High Street Businesses

Gregor Poynton Excerpts

Wednesday 26th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Gregor Poynton (Livingston) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I congratulate the hon. Member for Stockton West (Matt Vickers) on securing this important debate.

I will focus my remarks on Scottish high streets, which should be the beating hearts of our communities, because thriving high streets, and the businesses based there, promote thriving local economies. More than that, they promote a thriving civic culture, a genuine sense of pride among people about the place in which they live and the community that they are part of. Yet, right across Scotland, our high streets and our main streets have seen better days. But the decline of these high streets, main streets and town centres is not inevitable, and communities across Scotland are already taking innovative action to arrest that decline.

I will share just one example from my constituency. I recently had the pleasure of visiting West Calder and Harburn Community Development Trust, which is transforming the iconic Central Bakery in West Calder into the Scottish Co-operative discovery and activity centre. It is an incredible £6 million project that will create jobs, investment and training opportunities in the area, and will honour our co-operative roots.

A few months ago, I met with the traders from West Calder, and they have a vision for the main street that is about solidarity among their businesses, supporting each other to grow and thrive. Projects and businesspeople such as those demonstrate that, with vision, energy and determination, the decline of our town centres and high streets is far from inevitable—and, more than that, that rejuvenation is possible.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech, because, for too long, places such as Slough have been painted with empty and boarded-up shop faces. Local businesses are of course at the heart of our community, but, after over a decade of cuts by the previous Tory Governments, and rampant antisocial behaviour, they have been struggling, and have been left hollowed out. Does my hon. Friend agree that allocating more resources and attention to places such as Slough high street is more vital than ever to boost the confidence of local businesses and residents and help revitalise town centres?

[Gregor Poynton]

Yes, I completely agree with my hon. Friend. I also think that his point about antisocial behaviour is a strong one; these town centres and high streets need to be places where people feel safe and want to spend time with their families.

As I was saying, the rejuvenation of our high streets and town centres is possible, but the problem in Scotland is that the Scottish Government have failed to share that vision, energy and determination. Sadly, there has been little in the way of action from the SNP but—as always with the SNP—over its 18 years in power there has been no shortage of reports. Since 2013, we have had the national town centre review, the town centre action plan, the town centre action plan year 1 progress report, the town centre action plan year 2 progress report, the town centre action plan review, the “A New Future for Scotland’s Town Centres” report, a joint response to that report with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, and the town centre action plan 2, which is a response to that response. Little wonder then that David Lonsdale, the director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, spoke recently on the need for coherent policymaking. The fact is that Scotland’s town centres are yet another casualty of the SNP’s mismanagement and chaotic government.

[John Lamont]

In a rare moment of consensus, I agree with the hon. Member’s criticism of the SNP Government. Does he agree with me that one of the changes that could be made in Scotland is to the planning system? If we allow our high streets to be more flexible in how they respond to challenges, that is a way to get new life into something that has been traditionally at the heart of the community.

[Gregor Poynton]

I completely agree. We need to be much more creative about how we use the units. Some of these businesses, frankly, are not coming back to our high streets so we should be honest about that and look at other options such as childcare, co-working spaces and housing in town centres to help rejuvenate those places and get them into action. That creative policymaking in planning is absolutely required.

The Scottish Government can take a number of steps. First, we need a level playing field between the small businesses based on our high streets and the global online retailers. Secondly, as has been discussed, more thought needs to go into the housing stock being built in our towns. With many buildings left empty, it is right to relax planning rules to make it easier to convert shop fronts into flats, while still ensuring quality housing for their residents. Thirdly, the way people work now has changed, and our town centres must reflect that, so we need to prioritise superfast broadband in our town centres. Local planning should also take childcare into account, ensuring the businesses can thrive in the places to be. Fourthly, councils should be encouraged to use the powers available to them to make ownership data on high street properties public, so that the community has the opportunity to step in and take over some units. Finally, as my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Mr Dhesi) said, town centres will never thrive unless people feel safe in them, so a focus on safety is key.

