It was revealed yesterday that the number of empty commercial properties on UK high streets remains worryingly high despite improving economic fortunes. A number of initiatives have been put in place to address this situation but, according to a new report, they may be obscuring the real issue.
The Centre for Cities says that town and city centres should end their obsession with the problems facing the retail sector and focus on becoming the location of choice for business instead.
The report, Beyond the High Street, says that the current debate is distracting attention from the fact that the health of the high street is inextricably linked to the health of the wider location. Consequently the group calls for a shift in focus from shops and high streets to city centres and jobs.
The urban policy research unit claims that attracting a wider range of businesses into struggling locations is the key to revitalising the UK’s town and city centres.
The think-tank says that larger cities have been more successful than smaller ones in this respect, and that regional enterprise zones and out-of-town business parks have simply added to the problem by driving employment to the outskirts.
The report finds that one third of towns and cities have suffered from this ‘hollowing out’, with businesses abandoning the city centre in favour of out-of-town-locations.
It lists Aldershot, Doncaster, Bolton and Southampton among the locations with a declining number of private sector jobs in their centres. This makes these locations overly dependent on retail and particularly vulnerable to shop closures and job losses.
Alexandra Jones, the chief executive of the Centre for Cities, says; “City centres are vital for the health of the UK economy, with our most successful city centre economies being the most productive parts of the national economy.
“But this isn’t universal across all city centres, and many could have a bleak outlook unless policies stop focusing on the 20th century high street and start thinking about a 21st century city centre.”
She adds that if these locations continue to ‘hollow out’ they will be unable to offer the kind of environment that will attract and retain businesses in their centres. In order to prevent this, the group has called for a £3 billion city centre growth fund financed by under spending in government infrastructure projects.
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