Market Town Centres: Regeneration

Albert Owen Excerpts

Thursday 30th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Michelle Donelan (Chippenham) (Con)]

The term “regeneration” does not mean much to people outside council planning departments, but the evolution and renewal of our town centres is vital to supporting communities and changing lives. Despite the name, my constituency contains four vibrant market towns: Chippenham, Corsham, Bradford on Avon, and Melksham. Each is wonderful, each is unique and each has its own challenges. Perhaps my biggest challenge as the local MP is fostering and improving those market towns.

[Albert Owen (Ynys Môn) (Lab)]

I know that the hon. Lady attended the previous debate. Does she agree with me and others who spoke about the importance of high street banks in market towns such as those in her constituency and mine? The bank in Llangefni, for example, traditionally pulls people into the town to spend in shops and the market itself.

[Michelle Donelan]

I completely agree. In Corsham, we have suffered similar bank branch losses, so I accept the hon. Gentleman’s point.

The fortunes of market towns nationally vary widely. Many are vibrant, fostering successful businesses and attracting tourists, and they are fabulous places to live. Others, despite massive potential, are being held back or struggle to adapt to the challenges of today. Market towns are stuck in a difficult position between the large urban areas, which are eligible for big city deals, the wider regions or powerhouses, as we have come to know them now, and the politically backed regeneration projects that most rural areas get and rural development funds. It appears to me that market towns often fall into the gaps and miss out. Something needs to change to help the areas that I and hundreds of other Members represent.

Perhaps there is scope for a specific mechanism to help such areas and enable them to benefit from some form of grant or initiative. An entire sector has apparently been left out. What I am really calling for today is a national and co-ordinated strategy that will help to bolster and safeguard our high streets and our communities. There is a real danger that, without careful consideration through the planning system, strong leadership by councils, a sense of market towns’ uniqueness and a co-ordinated approach, some market towns will become dormitory towns. The towns that I represent are in a wonderful location in terms of getting to London, Bristol, Bath or Swindon, so they naturally attract commuters. Now, it is up to us to ensure that in the long term they are vibrant places to live—that they have vibrant communities and vibrant town centres, and do not end up as dormitory towns.

The practical reality of many regeneration projects is that they require joined-up, thought-through, community-led solutions, and take into account the specific needs of each and every individual community. At a time when all government—particularly local government—spending is tight, it is understandable that local authorities focus their resources on statutory roles. Regeneration and a co-ordinated plan can easily be left on the back burner, but this is threatening the future of our towns nationally.

We must be more realistic about what Governments and local councils can do. Local councils have become much more responsible for town centres in the past few years, as I have seen in my area. That is part of the process of devolution for which the Conservatives have fought. However, we must give councils financial incentives to enable regeneration. Rather than headline-grabbing projects, I believe we must look for small wins that collectively will improve our town centres over time. The answer is found not in a single, simple solution, but in a co-ordinated approach by our town councils, our unitary or county councils, our national Government and our community organisations and bodies. To do this, we need some sort of strategy—a document that gives advice and shares best practice between areas.