.surveymonkey. co.uk/r/Oke16TCS for Okehampton and www.surveymonkey. co.uk/r/Tav16TS for Tavistock.

To download a copy of the survey visit www.westdevon.gov. uk

Completed forms can be emailed back to [email protected] or printed and posted to People and Places Insight Ltd, Lakeview, 37 Wadesmill Lane, Walton Park, Milton Keynes, MK7 7HY.