The list of multiples (chains) closing down continues to grow with all sectors suffering – Woolworths, Zavvi, Borders, Threshers, Habitat and Jane Norman – to name a few.

Independents too have struggled with increasing costs, competition from larger stores and the internet, and changing consumer habits and spending power.

Empty shops on the rise

According to the end of year report {opens pdf in new window} by the Local Data Company (LDC) {opens new window}, town centre vacancy rates climbed from 12% at the end of 2009 to 14.5% at the end of 2010.

The study revealed a north-south divide, with “black spots” in the north of England and the Midlands well above the national average, with a 16.5% vacancy rate, while southern regions scored below at 12.3%.

Large towns have a higher average vacancy rate (16.5%) than smaller centres (about 12%), and the situation is worse in large town and city centres in the north of England and the Midlands, where average vacancy rates are about 19%; Yorkshire and the Humber are even higher, at nearly 21%.

Save our town centres

AMT has been highlighting the need to support town centres for many years – we

• fed into the recession report on market towns that was produced by the former Commission for Rural Communities
• lobbied government on the spending of the Town Centre Fund
• published a report titled ‘Town Centre Comeback’ which aims to explore how independents and multiples can benefit one another on the high street.

The government seems to be taking note as two recent announcements signal support for small businesses and prosperous town centres.

Simplifying rules and regs for businesses

On 28 July 2011, Business Secretary, Vince Cable, announced a set of deregulatory proposals for the retail sector.

The aim?

To simplify, amend or abolish those regulations that are unnecessarily burdensome, overly bureaucratic or simply redundant.  The proposals include to:

• consolidate more than 12 pieces of overlapping consumer rights law with a single new piece of legislation.
• simplify regulations that retailers said were particularly burdensome, such as age verification on some restricted goods, and licensing for low-risk products such as fly spray and toilet cleaner.
• abolish symbolic cases of heavy-handed intervention, such as shops needing an alcohol licence to sell chocolate liqueurs.
• remove redundant legislation, such as the war-time Trading With The Enemy Act and its 98 linked regulations, and rules around the safety of pencils and prams will also be abolished

This package removes more than half the 257 pieces of retail legislation under consideration from the statute book, and simplifies or improves at least 34 of the remainder.

Read AMT’s reaction here

Local councils to retain portion of business rates

Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, has told MPs that, as from 2013, local councils will be granted more power over the taxes raised from businesses.

Currently business rates are set centrally – last year they generated around £19.6 billion in revenue.  This money is siphoned into a central pot and then redistributed across all councils. Under the new system, the business rates would still be set centrally, however, councils would be able to keep a chunk of the business rates generated in their area.

The fact that business rates are not to be set locally is welcomed by AMT.  Locally set rates could have been viewed as a source of ‘easy short-term income’ which would have failed businesses and potentially led to disaster for town centres.

Instead by retaining a proportion of the business rates, councils will have an incentive to explore ways to encourage business into their communities and drive economic development.

The government is still consulting on business rates – Local Government Resource Review: Proposals for Business Rates Retention – closing date for comments is 24 October 2011.

What next?

• Find out more and read the government’s proposals
• Join the debate in the AMT Forum: How can we save our town centres?

The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order Briefing

What is it?

Simply put, it details the set of exceptions with regards to the change of use of buildings and land.

The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 states that any change of use of a building or land requires planning permission.  The Use Classes Order is a piece of secondary legislation that details the exceptions to this Act. It defines the categories, or “classes” that building/land use fall within and where a change of use is permitted without planning permission (that is, where the impacts of the use are similar).

Planning permission is not required when both the present and proposed uses fall within the same class – for example a restaurant could change hands and still be used as a restaurant.

In addition it is possible to change use between some classes without having to submit a planning application – for example a restaurant could be changed into a shop without requiring planning permission.

• See more information on change of use at the Planning Portal here

What is the review seeking to achieve?

The government is currently undertaking a review of the Use Classes Order.  It wants to explore the scope for extending the freedoms available through this route, while ensuring that planning and land use impacts are properly taken into account.

