Is your town centre looking ghostly?

Out of town shopping can be a problem, because everyone is there, looking for parking spaces and queuing to get in and out. However, it’s still more convenient than the town centre where expensive car parks are not close to shops, streets are for residents only and the range of shops is poor. Cities and large towns are better in this respect because the big stores are all there, under cover. Parking is expensive but the advantages offered by Cardiff, for example, still draw the crowds.
Perhaps it is time to recognise that with the proliferation of out of town sites, our physical (as opposed to on line) shopping habits have changed for ever. Having recognised that, planners should consider what purpose any normal town centre should play in its community. Should they provide the locality with entertainment in the form of cinemas, clubs, theatres, libraries and museums? Should they be the centre for solicitors, estate agents, banks, building societies, dentists and specialist shops? Is this the place for the job centre and the council offices? Is there a place for the local market- inside and out? Once the public know what the town centre is for, what its recognised purpose is, it will fit in to the lifestyle of the area instead of being considered the poor, run down and neglected relation that everyone complains about, bemoaning its demise. I remember the days when one took a daily shopping basket to the Home and Colonial, the green grocer, the butcher, baker and the ironmonger and had a chat with everyone as they served you. There was time to gossip in the street. Lives are so busy these days that it’s the one stop food shop and a weekend trawl round the mall for other essentials. Of course, those actually living in the towns can make them their vibrant centres by using the bars and cafes and other facilities instead of motoring to the mall. Town centres are not the place to play catch up and try to compete with the embedded infrastructure that has grown around them, they need a presence and purpose of their own. It’s down to the locals to find this and decide what it should be.

It’s time many town centres re-invented themselves and dragged themselves into the 21st century. Instead of councils and retailers moaning about online and out of town competition they need to fight back!

Firstly, councils need to abandon that outdated Utopian dream that we’re all going to hop onto public transport and rid the roads of cars. That is simply not going to happen until public transport is convenient, accessible, cheap and clean to the vast majority of the potential town centre market. And what happens if you reduce congestion? People get back in their cars… So, reduce car parking charges to accommodate most of us who drive and have the disposable income necessary to help sustain the retail industry.

What would councils rather have – a. some income from expensive half empty car parks and less business rates income from fewer business, or b. the same income from full car parks (through cheaper rates) and more income through business rates as more businesses will be open?

Secondly, retailers need to improve their customer service. Provide the service people expect in the 21st century – that’s what will set them apart from cheaper online retailers. On a recent trip to Bath, for example, we couldn’t help but notice how helpful, knowledgeable and friendly all the staff were in every shop/restaurant we visited. It just made us want to part with our hard-earned cash. Any coincidence that most were students or foreigners? Compare that to my local Cheltenham where most staff just cannot be bothered to raise so much as a smile, gaze at the floor and leave you waiting. I’d shop more at nearby friendlier Gloucester but the shops there aren’t great.

Thirdly, local authorities need to take a good look at the demographics of their town. More affluent places have better shops – which are to the benefit of ALL consumers. For example, more affluent places tend to be university town. Universities attract and, more importantly, RETAIN brains, resulting in graduates, leading to better jobs, leading to people with more money and spending power. Also, perhaps controversially, compare academic achievement against ethnicity and then look at the quality of towns/cities and compare that against their ethnic make up. And before anyone jumps on me, I am not implying for a single moment that the academic achievements of the majority white population are greater than the rest (because they’re not) – look deeper, look at the influence of certain cultures, both positive and negative.

Fourthly, it’s not just about occupancy rates. A town may have high occupancy but if that is made up largely of charity, ‘pound’ or betting shops it’s not much of an incentive to visit. Centres need variety to cater for all tastes and they need quality.

Finally, I’m not going to knock ‘clone’ shops. Personally, I don’t understand why Which? believe they’re a problem. Most offer good quality products of well-known brands at affordable prices. Compare that to many independents who may be friendly in their approach but can stock items of less well-known brands and be outdated and expensive.