A team of mystery shoppers and town centre assessors have given Atherstone the seal of approval in a UK-wide survey aimed at improving the town's overall retail experience.

Throughout January and February, a professional team carried out the Location Model project, designed by Skillsmart Retail, the Sector Skills Council for Retail, to see how well Atherstone performed in a number of different areas, from shop standards to town centre cleanliness.

A mystery shopping test evaluated the performance of 20 independent retailers in the town, producing a score of 80.5%, above the 80% benchmark, placing Atherstone 42nd out of almost 80 towns which have so far been assessed.

12 of the 20 shops recorded individual scores above 80% and 13 had their customer service rated as good or very good. This meant that in 85% of the cases mystery shoppers would return to the shop and 80% said they would recommend it to a friend.

The best performing shop in Atherstone was Fishing 4 U on Market Street which scored a very good 94.1%. This was closely followed by Georgina, on Long Street (93.0%) and Carliz Jems on Church Street (92.3%).

The team from market research company ESA, which has over 25 years of experience carrying out similar projects for some of the UK's biggest retailers, also interviewed 101 shoppers in the street to ask their opinion of Atherstone.

More than two-thirds (68%) felt the town was clean and tidy and a half (56%) said public facilities were easy to find. The variety of independent shops scored highly (65%). The general feeling of safety in the town was also a very positive 95%.

A quarter of those questioned said they had seen definite improvements to Atherstone over the past two years, and almost all (97%) said the shops were close enough to make a convenient shopping trip.

The final part of the Location Model was a town centre assessment which found that car parking was easy to find, public toilets were clean, safe and smelt fresh and the majority of shops were open and looked busy. The assessor commented: "The town is clean and safe. It is obvious that the councils are actively improving the town centre for business owners. It is nice to see a town that welcomes visitors with cars by offering free parking."

Atherstone is the only Warwickshire town taking part in a wider 15-town project funded by Advantage West Midlands also taking place in Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Shropshire.

Jenny Carter of the Atherstone Chamber of Trade, which helped organise the Location Model said: "Scoring above the benchmark of 80% is a great achievement for Atherstone and shows that while not competing with the nearby centres of Nuneaton and Tamworth, it can more than hold its own.

"The results of the Location Model give all traders in the town as well as policy makes within the council, a real feel of where we stand compared to other similar towns across the country and the reports given to each individual retailer will help them pinpoint what improvements can be made."

"I'm sure if the mystery shoppers returned in a year's time they would see definite improvements."