City and Town Centres: Regeneration
Debate between Martin Vickers and Vikki Slade(2 months, 1 week ago)
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Martin Vickers (in the Chair)
Order. I think you are trying to have the 30 seconds you lost. Interventions should be much shorter.
Vikki Slade
I will come to business rates later, and I absolutely agree that meanwhile use is important.
The out-of-town shopping centre was such a catastrophe because it was cost-effective for major retailers to go there as they did not need to navigate the town centre traffic, there was no need to maintain historic or awkward buildings—the hon. Member for Macclesfield (Tim Roca) spoke about the difficulties with his Marks and Spencer—and customers and staff could be given free parking. We are seeing similar mistakes in my constituency of Mid Dorset and North Poole: low-cost supermarkets are buying up seemingly easy plots on the edge of town, forcing everyone into their cars to visit, rather than investing in underused or empty awkward town centre units. Central Government might be able to invest in them in order to drive people into town.