Mary Portas, the star of the popular TV show, Mary Queen of Shops, unveiled her report in the state of Britain’s high streets last week and her recommendations as to what could be done to improve fortunes in Britain’s town centres. But will they really make a difference.
Commenting on her proposals, Mary Portas said that “the model of the High Street is so outdated. It is working in the same way that it did in the 1960s, but the 1960s are no longer here.” The British High Street has been in gradual decline for a long time, and has seen some major casualties in recent years because of the recession. Perhaps the biggest name to go under in the recent economic downturn was Woolworths, which went bust at the end of 2008, to the great sadness of many people across the UK who had bought their toys, clothes, stationery and, of course, pick and mix. In fact, statistics published by the government published at the same time as Mary Portas’ report showed that a third of High Streets were degenerating or failing. Many of the small, local businesses that used to inhabit the High Street have gone – with small local bakers having been replaced by Greggs and local pubs having been replaced by Wetherspoons. Neither of these are major problems, as Greggs is very popular on the High Street and Wetherspoons tends to do the High Street a service by buying up old, run down pubs that have gone out of business and retaining them as a presence on the High Street. But the replacement of favourite businesses with charity shops, mobile phone stores, pound shops and health food stores has hardly done wonders for the High Street. Whilst some useful shops remain, like Boots, Argos, the occasional IT support Leeds shop and maybe a chain book or DVD store, most of the good stores are now out of town.
In the last decade, out of town shopping centres and online shopping has risen dramatically. Those looking to revive Britain’s High Streets should perhaps consider why out of town shopping centres are so popular. Firstly, everything you need is generally under one roof at an out of town shopping centre – and that doesn’t just mean shops. The restaurants, the cinemas, the bowling alleys, etc. everything is there in one place not just for a shopping trip, but for entertainment to break up the often tediousness and hard work of a day of shopping. With an out of town shopping centre, it is not just a case of you go to the High Streets and trudge up and down a long, winding road in the rain making your purchases, going from one end of the town to the other to find what you need. Instead, you can go and meet your friends for breakfast, do some shopping, have a coffee, do some more shopping, have lunch, do some more shopping, then maybe watch a film or go bowling before having a meal in the evening. What’s more, everything is under one roof and doesn’t involve your feet killing you by the end of the day. People have less free time these days – so the free time they have they would rather spend enjoying than trudging around on the High Street. It is the same reason why online shopping is so popular – it is quick, easy, and far less time consuming.
Mary Portas recommended in her report that town centres should be run more like businesses, with “town teams” responsible for developing businesses in the town centre and on the High Street. She also suggested a relaxation of the licensing rules to allow people to set up market stalls, an end to restrictions on night time deliveries, affordable town centre parking and a national market day.
Commenting on her proposals, Mary Portas said that “the model of the High Street is so outdated. It is working in the same way that it did in the 1960s, but the 1960s are no longer here.” The British High Street has been in gradual decline for a long time, and has seen some major casualties in recent years because of the recession. Perhaps the biggest name to go under in the recent economic downturn was Woolworths, which went bust at the end of 2008, to the great sadness of many people across the UK who had bought their toys, clothes, stationery and, of course, pick and mix. In fact, statistics published by the government published at the same time as Mary Portas’ report showed that a third of High Streets were degenerating or failing. Many of the small, local businesses that used to inhabit the High Street have gone – with small local bakers having been replaced by Greggs and local pubs having been replaced by Wetherspoons. Neither of these are major problems, as Greggs is very popular on the High Street and Wetherspoons tends to do the High Street a service by buying up old, run down pubs that have gone out of business and retaining them as a presence on the High Street. But the replacement of favourite businesses with charity shops, mobile phone stores, pound shops and health food stores has hardly done wonders for the High Street. Whilst some useful shops remain, like Boots, Argos, the occasional IT support Leeds shop and maybe a chain book or DVD store, most of the good stores are now out of town.
In the last decade, out of town shopping centres and online shopping has risen dramatically. Those looking to revive Britain’s High Streets should perhaps consider why out of town shopping centres are so popular. Firstly, everything you need is generally under one roof at an out of town shopping centre – and that doesn’t just mean shops. The restaurants, the cinemas, the bowling alleys, etc. everything is there in one place not just for a shopping trip, but for entertainment to break up the often tediousness and hard work of a day of shopping. With an out of town shopping centre, it is not just a case of you go to the High Streets and trudge up and down a long, winding road in the rain making your purchases, going from one end of the town to the other to find what you need. Instead, you can go and meet your friends for breakfast, do some shopping, have a coffee, do some more shopping, have lunch, do some more shopping, then maybe watch a film or go bowling before having a meal in the evening. What’s more, everything is under one roof and doesn’t involve your feet killing you by the end of the day. People have less free time these days – so the free time they have they would rather spend enjoying than trudging around on the High Street. It is the same reason why online shopping is so popular – it is quick, easy, and far less time consuming.
Mary Portas recommended in her report that town centres should be run more like businesses, with “town teams” responsible for developing businesses in the town centre and on the High Street. She also suggested a relaxation of the licensing rules to allow people to set up market stalls, an end to restrictions on night time deliveries, affordable town centre parking and a national market day.
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