Time for positive thinking

Our Manifesto for the High Street campaign is off to a good start, with some interesting comments coming through from our readers.

They tend to fall into two camps - those who share our view that the high street can be reinvigorated through positive action, by local councils in particular - and those who despair that nothing positive will ever happen.

I fall into the former group, not because I’m an unyielding optimist (although I generally am), but because there comes a tipping point where the health of a town’s central shopping area becomes a symbol of wider economic decline.

And politicians, even local ones, aren’t entirely stupid. They know that a thriving high street makes people feel good about where they live, while a desolate one adds to the gloom of their voters. And the bettter councils know that actually there are some easy things that they can do to make a real difference - the manifesto lists a few for starters.

So I think we can get somewhere with this but the more voices we have the better. We’re running some more features over the next couple of weeks, this week looking at the impact of retail closures on weaker towns, but next week looking at examples of best practice from around the country. Do add your thoughts to our forum.

We’re also running an event which is well worth attending. Retail Week’s Saving the High Street conference is in Birmingham on 18 March, with a great line up of political and retail speakers.