Oxford Street’s decline risks becoming the blueprint for Britain’s high streets if ministers fail to support regeneration efforts, retail chiefs have warned.
A report authored by the Retail Sector Council has urged ministers to support the industry by reforming competition law and levelling the playing field between online retailers and bricks-and-mortar stores.
The report stated: “This is the vicious spiral faced by many towns and high streets – the more stores that close, the more stores that are likely to close.”
Richard Pennycook, the former Co-op chief executive and co-chairman of the council, said more towns and cities were at risk of becoming “wastelands” because of a lack of incentives for retailers to invest in stores.
It comes amid a mounting row between Marks & Spencer and Michael Gove, the housing secretary, over the future of its flagship Oxford Street store.
Pennycook said: “If we don’t incentivise regeneration, then these places are getting hollowed out. Perhaps a sort of secondary benefit of the current discussion around Oxford Street is that it brings it closer to home.”
