Local Growth Minister Mark Prisk has issued a warning to high streets across the country that they need to adapt to meet the changing needs of today’s consumers if they are to prosper.
Speaking to the 27 Portas Pilots in Loughborough, the minister will say the high street cannot live in the past, but must adapt to meet the radical changes in consumer behaviour seen over the past few years.
Mr Prisk will establish a new national Future High Streets Forum, bringing together leaders across retail, property and business to better understand the competition town centres across the country face and to drive forward new ideas and policies, building on the work of the Portas review of the future of the high street.
In particular, it will advise the country’s 27 Portas Pilots and 330 ‘Town Team Partners’ on how to adapt to a new era of online shopping and the changing way in which consumers shop.
The Future High Streets Forum will advise the government on the challenges facing high streets and help develop practical policies to enable town centres to adapt and change. It will look at issues including:
promoting parking solutions and good practice to help high streets attract more visitors
making it easier for redundant empty spaces to be used as pop-up shops to bring new business onto the high street
allowing commercial landlords to turn part of their building into a residential property to bring more people into town centres
reinforcing the ‘town centre first’ planning rules
rolling out pop-up shops across the 330 Town Team Partner high streets
Mark Prisk said: “It is clear that our high streets will need to change to prosper. There is already great work being done across the country to revitalise the town centres, but it needs to spread further faster. The Future High Streets Forum will help us do that.
“The forum will bring business, councils, retailers and property experts to work together and back communities to rejuvenate our high streets.”
The forum will be co-chaired by Mark Prisk and Alex Gourlay, Chief Executive, Health & Beauty Division, Alliance Boots, and will draw on the expertise of experienced members of the retail industry, academics and trade organisations. Members include representatives from:
John Lewis
the British Retail Consortium
the British Property Federation
the British Council of Shopping Centres
the Association of Town & City Management
the Association of Convenience Stores.
Alex Gourlay Chief Executive, Health & Beauty Division, Alliance Boots, added: “Boots UK strongly supports the pursuit of creating healthy and prosperous high streets which can be essential, if not the most critical, ingredient in supporting the regeneration of local communities.
"High streets are vital for the health of our communities, providing services and support that are accessible and within easy walking distance for many people. From speaking to our customers, we know that the survival of the high street is very important to them. I am proud to be co-chairing The Future High Streets Forum, to work with others also committed to the future of our high streets and ensuring their growth and success in years to come.”
The forum builds on the work of the 27 Portas Pilots and 330 Town Team Partners across the country, which are taking forward recommendations from the Portas review of the future of the high street.
