Future of Town Centres and High Streets

Karen Bradley Excerpts

Tuesday 17th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jones]

Dudley is an important area and the hon. Gentleman makes a strong case for it, but I think it probably ranks somewhere behind my constituency in relation to this matter.

In the last few days alone, we have seen some long-standing store chains, such as Blacks Leisure, Peacocks and Barratts, all enter administration. In the words of Mary Portas,

“our high streets have reached a crisis point,”

a statement with which I am sure many people up and down the country will agree.

A number of factors have led to the decline of our high streets, although the main reasons are undoubtedly the steady rise of out-of-town retail shopping malls, together with the dramatic impact of the arrival of internet shopping, which has soared. Back in 2007, it accounted for 4.8% of retail sales, but last November it was found to account for 12.2%. That is a challenge to our town centres, and it will be greatly exacerbated by the increased use of mobile phone technology, which is broadening the internet spectrum.

[Karen Bradley (Staffordshire Moorlands) (Con)]

I thank my hon. Friend for securing this very important debate. May I share with him the experience of my local town of Leek, where the totally locally Leek initiative has been developed by independent shopkeepers? The idea is that if everybody who lived in Leek spent £5 each week in a local shop rather than on the internet, it would be worth £4 million to the local economy. Does he agree that we need initiatives such as that to promote local high streets?

[Mr Jones]

It is important for people to try to get the best deal in terms of their shopping habits, but reliance on local shopping is also important. Only in that way will we secure the future of our local town centres and high streets.