High Streets Debate
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Jayne Kirkham
Main Page: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)Department Debates - View all Jayne Kirkham's debates with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
High Streets
Jayne Kirkham Excerpts(1 month ago)
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Mr Campbell
I do not know whether the hon. Member is a mind reader, but I was about to come to that very point. The prevalence of online shopping has dramatically changed the high street. People are free to take advantage of online shopping, but on many occasions it is to the disadvantage of the high street. On numerous occasions, we have heard about things that can help in a small way. For example, urban improvements such as better seating can make town centres more attractive and bring people in. They do help, but they are on the margins.
Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)
In Truro, the city council has bought a property to convert to commercial and residential use. It is using some of its town deal—what would have been Pride in Place money—to invest in properties and restore some of the flats above shops that have been empty for so long. Does the hon. Member agree that that is progress and that it would be good to have more funding available for that sort of thing?
Mr Campbell
Yes, I agree. When I conclude, I will try to draw some of these threads together into a proposition that I hope the Minister will consider.
Charity shops and vaping shops are now prevalent on many of our high streets. I have sometimes been criticised, unfairly in my view, for being an arch-critic of the BBC. I do not regard myself as an arch-critic of the BBC: I always say that I commend it when it does well and criticise it when it does wrong or shows bias. If I am seeing more reasons to criticise it—well, I will leave people to pass judgment on which is more accurate. I have to say that in the past few months, though, BBC News has been excellent on vaping shops on the high street. It should not have been the BBC that had to do that work, but I am glad that it did.