Consumer confidence is everything in the world of shopping centres – and retailers, landlords and developers were quietly celebrating as the election results streamed in last week.
Consumer confidence is still fragile and the steady progress made by the coalition over the past five years only resulted in a sustained improvement in confidence over the last year.
Office of National Statistics Retail Sales figures issued in March show that sales have been growing for 24 months, but only lately has the pace begun to pick up, with sales increasing by 4.2% compared with March 2014. We must also remember that GDP growth slowed in the first quarter of this year.
With political certainty and a fair economic wind we now expect retailers to step up expansion plans.
But as well as keeping a steady hand on the economic tiller, what else would we like the Conservatives to do?
There was an early insight into the party’s thinking when Capital & Regional, Estates Gazette and Mishcon de Reya held a round-table discussion with housing and planning minister Brandon Lewis in March. Capital & Regional endorse much of what the minister had to say, but there is more the Conservatives can do.
Firstly, the government needs to press on with its March promise to reform business rates. Why should retailers in Barnsley subsidise the fashion emporiums of Bond Street, as they have been until now? Is it fair that those running store-based retail chains are undercut by online retailers paying barely any UK tax?
Lewis also promised a ‘localised’ rather than ‘top-down’ planning system, but clouded the issue by at the same time promoting permitted development rights that compromise councils’ powers.
On this issue, we agreed with Labour’s former shadow minister for communities and local government, Roberta Blackman-Woods, who spoke at our second March seminar.
She was clear that permitted development rights were a hindrance for local authorities, BIDS and town teams trying to plan for the future of any town centre.
Housing is crucial to the health of Britain’s shopping centres and high streets. The government must address supply challenges (Right-to-Buy will not deliver more homes) and the need to create the right environment for house builders to prosper through a strong economy and positive planning.
It is also crucial for adjoining local authorities to be given a stronger duty to co-operate. Localism at borough level may not produce an optimal solution for a region, and there are many instances where conflicts are emerging with little guidance as to how these are resolved.
Finally, the big one that wasn’t tackled in any of the party manifestos: the decentralisation of major government departments from central London. They could cost effectively be relocated to satellite towns that would support and benefit from the associated regeneration.
The economics are compelling and would certainly help Mr Osborne with his deficit targets.
Mark Bourgeois, director, Capital & Regional