Essentially it wants to encourage developers to bring redundant commercial premises back into use and at the same time help tackle the need for more housing.

The government is proposing action on three fronts:

• To provide for the change from commercial (B use classes) to residential (C3 use class) without the need to apply for planning permission. This responds to the recognised and urgent need to increase housing supply at a national level and recognises the fact that, in general, housing is likely to have fewer wider land-use impacts than commercial uses. Proposals are set out in this consultation document.

• A call to local communities and local authorities to use imaginatively the powers they already have to relax planning constraints locally to target local issues, encourage development, support local economic strategies and make best use of existing properties.

• To remove unnecessary barriers to change of use through a wider review of how change of use and permitted development is managed within the planning system. This will include consideration of how the system could be liberalised in ways other than to promote housing supply.

Issues for small and market towns

The review has particular implications for small towns. Where planning permission is required, the impacts of the change of use are assessed and people locally impacted by that development have the right to voice their support or concerns.

However, those changes of use detailed as exempt from requiring planning permission can take place without consultation or regulation. The government review could result in more changes of use being exempt. The sorts of impacts this might have include:

• Issues of noise as different uses have different noise impacts
• Issues around access and parking where developers would be no longer required to prepare a travel statement or assessment
• Lack of access to basic local amenities where for example a shop or post office could change to a private dwelling

This last point is particularly relevant in many small towns, where local amenities are already under threat. Communities would have little ability to have a say in whether they wanted to retain a shop or service that they valued in their town.

It will be interesting to discover how Neighbourhood Plans, Neighbourhood Development Orders and the Community Right to Buy link into the amended Use Classes Order.

On a positive note, the review could be beneficial in terms of enabling shops that have sat empty for months or years to find a new purpose which would bring them back into use.

The Campaign for Neighbourhood Heroes

AMT is supporting the Living Streets Neighbourhood Heroes Campaign.  It says that too many people can’t get to local shops and services such as libraries, schools, shops selling fresh food, post offices, GPs, banks and community pubs on foot.

New YouGov research commissioned by Living Streets reveals that more than a quarter (28%) of British adults feel isolated, or have a friend or loved one who feels isolated, because of a lack of access to essential shops and services within walking distance.

Where former local services have changed use, this has often caused other problems. Living Streets’ YouGov research suggests that over half of UK adults have seen an increase in fast food outlets on their nearest high street since moving to the area. Nearly a third reported an increase in betting shops.

Yet people aren’t happy with loopholes such as the fact that a bank can change to a betting shop without planning permission – 81% think that communities should have a say when the use of a building is changed.

The campaign is calling on the government to give councils and communities a voice when essential shops and services are under threat from unwanted changes of use, and for national planning policy to ensure that new housing is located within reasonable walking distance of essential shops and services.

In particular a call to:

• Give communities more power to safeguard local shops and services under threat - as well as tackling the housing crisis, this review should give local communities more power, not less, to keep their essential local shops and services within walking distance. The forthcoming Localism Bill proposes new ‘community rights’ to buy, to build and to challenge – but no right to protect local shops and services by having a fair say through the planning system.

• Safeguard the neighbourhoods of future generations today – by recognising the value of walking-friendly neighbourhoods and state that new residential developments should have access to local shops and services within walking distance.

What next?

To pledge your support, help spread the word, or write to your MP or MSP to find out what else you can do to help, visit the campaign page here {opens new window}

Away from the headline-grabbing scandals, something is happening that could have at least as great an impact on our everyday lives. It is happening slowly and relentlessly, and it is changing the look and feel of the places we live in.

At the end of June another wave of retailers went into administration. Womenswear chain Jane Norman closed 33 stores, with others at risk; Habitat, once the favoured furnishers of middle-class homes, called in the administrators on 24 June; at the other end of the market, discount department store T J Hughes is on the rocks.

The impact of these and previous closures has not gone unnoticed. The government has commissioned Mary Portas,  TV’s ‘Mary Queen of Shops’, to examine what is going wrong on our high streets and how they can be rescued. Her review is expected to report in the autumn.

