Portas review “glosses over” key issues
A LEADING property consultant claims the recommendations and suggestions put forward by retail expert and government adviser Mary Portas in her review of the future of British high streets “glosses over” a number of key issues.
While praising some of Portas’s ideas Paul Brewer, head of retail in the Birmingham office of GVA, takes issue with a number of her conclusions.
“Mary appears to have overlooked the fact that financial institutions own many blocks of retail and offices accommodation within town centres and rely on the growth of such investments to create and maintain value for pension funds, from which we all benefit,” he said.
“The suggestion therefore that such landlords should look to accept reducing rentals – allowing tenants to take leases for minimal periods in order to ‘trial’ their business’ – would lead to a vast reduction in investment values. This would have a detrimental impact on the level of pensions payable, both now and in the future.”
Another area of concern for Brewer is Portas’s suggestion that local authorities provide free customer car parking within town centres to mirror the out of town centres.
“Whilst agreeing with the sentiment, there are a number of aspects to be given consideration, not least that most local authorities rely on the revenue from car parking to off-set short falls from lack of central funding,” he said.
