IssueNo. 13 : December 2011 Bb View brought to you by Portas Reports: The Long awaited Report into o ur High Streets has been published. As thi s is a major report and raises many issues close to all our hearts, this edition ofView is a ‘Mary Portas Special’A View from the BIDs: Recognising the growing challenge to town centres, t he Coalition Government commissioned the independent Mary Portas High Street Review in spring of this year under the lead of Ed Davey MP, Consumer Affairs Minister in the Department of Bus iness Innovation and Skills. It is clear to all concerned that the scale of the problem is vast and that quick fixes alone will not suffice. BIDs in a leading role British BIDs welcomed the focus that this review put on our high streets and in particular on Business Improvement Districts as management and leadership vehicles for the success of those high streets. We were actively engaged in the process from start to finish offering advice, expertise, best practice and case studies alongside our involvement in the various review-led think tank and discussion sessions. In parallel with t his, we took a number of opport unities over recent months to engage with our members and partners within the BID industry. One of these was in our Bb Leadership Network Dialogue paper No.2 on the ‘The Future of To wn Centres’, where we debated all the key issues and stated that manageable outcomes that recognise the scale of the challenge will be required for the review to achieve real traction going forward. In its seven year history, the BID industry has more than proven its ability to add value and leadership to Britain’s town centres and this has been fully recognised within the Portas report – and by government ministers. We highlighted a number of key aspects in our response to the review, all of which, we are delighted to report have been taken on board throughout the recommendations of the report. The ‘Town Team’ concept from the report is what we do. It is BIDs firmly at the forefront and proving Localism in action. The recommendations well describes the way BIDs operate at a local level. We are naturally pleased to see encouragement for the influence and remit o f BIDs along the lines of those mature and advanced Bb Accredited BIDs that operate at a strategic level within their area. Linked to this is support for formally involving property owners in BIDs through an owner levy, the solutions for which we have been leading over recent years. Establishing a register of high s treet landlords will further assist in its delivery. PlanningPlanning is clearly a key component of managing the viability of town centres and the report supports the principles of ‘Town Centre First’ policy together with a re-casting of planning use classes to open up the high street and provide the opportunity for more flexible space provision. Parking in town centres is a crucial factor in defining the accessibility and affordability of the high street offer and as such this has been recognised in the report. This is also an a rea where BIDs are already offering innovative solutions.
Financially, there are challenges in town centres to make the overall offer stack up and support through
business rates and other subsidies, particularly to small businesses, has been recognised in the report. British
BIDs is also at the forefront or promoting these essential incentives with Government.
The concept of ‘Community High Streets’ has been reinforced through the report by recognising that the
success of the high street is not just about retail and that a functional hub must be created to drive footfall to
locations.
Finally, although reference was made to ‘pilot studies’, we would hope to see a greater focus on learning from
the exemplars that already exist with the 124 BIDs across the country, together with identifying ways in which
we can see further support the growth of this successful concept. We recommend a government guaranteed
revolving loan fund to support the set up of future BIDs, which will truly enable the expansion of the ‘Town
Team’ approach across the UK.
Dr Julie Grail
The Report:
Retail expert Mary Portas has set out her vision for Britain's high streets, warning that "after many years of
erosion, neglect and mismanagement" they will "disappear forever" unless urgent action is taken.
She has recommended a range of planning policy incentives along with a new tax
on car parks in out-of-town malls, as well as free parking in town centres to lure
shoppers back to the high street.
The long-awaited review from Portas, sets out 28 recommendations to breathe
new life into Britain's ailing high streets (listed below). She wants to get town
centres running like businesses, by strengthening the management of high streets
through new "town teams" and encouraging new markets. She proposed an
annual national market day where budding entrepreneurs can try their hand at
running a retail business. "Why not rent out tables for a tenner and get everyone
involved?" Marks & Spencer started as a market stall.
Another key point is levelling the playing field with out-of-town malls by ensuring a strong town centre-first
approach in planning and encouraging large retailers to show their support for high streets.
Portas said: "I don't want to live in a Britain that doesn't care about community. And I believe that our highstreets are a really important part of pulling people together in a way that a supermarket or shopping mall,
however convenient, however entertaining and however slick, just never can."
She proposed "Swapshops" where people can exchange and sell goods for money or services; turning vacant
units into schools, gyms and nurseries; and bringing back bingo to the high street.
During the last seven months Portas met hundreds of retailers, property developers and town planners –
including significant input from British BIDs. The recession and changing shopping habits have taken their toll
with more than one in seven shops standing empty. Vacancy rates have doubled in the last two years.
4. Establish a new “National Market Day” where budding shopkeepers can try their hand at operating a low-
cost retail business
5. Make it easier for people to become market traders by removing unnecessary regulations so that anyone
can trade on the high street unless there is a valid reason why not
6. Government should consider whether business rates can better support small businesses and independent
retailers
7. Local authorities should use their new discretionary powers to give business rate concessions to new local
businesses
8. Make business rates work for business by reviewing the use of the RPI with a view to changing the
calculation to CPI
9. Local areas should implement free controlled parking schemes that work for their town centres and we
should have a new parking league table
10. Town Teams should focus on making high streets accessible, attractive and safe
11. Government should include high street deregulation as part of their ongoing work on freeing up red tape
12. Address the restrictive aspects of the ‘Use Class’ system to make it easier to change the uses of keyproperties on the high street
13. Put betting shops into a separate ‘Use Class’ of their own
14. Make explicit a presumption in favour of town centre development in the
wording of the National Planning Policy Framework
15. Introduce Secretary of State “exceptional sign off ” for all new out-of-town
developments and require all large new developments to have an “affordable
shops” quota
16. Large retailers should support and mentor local businesses and
independent retailers
17. Retailers should report on their support of local high streets in their annual
report
18. Encourage a contract of care between landlords and their commercialtenants by promoting the leasing code and supporting the use of lease structures other than upward only rent
reviews, especially for small businesses
19. Explore further disincentives to prevent landlords from leaving units
vacant
20. Banks who own empty property on the high street should either
administer these assets well or be required to sell them
21. Local authorities should make more proactive use of Compulsory
Purchase Order powers to encourage the redevelopment of key high street
retail space
22. Empower local authorities to step in when landlords are negligent with new “Empty Shop Management
Orders”
23. Introduce a public register of high street landlords24. Run a high profile campaign to get people involved in Neighbourhood Plans
25. Promote the inclusion of the High Street in Neighbourhood Plans
26. Developers should make a financial contribution to ensure that the local community has a strong voice in
the planning system
27. Support imaginative community use of empty properties through Community Right to Buy, Meanwhile Use
and a new “Community Right to Try”
28. Run a number of High Street Pilots to test proof of concept
This is the last issue of View before Christmas and the Holiday Season.
The next issue will be available in the first week of January