The good news is that the review won’t just look at how to make over failing shops, but is considering the future of our town centres at a deeper level. To inform and encourage that process Urban Pollinators convened a group of leading thinkers and doers to craft a joint submission to the review.

The thinkers and doers

The organisations working with us were Action for Market Towns, the Empty Shops Network, Incredible Edible Todmorden, Meanwhile Space CIC, MyCard, Research 00:/, Res Publica and Wigan Plus.

The aim was to show how our town, city and neighbourhood centres can once again become enjoyable, exciting places to use. They need to be multifunctional social centres, not simply competitors for stretched consumers.

They must offer opportunities and experiences that do not exist elsewhere, are rooted in the interests and needs of local people, and will meet the demands of a rapidly changing world.

Sharing information

The submission also looks at how collecting and sharing information can help town centre animators compare their performance, building on the approach developed through Action for Market Towns’ benchmarking scheme to create a dynamic learning process where ideas are shared not just within localities but between them.

Local loyalty schemes, such as My Card and WiganPlus, can be an important part of this process.

What next?

• Download the results of our joint efforts here: ‘Towards the 21st century agora‘ {opens pdf}
• Read about the High Street Review on the Mary Portas website
• Discuss how we can save our town centres in the AMT Forum

Lead organisation: Longridge Social Enterprise Company (LSEC)

Longridge Station is a Victorian railway station, which has been recently restored to provide a community facility to serve the residents of Longridge and visitors to the town. Longridge Station is a cafe, heritage and business centre, as well as a focus for information about the local area.

Longridge Station was commended in the Business and Economy category of the North Action for Market Towns Awards.

AMT Members can view the full case study here.

Barnard Castle Vibrant Retail Heart, Barnard Castle, County Durham

Lead organisation: Barnard Castle Vision

Barnard Castle’s shop vacancy rate dropped from around 19% in 2007 to 5% in late 2010 thanks in part to Barnard Castle Vision’s shop improvement grants, which were introduced to conserve and restore frontages.

The grant scheme, launched in 2009, was extended for the 2010-11 financial year to include repairs. A second grant was launched to assist with remodelling empty shops with a new tenant ready.

Barnard Castle Vibrant Retail Heart was commended in the Environment and Culture category of the North Action for Market Towns Awards.

AMT Members can view the full case study here.

Cockermouth Heritage Shop Fronts Scheme, Cockermouth, Cumbria

Lead Organisation: Cockermouth & District Chamber of Trade

In November 2009, Cockermouth was hit by floods. The key thoroughfares of Main Street and Market Place were particularly badly affected.

Locals seized on this as an opportunity to restore many of the town’s lost historic features. A regeneration team that would openly develop ideas that would feed into the reconstruction work was established within two weeks of the flood.

Cockermouth Heritage Shop Fronts Scheme was commended in the Environment and Culture category of the North Action for Market Towns Awards.

AMT Members can view the full case study here.

Egremont Rugby Union Football Club, Egremont, Cumbria

Lead applicant: Egremont Rugby Union Football Club

Egremont Rugby Union Football Club rebuilt their club facilities after a flood in 2009 and included a training and conference room to increase community use.

The new facilities provide the opportunity for local people to gain new skills and qualifications, which will better equip young adults for their future working lives. The new conference room will provide revenue for the club to expand its activities within the community.

Egremont Rugby Union Football Club was commended in the Social and Community category of the North Action for Market Towns Awards

AMT Members can view the full case study here.

Coldstones Cut, Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire

Lead Organisation: Nidderdale Plus Partnership

Coldstones Cut by Andrew Sabin is public art on a monumental scale – the result of an innovative partnership between Nidderdale Plus Partnership, private business and a local arts charity.

Completed in 2010, the project aims to benefit the community as a tourist attraction and source of local recreation, education and pride.

Coldstones Cut was commended in the Environment and Culture category of the North Action for Market Towns Awards.

AMT Members can view the full case study here.

Driffield Station Gardens Project, Driffield, East Riding of Yorkshire

Lead Organisation: Driffield Partnership

One of the main gateways into Driffield was highlighted in a public consultation as an area of poor environmental quality.

