High Streets

Debate between Roberta Blackman-Woods and Richard Fuller

Wednesday 16th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Roberta Blackman-Woods]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We must highlight where the Government’s policies on the high street have failed.

There is a long list of initiatives, but the fragmented approach masks the lack of an overall strategic approach that would bring together local authorities, key stakeholders and communities to plan for and deliver real change in their town centres.

[Richard Fuller (Bedford) (Con)]

Before the hon. Lady moves on to her socialist selection of which stores it is right for people to purchase from, will she admit that the Government’s employment allowance, which will be introduced in 2015 and will reduce the cost of hiring people to work in shops, is a very welcome step in getting started the sorts of shops that people want to purchase from?

[Roberta Blackman-Woods]

It is very important to have a localist approach that encourages local people to get involved in shaping their high street. I would have thought that the hon. Gentleman supported such an approach before all the changes that have been made over the past couple of years.

We want key stakeholders and communities to be brought together to plan and deliver change in their town centres. It is a pity that the Minister was not at the Local Data Company summit this morning, because he would have heard people saying that that was exactly what they wanted.

In his recent report, Bill Grimsey gave the Government some much-needed helpful advice. I will briefly highlight a few of his recommendations. He said that the Government should:

“Set an objective to repopulate high streets and town centres as community hubs encompassing: more housing, education, arts, entertainment, business/office space, health and leisure—and some shops”,

and

“Establish a Town Centre Commission for each town with a defined skill base and structure to build a 20-year vision for each town”.

He went on to say that they should establish five pilots to trial that immediately and called on the Government to

“Prepare for a ‘wired town’ vision or ‘networked high streets’”,

to review business rates and to require the owners of empty properties to seek a change of use class to bring properties back into occupation.