Richmond Town Centre co-working space survey 2016

We asked you to let us know your thoughts on our plans for a new co-working facility. Find out more about what co-working is and how people responded.

About the survey

Richmond Council and Richmond Adult Community College are exploring an opportunity to create a brand new ‘co-working’ space alongside the college’s Business School in Richmond town centre. This would provide much-needed working space for small businesses, and voluntary and community organisations, alongside artist studio space.

We asked local residents and businesses about our plans and whether they’d be potentially interested in making use of its provision. We received over 100 responses – thank you to everyone that contributed!

The survey is closed but you can read some of the headline findings from the survey below.

About co-working

A flexible, shared working space that provides all the essential things needed to do business, without the commitment and risk of having your own premises.

This typically means that you have access to:

• A desk in an open plan area
• Phone
• Private meeting rooms and refreshments
• Office services like printing, WiFi and internet access
• Business support and advice, in some cases.

Access is through a monthly membership approach which provides a range of packages varying from ‘hotdesking’ (using any free desk) to dedicated fixed desks; and from low-use access for a day or more per week, to full time use.

It provides a low-cost, low-risk way for startups to establish and grow. Established businesses and voluntary sector organisations can save costs on premises and utilities. It can be especially useful if your lease is coming to an end or if you’re paying for space that you don’t use frequently. Co-working can also provide useful networking and collaboration with fellow members if desired.

What people told us

57% of respondents came from three sector groupings: artistic/creative; IT/tech/telecoms; and media/creative/web.

37% of respondents told us they had a high degree of knowledge of co-working or direct experience of using it. 34% had ‘some knowledge’.

41% said they would be very interested in joining and using the co-working space. 55% said they would be potentially interested.

The most important features of a co-working space for respondents were value for money, speed of internet connection and suitability of premises (printing, WiFi, meeting rooms, back office support etc.).  

Respondents’ comments covered a broad range of issues, including:

• Provision of networking and business support opportunities would be welcome
• The style, design and quality of the provision, especially meeting rooms, are important to some to present a professional image to clients, although not necessarily ‘too office-like’
• Access to meeting rooms and private areas is important to potential users
• The mix of people and sectors is important to some

What happens next

The next stage is to refine the business model to ensure that our plans are robust and tailored to the local context. This will take place in the summer months of 2016 and will draw on the responses form our co-working survey.

If you would like to express interest in potentially being involved in this work let us know by email at business@richmond.gov.uk.