This project has transformed the space into a community garden used by residents and visitors alike to meet, picnic or wait for public transport. It has reconnected the railway station to the high street.

Driffield Station Gardens Project was commended in the Environment and Culture category of the North Action for Market Towns Awards.

AMT Members can view the full case study here.

Cheviot Centre, Wooler, Northumberland

Lead organisation: Glendale Gateway Trust

The Glendale Gateway Trust has developed this capital project by securing Market Town Welcome funding for a complete re-fit and relocation of the Tourist Information Centre within its community centre.

This is paving the way for a phased project that includes the relocation of the towns library, joint service delivery and a sensory garden that will bring the building towards a sustainable future

Cheviot Centre was commended in the Partnership and Strategic Working category of the North Action for Market Towns Awards.

AMT Members can view the full case study here.

Seahouses Townscape Project, Northumberland

Lead organisation: Seahouses Development Trust

The townscape project is working to improve the public realm of Seahouses for local people and visitors to the town.

The development trust has brought together statutory agencies and local community organisations to develop a “design guide” for the town and then carry out a range of temporary and permanent improvements.

Seahouses Townscape Project was commended in the Partnership and Strategic Working category of the North Action for Market Towns Awards.

AMT Members can view the full case study here.

Amble GPX, Amble, Northumberland

Lead organisation: Amble Development Trust

Amble Development Trust working with local young people has developed a computer-based geo-location which takes the players away from their keyboard to various locations within the town. Businesses have backed the game by offering players incentives, such as discounted good.

The game is intended to develop and enhance speaking and listening skills in young people and has offered them work experience in journalism, tourism, marketing and IT development.

Amble Development Trust was commended in the Social and Community category of the North Action for Market Towns Awards.

AMT members can view the full case study here.

Phoenix Festibition (Youth Arts & Music Project), Haltwhistle, Northumberland

Lead Organisation: Haltwhistle Partnership Ltd

An arts and music project was the key to engaging local young people in their community.

With funding from Northumberland Uplands Leader Group, the young people were able to drive the Festibition (festival+exhibition) – managing budgets, organising events, doing risk assessments, and negotiating with local venues.  Local schools, young farmers and the youth club all had a say on the final programme.

Phoenix Festibition (Youth Arts & Music Project) was commended in the Social and Community category of the North Action for Market Towns Awards.

AMT members can view the full case study here.

What next?

Find out more about the Action for Market Towns Awards 2011

Town benchmarking is a powerful tool for analysing how your town is performing, and comparing it to towns nationwide.

Action for Market Towns’ consultancy organisation amt-i {external link} can offer advice and support for towns wishing to undertake the benchmarking process.

In Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, benchmarking surveys involving local businesses, visitors and community groups pointed to the need to improve the appearance of the town and its brand and image, give better access to arts and culture, and develop and promote the diversity of retail mix in the town centre.

This led directly to the Empty Shop Scheme – a project to improve the look of vacant shops within the town centre. With a difficult economic climate, and rising vacant unit rate, many of the town centre’s vacant units had been empty for 12 months or more, and were located predominantly in low footfall areas.

This was in turn impacting economically upon other businesses within the area, and also upon the perception of the town’s prosperity, both in terms of visitors and inward investment.

From empty shops to art galleries

A core group of local artists and craft workshops devised the Melton Arts and Crafts Trail. Partnership working
with Melton Borough Council, and local property agents saw six long-term vacant units in low footfall areas transformed into
vibrant art galleries over a six-week period.

A trail leaflet, posters and window stickers were produced for each unit, to encourage visitors to follow the full trail, and maximise visitor/pedestrian flow to all. Twenty-one artists participated in the scheme, including a sculptress, woodturner, and pottery club, which attracted great local and regional media interest.

Melton Empty Shops Scheme won the Partnership and Strategic Working category of the East Midlands Market Towns Awards.

What next?

• Join Action for Market Towns for access to our valuable database of case studies (including a detailed study of this Award-winning project and contacts), policy and practice research, and much more (AMT members read full case study here)
• Find out more about the Action for Market Towns Awards
• Find out how other towns are tackling empty shops in the AMT Forum