Back to the High Street

Another launch that I am just catching up on is the publication of the Grimsey Review in September. This comes from Bill Grimsey, former Wickes and Iceland Chief Executive, as a response to the Mary Portas work on the High Street. His approach is rather intriguing. It suggests that high streets need to evolve to more multi-use spaces with less reliance on pure retail and incorporating public services, workspaces, social and cultural provision alongside some more housing. This view is based on the persistence of high vacancy rates across many individual town and neighbourhood centres and the country as a whole. To this evidence, he adds the changes occurring in shopping patterns with continued reliance on car-based trips together with more use of the internet.
The reforms needed to put the vision in place emphasise change of the business rates but also considers the planning system. Here the suggestion include changing the operation of the Use Classes Order and more imagination in the design and management of the public realm. But the more innovative ideas are creating 'town-owned investment vehicles' to create flats above shops, making the provision of affordable space compulsory in 'mega malls', and having strong plan-led policies for town centre uses including forced change of use for empty properties.
He sees the need for finance to back up some of his ideas and looks to crowdsourcing platforms, as I have done, but also considers the potential for local authorities to support small businesses from their reserves and even pension funds. As with any ideas for reform, discussion and testing out is essential. There are some tensions between deregulation and plan-led policies apparent here. And it may prove difficult to speak to the large corporates and small business interests in the high street at the same time. But there are some fresh ideas here worth exploring.