John Lewis Partnership chair Dame Sharon White has called for a Royal Commission on high streets, but town centre solutions must be locally inspired and driven – and there is plenty of good practice to share, argues expert Graham Soult
Every day brings a new “death of the high street” story, accompanied by images of shuttered stores.
One of the latest was the Telegraph op-ed by John Lewis Partnership chair Dame Sharon White, calling for a Royal Commission “to revitalise our high streets”.
That article, incidentally, used a photo of Stafford’s former Marks & Spencer, which moved to a new-build unit 600 metres away. Not unjustly, readers in Sheffield remarked that the Partnership had played its own part in generating the “boarded-up shops left vacant” that Dame Sharon’s piece lamented.
Self-awareness objections aside, Dame Sharon rightly highlighted some key challenges. From my own work, I see how business rates are absolutely the biggest barrier to retailers opening, expanding or retaining stores. But everyone knows that – we need reform, not further confirmation of how broken the system is.
Similarly, we can see how serious the problems of crime and antisocial behaviour are. From future high streets to levelling up, government funding for town centre transformation is undoubtedly welcome.
However, without sufficient police – or adequate council funding for basic town centre housekeeping – we risk undermining all that investment in vibrant, mixed-use destinations. The government needs to do much more to underpin the foundations of civic pride.
What Dame Sharon’s article misses, however, is that solutions to high street challenges must be locally inspired and driven. A Royal Commission might highlight principles of good practice – and what the UK government’s role should be – but it’s the local ‘place leaders’, such as politicians, businesses, landlords, agents and communities, who will together make positive change happen. Indeed, look beyond the headlines and many places are doing this already.
“Solutions to high street challenges must be locally inspired and driven”
Since 2020, I’ve worked with towns all over England in my role as a high streets task force expert. Managed by the Institute of Place Management on behalf of government, the task force recognises that local people know best what their places need – and that no two locations are the same.
By offering constructive input, sharing case studies, cementing partnerships and celebrating successes, the task force is helping grow the capacity for local places to deliver their own high street transformations.
Any Royal Commission would be likely to reiterate the importance of local-led solutions – just as past reports, from Portas to Grimsey, have done previously – because we already know it works.
Durham, where I work for three days a month in a consultancy capacity, is an increasingly good example of the power of partnership working and of curating a city centre that meets modern needs. Since Covid, for example, all the key city centre players have got demonstrably better at talking to each other. It sounds obvious, but in too many locations it still doesn’t happen.
Working collaboratively delivers immediate benefits. The city’s events programme is more ambitious, coordinated and regular. Joined-up marketing messages are promoting Durham’s attractions.
Meanwhile, commercial property owners – many of them local – are right-sizing spaces vacated by national chains, carving off upper floors for housing and creating more affordable ground-floor units for eateries and local traders. One of my contributions is helping to match new businesses with available premises.
During and since Covid, more than 50 new retail and hospitality businesses have set up shop in the city centre – around 80% of those independent. Vacancy is down and local distinctiveness is up. Even the shopping centre is now owned by a Durham company, with plans for mixed-use redevelopment that will combine indie-led retail with leisure, a hotel and student housing. Meanwhile, the old M&S will soon become the city’s newest live music venue.
Dame Sharon described town centres as “shells of their former selves”, and some certainly do have a longer transformation journey than others. For the most part, however, we know what needs to be done and where to start.
The solutions are not in a Royal Commission – they’re in plain sight in the talents of our local place leaders, and in the positive stories and good practice that we already have to share.
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