All those ideas can perhaps contribute to making our towns better places to live; none would constitute a revolution, but they would be revolutionary for millions of people because, for too long, main streets in towns and villages such as Fauldhouse, Broxburn, West Calder, Uphall and others in my constituency have been neglected by the SNP Government. This can change: we can refresh and rejuvenate our high streets, but it will require fresh and rejuvenated leadership.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (in the Chair)]

Order. We have done our sums; Members have three minutes each.

--- Later in debate ---

[Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I have never kept it a secret that I am a proud Falkirk boy, I live in our town centre, I do most of my shopping on our high street, and a couple of hours before the Bairns kick-off on a Saturday at 3 pm you will rarely find me more than a few feet far from a pint at one of our town centre pubs. Businesses on Falkirk High Street have for years been calling out for support, whether it be on parking, where the SNP Falkirk council stopped the popular “Free after 3” parking scheme, or the closure of Falkirk town hall in 2022. That was previously a major earner for our town centre on show night. Luckily, a replacement town hall in the centre of Falkirk is finally progressing, with cross-party support. It is something I strongly endorse as a measure to regenerate our town centre. I acknowledge that for businesses across the UK there are challenges, but this is felt sharply in Scotland; about three shops a day closed in 2024.

I welcome this Government’s commitment to rebalancing the tax burden away from the high street and towards the out-of-town giants. I urge them to move quickly and firmly in that direction. The Scottish Government must also look at that urgently for our high street.

[Gregor Poynton]

Does my hon. Friend agree with me that the Scottish Government need a new direction on business rates, because not only have they not passed on the money—the Barnett consequentials that have come from the UK Government—to hospitality and retail, but they have failed the town centres over the last 18 years?

[Euan Stainbank]

Absolutely. This is a point that many hospitality businesses have made. It was a narrower scope for business rates relief that was passed in yesterday’s Scottish Budget Bill than was the case in the Labour Budget, which I welcomed. The Scottish Government should revisit that decision.

I pay tribute to the fantastic work that the Falkirk business improvement district does in our town. It knows how to deliver on local priorities; not only is it on the ground with its finger on the pulse of the challenges facing Falkirk High Street, but it is accountable to the town centre businesses in Falkirk that pay the BID levy. I thank Linton Smith, who is stepping back from the Falkirk Delivers board after an exceptional 30 years of service to our town. Elaine Grant and all her team at Falkirk BID are an asset to our high street.

Although the impact of energy shocks around the globe and the behaviour of energy giants have left consumers’ bills spiralling over the last few years, the impacts on high street businesses have also been clear. I have heard stories from Falkirk High Street of bills quadrupling over the winter, compared with where they were before the pandemic, and staff wearing two jumpers while working indoors. We must get serious across this House about building cheap, clean, British energy as soon as possible, so that both our constituents at home and those who open businesses on the high street can benefit.

Increasing criminal behaviour on our high street is another concern. In my teens and early 20s, I worked pulling pints and serving tables, and when walking back to my car or jumping on a bus I noticed an incrementally more hostile atmosphere. Unite Hospitality has led the way in relation to that trend, and I reiterate my endorsement of its Get Me Home Safely campaign, which I and, at the time, council colleagues passed at a meeting of Falkirk council in 2022. Hospitality workers have endured unacceptable threats and physical and sexual violence, and we must do more to work with employers to make our high streets safer.

My constituents Carolyn and Gordon are the long-term proprietors of Gordon’s Newsagents in Camelon. Recently, they were subjected to two incidents of theft, violence and vandalism when they refused to sell alcohol to those who had failed to provide identification. Crime impacts margins and increases the likelihood of shop closure.

I will finish on this point. Businesses comply with licensing conditions to protect young people and prevent crime and disorder. Their story signals that they often fail to receive the same protection in return. We need more police on our streets.