“Theory alone won’t change any business’s fortunes. To succeed, you need the guts to put radical ideas into action.”
So ran the verdict of one commentator this week. That it was written about the future of newspapers shouldn’t detain us here. Those words could apply to any business and any sector. And the words should ring loud in the ears of ministers as they consider their response to Mary Portas’ review of the future of the high street.
The Queen of Shops’ report is a mixed bag. In many ways it is commendable.
The instinctive understanding of retailer/customer relations comes across loud and clear, as does her appreciation that the high street is much more than a place to transact. Her message to Newsnight in September – “There are some towns where it is dead, the horse has bolted.” – was so hard-headed that this aspect of her report came as something of a relief.
Elsewhere, there is pragmatism around her eye-catching proposals for a presumption in favour of town centre development: “My first and intuitive response to this review was to recommend an immediate moratorium on any new out-of-town developments however, in the current economic climate, such single-minded thinking may be a little unrealistic and unhelpful.”
And she nails her colours to the mast too, taking a moderated National Trust position on the National Planning Policy Framework: “I am worried that the guidance has been softened to the point where far too much out-of-town development may be possible.”
However, her section on defining landlords’ roles and responsibilities feels less assured. The government’s empty rates policy may frustrate landlords, but it does focus the mind on ensuring occupation of some form or another.
But Portas implies that a bigger stick is needed via local authority-enforced empty shop management orders. That, according to the BPF and others, is to misunderstand the problems facing landlords today.
This report, though, represents not even half the battle. Portas has delivered the theory. It is up to government – local and especially national – to show the guts needed to put ideas into action.
At Mapic in October, Richard Akers warned that the government would have to put up resources to implement Portas’ recommendations on saving UK high streets. The British Council of Shopping Centres president and Land Securities head of retail said it wasn’t the ideas Portas generated, it was political endorsement that mattered most.
She got that verbally from David Cameron this week: “It is vital that we do all that we can to ensure [high streets] thrive. I am delighted that Mary Portas has produced such a clear vision. The government will now review Mary’s recommendations and we will publish our response next spring.”
With research this week showing that it is high street names that are now leading the charge to out-of-town centres (p25), Cameron’s warm words need to be matched by urgent action. Whitehall will need to provide cash to resource Portas’ recommendations, and town halls up and down the country will need to show strong leadership.
It’s not about Portas now.
