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- Nick Leslau, Max Property Group PLC
Mary Portas High Street Review
14th December 2011, by Graham Chase
Mary Portas' review on town centre high streets is welcomed, particularly as it focuses on good business common sense rather than indoctrinated and polarized positions usually found in the world of politicians, planners and landlord and retailer clubs. The focus on the town centre as a business hub and centre of community is often referred to by many but understood by few and even less bother to identify how appropriate policies can help support the true function and importance of town centres.
One concern relates to the embracing of all out of centre retail developments as bad. Bulky goods and bulk food shopping do not sit comfortably in town centre environments but in the right location within the urban area can add support to the town centre if properly coordinated in terms of their user and transport communications. The damage has been where out of town developments have gone head to head with high street retailing particularly in the areas of fashion and non-bulky goods sales where it has made it easy for the industry to take on cheap, efficient space without baggage. Consequently, the town centre has been unable to adapt and compete as markets have been taken away from them.
How many people really understand the difference between a food supermarket and a hypermarket. Hypermarkets which sell a substantial percentage of non-food items, can result in significant damage to town centres, particularly the smaller ones. However, a well located hypermarket can act as an effective district shopping centre which adds to vitality and vibrancy of a local area which does not impact on the town centre. The key is to make the proper assessment and an appropriate decision which is fit for purpose.
Mary Portas' approach to bring together the natural sense of place at the heart of the community of the town centre coupled with a hard-nosed business approach, which does not rely on sentiment is to be applauded. Those independent retailers who have failed to provide a service and contribution to the benefits of town centre retailing do not deserve to survive as is the case for any other form of retailing. It is not as if multiple retailers have been able to survive simply because of their status as the last three years has proved and the next six months is likely to demonstrate in spades.
The promotion of "good quality" markets must help generate new activity and interest where they are correctly integrated with the existing retail fabric of the town centre.
The focus on town centre management as a business coupled with the potential of BIDs must be the right answer to create a framework and business entity which can compete with the established and powerful out of centre shopping malls and unrestricted shopping parks, which have been developed without due consideration to their impact. In many cases, planners have not understood the different types of retail user and worse, have often promoted their own sites or the need for Section 106 incentive payments for the benefit of the grant of planning permission.
Mary Portas' community right to buy proposals need more careful assessment but the proper and effective use of compulsory purchase orders and activities by local authorities to act as true activists for regeneration are to be welcomed but the problem that will arise will be that facing the entire UK economy at the present time which, is the availability of hard cash and finance. There has been no reference to TIFs but perhaps this may be a good opportunity to fast-track this initiative rather than wait for primary legislation which is not scheduled until 2013. It has already happened in Scotland without such a heavy-fisted approach and perhaps the rest of the United Kingdom could learn from this bold approach.
The easing of planning restrictions is a welcome suggestion, although it is not clear why betting shops should be placed into a separate use class. If deregulation is required, the number of use classes needs to be reduced not increased. The initiative to reduce planning use restrictions on key properties in the high street should be taken up but extended to include all retail properties.
With structural changes now facing the market from internet virtual sales and multi channel shopping, the need for retail space is more likely to diminish rather than increase overall. In town centres where the amount of retail space falls, conversion to residential should also be considered. In many cases, secondary shops were originally converted front parlour rooms of Victorian houses. Consequently their return to residential should not be problematic.
A reduction in the supply of retail accommodation will be appropriate in a number of locations. A corresponding increase in the supply of residential units in town centres will improve the environment with more people living in the central area and assist in providing houses at sustainable prices without the need for affordable housing quotas. Affordable housing allocation has often acted as a tariff and a deterrent to the provision of new residential space in any event.
Finally, the suggestion that banks should now sell empty properties on the high street where they have ownership is one that may receive more support than some, provided that the banks are prepared to crystallize the paper loss into a real one and allow new initiatives to come forward albeit at lower values. Will they and their shareholders be prepared to take the pain when their instinct is to wait until demand strengthens before selling out. The bottom line is that the economy requires the significant downward revaluation of many retail and commercial properties if regeneration is to take place from a realistic and sustainable benchmark level.
The 28 recommendations from the Mary Portas Review are as follows:
1. Put in place a "Town Team": a visionary, strategic and strong operational management team for high streets
2. Empower successful Business Improvement Districts to take on more responsibilities and powers and become "Super-BIDs"
3. Legislate to allow landlords to become high street investors by contributing to their Business Improvement District
4. Establish a new "National Market Day" where budding shopkeepers can try their hand at operating a low-cost retail business
5. Make it easier for people to become market traders by removing unnecessary regulations so that anyone can trade on the high street unless there is a valid reason why not
6. Government should consider whether business rates can better support small businesses and independent retailers
7. Local authorities should use their new discretionary powers to give business rate concessions to new local businesses
8. Make business rates work for business by reviewing the use of the RPI with a view to changing the calculation to CPI
9. Local areas should implement free controlled parking schemes that work for their town centres and we should have a new parking league table
10. Town Teams should focus on making high streets accessible, attractive and safe
11. Government should include high street deregulation as part of their ongoing work on freeing up red tape
12. Address the restrictive aspects of the 'Use Class' system to make it easier to change the uses of key properties on the high street
13. Put betting shops into a separate 'Use Class' of their own
14. Make explicit a presumption in favour of town centre development in the wording of the National Planning Policy Framework
15. Introduce Secretary of State "exceptional sign off " for all new out-of-town developments and require all large new developments to have an "affordable shops" quota
16. Large retailers should support and mentor local businesses and independent retailers
17. Retailers should report on their support of local high streets in their annual report
18. Encourage a contract of care between landlords and their commercial tenants by promoting the leasing code and supporting the use of lease structures other than upward only rent reviews, especially for small businesses
19. Explore further disincentives to prevent landlords from leaving units vacant
20. Banks who own empty property on the high street should either administer these assets well or be required to sell them
21. Local authorities should make more proactive use of Compulsory Purchase Order powers to encourage the redevelopment of key high street retail space
22. Empower local authorities to step in when landlords are negligent with new "Empty Shop Management Orders"
23. Introduce a public register of high street landlords
24. Run a high profile campaign to get people involved in Neighbourhood Plans
25. Promote the inclusion of the High Street in Neighbourhood Plans
26. Developers should make a financial contribution to ensure that the local community has a strong voice in the planning system
27. Support imaginative community use of empty properties through Community Right to Buy, Meanwhile Use and a new "Community Right to Try"
28. Run a number of High Street Pilots to test proof of concept
