Community approach can rejuvenate high streets, says report

The Town Centres Expert Panel has called for a community-focused approach to tackling the challenges facing high streets and town centres in a new report published today.

The Government-appointed panel, headed by Manchester businessman Sir John Timpson, is made up of representatives from the retail, property and design sectors and has published practical recommendations to reinvigorate town centres by creating their own community hub which, alongside retail, includes leisure and social services and more residential property.

The report puts community involvement and local leadership at the centre of a plan to create the town centres of the future.

Sir John Timpson, whose family founded high street chain Timpson in 1865, has called for an ‘Upside Down Government’ approach which would empower local leaders to implement their plans to reinvent their town centres.

They would be supported with expert advice from a Town Centres Task Force and funding from the Government’s Future High Streets Fund.

Another recommendation includes calling on local communities to celebrate their town centres with a ‘National High Street Perfect Day’ to tackle litter and graffiti so people can take pride in their local shopping centres.

Sir John said: “When the panel was formed we knew high streets would never be the same again, but we were delighted to discover places where imaginative developments have increased footfall and reduced the number of empty shops.

“By helping our towns create their own individual community hub, I believe we will have vibrant town centres to provide a much-needed place for face-to-face contact in the digital age.

“I have learnt, from my own business, that the best way to get things done is to give people on the front line the freedom to get on with the job in the way they know best.

“We are applying the same Upside Down Government principle to the development of our town centres, with our Town Centre Task Force there to mentor, encourage and clear any obstacles out of the way while giving the clear message to inspirational local leaders that they are free to turn their plans into reality.”

High Streets Minister Jake Berry, MP for Rossendale, said: “High streets and town centres play an important role in the life of our communities.

“I thank Sir John and the panel members who have worked extremely hard and proposed tangible ways to keep these treasured spaces alive and thriving for generations.

“We have already taken action by announcing plans to set up a Future High Streets Fund and Task Force, alongside slashing business rates for up to a third of small retailers. We will carefully consider these recommendations.”

The panel was appointed by Jake Berry earlier this year to diagnose issues affecting our high streets and town centres and advise on measures to keep them thriving.

In October, the panel provided interim recommendations, which the Government responded to by announcing the creation of a £675m Future High Streets Fund to help improve and restore high streets as well as a Town Centre Taskforce to give local leaders support in implementing local schemes.

Today’s report sets out further advice of how to implement this funding.