Planning reform is crucial to secure the future of our town centres

Lisa Tye, partner and joint head of Shoosmiths’ planning & CPO team talks about the importance of community on the high street

High streets are a focal point of community life – helping to instil our towns with a sense of identity and character that has shaped the places we call home.

As the performance of this prized community asset continues to decline – how can we secure the future of the UK high street?

Walking through our town centres we can see glimpses into history, with bygone trade names etched in the stonework of buildings that have endured for decades.

Without them, our communities would be financially, socially and culturally poorer.

Times have been tough for retailers on the UK high street for many years, with regular reports of household names announcing permanent store closures and many big brands ceasing trade entirely.

Retailers are set to face another unsettling year of trade – with major chains predicted to close nearly 7,000 stores at the cost of more than 125,000 jobs.

The shift towards online shopping and changing consumer habits have rocked the stability of the traditional high street format, and the retailers that are weathering the storm best are those who have been the most fleet of foot and have adapted in order to survive by embracing online shopping as a key part of their offer.

In order to protect the longevity of our town centres, it’s crucial that we devolve greater powers to local authorities to help accelerate the decision-making and update our existing system with a robust planning structure that support growth.

It’s clear that less traditional retail floor space is now required in town centres and empty units can lay vacant for months at a time – with this in mind, rapid reform is needed to bring the system up to speed.

For those involved in planning and property it is the nuts and bolts of the real estate market and the physical empty units in the UK’s high streets that cry out for changes to enable them to adapt.

The legislative framework that exists around the planning system as it stands is simply not up to adapting as quickly as the sector requires – the government has in the last couple of years consulted on minor changes to permitted development rights to allow temporary uses to operate for longer and to allow the A1 shops use class to encompass a greater range of uses.

That consultation closed in January 2019, the government published its response in May 2019, but the changes proposed have still not yet been brought into effect.

Whilst appreciating that Brexit has been the more pressing agenda during this period, the process has been frustratingly slow and restricts the ability of those who own empty retail units to respond to the fluctuating landscape of the retail market.

While there’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to place making, ways to bring the life back to town centres would include enabling a much wider range of potential uses, including pop up retail, community facilities, public entertainment space, employment and residential.

Traditionally, the planning system has been very slow to react to market changes, which is a challenge for communities that are under pressure to respond instantly to businesses going into administration and units being vacated almost overnight.

The recent Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission report ‘Living with Beauty’ has published more than 130 recommendations to support the creation of more beautiful communities. One of the recommendations included speeding up the planning process for beautiful buildings through a new ‘fast track for beauty’ rule for councils and increasing the involvement of communities in local plans and planning applications.

While the commission sets out some solid proposals, it’s also vital that we continue to nurture the existing infrastructure already in place in our towns. A more holistic, permissive planning system that enables flexibility is key to unlocking future growth within our communities.

The industry needs planning policies that allow entrepreneurs to play with their creativity and test out new ideas that can inject life back into our town centres by driving footfall and supporting the existing retail.

If we want to see meaningful change in practice and build communities that enhance people’s lives, then reform is essential to create the step change that is needed to help the secure the longevity of the UK high street.