You’d think by now ministers would have learned a lesson from over promising and under-delivering where Britain’s high streets are concerned. But it seems they’re still more concerned with PR and spin over getting to grips with the challenges we face. Two years on from Government promises to “kick start a renaissance” in our town centres we learn this week that their flagship project, the Portas Pilots, have failed to live up to its hype. In the first 12 towns where Mary Portas set to work in turning around the fortunes of struggling high streets there are now 53 more empty shops than when she started.
On the same day these disappointing figures emerged the new high streets minister, Penny Mordaunt, put out a press release arguing that we’re experiencing a “retail resurgence”. This is simply not true and until ministers acknowledge the size of the challenge in front of them and stop exaggerating progress while tinkering in the margins with pilots that waste money on frivolous items like gorilla statues, Peppa Pig costumes and the like, we’ll never see a real high street renaissance.
Let’s just look at the facts. There are over 40,000 empty shops in the UK, a figure that’s remained stubbornly high for years. High street footfall is down on last year and retail insolvencies have just hit a five-year high. The British Independent Retailers Association has also reported that sales are down for small shops this year. Does this really point towards a high street resurgence? Of course not.
There’s no point ministers scrabbling around trying to find a few decent high streets to mask a national problem. We’ve all seen high streets that have lost their sense of purpose, where vibrancy has been replaced by a sense of desperation as major stores move out and charity shops, pound shops and payday lenders move in. The role of Government is to act for all the country and Britain deserves an ambitious high street vision. Why shouldn’t every community have high streets they can be proud of?
Over the weekend Penny Mordaunt showed signs she recognized the transformation needed, as she echoed the argument I made in my review of the high street last year, telling one newspaper town centres needed to change into community hubs.
For many high streets this is the only chance they have of survival. They will have to look beyond retail where leisure, culture and health, for example, alongside much-needed housing, is the only way to bring back the footfall to support shops. Retail is no longer guaranteed to be the mainstay of high streets because, in too many cases, shoppers have deserted them.
A shopkeeper’s daughter, Mordaunt is well positioned realise this. But her predecessors have made far too many mistakes in this parliament. From introducing the biggest increase in business rates in 20-years and cancelling a revaluation of business rates desperately needed to readjust properties to their correct market value, ministers have compounded the problems traders face and made a challenging time worse. And up until now they’ve shown no appetite for helping foster a sense of community on the high street. Just look at how they’ve treated the post office, a vital institution right at the heart of the community. By cancelling an agreed DVLA contract the Government has ensured that post offices have lost millions of pounds and threatened their viability.
There is too little time left in this parliament for Mordaunt to make up for all these mistakes, but she can at least start to map out a vision that elevates the debate above Mary Portas style reality TV makeovers that unravel as soon as the cameras leave.
If she wants to turn high streets into community hubs then we need fairer taxation in the form of business rates, which are currently preventing far too many entrepreneurs and innovators from testing ideas on the high street. She needs to make it necessary for every town centre in the country to establish a long-term local vision and plan for their high streets (our review found far too many local authorities have no plan at all for their high streets and that’s why the rot is setting in). And unlike her predecessor, Brandon Lewis, it might be wise to avoid making the argument that payday lenders, betting shops and kebab houses are a sign of a thriving high street.
There are plenty of places demonstrating a different vision, showing plenty of community spirit. Just look at the amazing experimentation with public spaces in Bristol, for example, where giant water slides have popped up on the high street.
It’s time we had a minister championing this, encouraging it to take root on every high street and providing the right policy framework to develop a new community model. Challenging a mindset in local and central government that simply sees high streets as cash cows to be taxed and fails to recognize their community value will require serious political leadership that so far has been lacking. For too many high streets time is running out and ministers must recognize this. Then instead of being seen as part of the problem, politics may finally be part of the solution.
Recent Comments