There are those who I have encountered at various business functions (or indeed any other opportunity) over the recent past who will have been on the receiving end of my increasingly passionate diatribe about what is going to happen to our High Streets and town centres in the majority of the towns around the country.
So with an almost unique sense of anticipation I awaited the publication of the Portas report, which with impeccable retail timing, came out in December.
Government reviews rarely excite anticipation beyond the particular groups who have vested interests in the outcome. It may even be said that this is the case here too, but in this case the interest group is actually all of us, whether we have realised it or not.
The steady emptying of our urban centres of their shops and businesses has an impact on us all. In many cases this process has been well-disguised with artistic murals, or short-term lettings, but it is nevertheless occurring and needs to be addressed.
We all understand that we are living in austere as well as interesting times. But in my view even when the economy does pick up the town centres will not revert back to how they were twenty years ago, and I would not argue for a moment that the clock should be turned back in any event. Change will always happen, but we do need to make a conscious effort to make sure that it occurs in a positive and managed way rather than occurring by default and neglect.
Portas refer to “social as well as economic capital” being lost. As the High Street moves on, or rather online, the communal and social elements that they bring to us as a society risk being lost unless we plan with imagination and creativity how to deal with the loss of the town centres as a focal point for commerce on a personal scale.
Shopping that has moved online, or out of town, is unlikely to return to the centre of towns. Many office-based businesses now look either to cheaper, more remote sites or increasingly to smaller bases with much more flexibility aided by the never-ending technological advances. So what is left?
Judging by the proliferation of coffee shops the need to retain a social focus in our lives remains as strong as ever.
Happily Portas cites a number of imaginative and proactive towns where schemes such as advancement of farmer’s market concepts and outlets for smaller businesses are bucking the trend.
Around the county there are various good examples of where markets have sprung up, and expanded rapidly in town centres as people look to more locally sourced products, and small businesses look to deal directly with their customers.
Generally those markets are not daily events however and, encouraging as they are, they can only be the start of the response.
In the report there is a quote from the response to the consultation from the Local Government Association which states :
“The most vibrant town centres offer a wide range of locally responsive services that create a comprehensive retail, cultural and community hub. This is crucial for the future of the High Street as it is an offer that its competitors struggle to match. Future Government policy must acknowledge this, not treating retail in isolation, but empowering councils to integrate the shopping offer effectively alongside other cultural and community services.”
Wouldn’t we all like our local High Street to meet that aspiration?
Then we need to push and support our local councils (and central government) to achieve this.
There are some good proposals in Portas. You may not agree with me as to which ones they are, that is fine. But we must have the debate, and then move on to ensure there is action.
Let’s not leave it too late.
By Dean Orgill
