Policy Liaison Group launches its campaign for Boosting Britain’s High Streets; publishes its preliminary report on producing high streets fit for the 21st century
Members of Parliament and industry leaders have come together to launch a new campaign aimed at putting the future of British high streets on top of the political agenda.
The campaign, titled ‘Boosting Britain’s High Streets’, focuses on how more holistic high street policymaking can create better places, generate inclusive growth and secure improved life outcomes.
The launch of the campaign, held in Parliament on Wednesday 15 October, was attended by MPs Lauren Edwards (Rochester & Strood), Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead),, Bambos Charalambous (Southgate and Wood Green), Patrick Hurley (Southport), and Mark Ferguson (Gateshead). Also in attendance were representatives from: Legal & General, British Association of Removers, Lime, tp bennett, Landsec, British Land, and Comm Comm UK.
Lauren Edwards MP, who chaired last night’s launch, said:
“This campaign marks a new approach to high street policymaking. For too long, our high streets have been seen as economic vehicles and not, as they should be, as the epicentres of our communities.
“Today, we have brought together MPs from all over the country, from Kent to the North West, the West Midlands and Dorset, and prominent figures from across the private sector, to say with one voice that boosting our high streets is vital, if we are to see inclusive growth across the country. People care about their high streets: let us let them be great.”
Accompanying the event, the Policy Liaison Group for Housing Delivery and Growth launched its preliminary report Evolution, not Nostalgia: High Streets for the 21st Century. The report challenges the narrative of the ‘dying high street’, calls for communities and authorities to embrace evolution, not nostalgia and proposes a more horizontal approach to partnerships between communities, local authorities and the private sector. secretariat@plghousing.org
The report, with a foreword from Lauren Edwards MP, Member of Parliament for Rochester & Strood, includes essays from:
● Mark Robinson, chair of the government’s previous High Streets Task Force (HSTF), now chair of Hartlepool Development Corporation
● Diane Cunningham, founder of The Assembly Line and expert on the HSTF
● Graham Soult, retail consultant and expert on the HSTF
● The Policy Liaison Group for Housing Delivery & Growth
Key extracts from the Evolution, not Nostalgia report include:
Mark Robinson: “The case for investing in our high streets through a sustainability lens is founded on accessibility. Places that promote active travel and have adequate public transport reduce CO2 emissions and encourage healthy lifestyles.”
Diane Cunningham: “Mechanisms to enable ‘curation’ of the high street offer would help bring change. This must be aligned to local data, such as income, households, footfall patterns, to help prevent too much of the same thing.”
Graham Soult: “We improve high streets not by seeing them as something broken that needs “saving”, but as something we can boost by doing more of what we know already works. And, happily, there is lots of inspiration we can take from the tireless, creative and passionate people on the ground who are even now driving the high street’s reinvention.”
“We’re proud to support Fellows of the Institute of Place Management in contributing to this report. Their input reflects the Institute’s commitment to research-led, place-based thinking. It’s a timely and thoughtful addition to the sector’s evolving understanding of place, identity, and inclusive regeneration,” said Professor Steve Millington.
To download the full report, please click here.
Media contact: laurie.wilcockson@collegegreengroup.com
Notes to Editors
The Policy Liaison Group for Housing Delivery & Growth brings together policymakers, industry leaders, and experts to tackle the housing crisis, unlock infrastructure-led development, and drive sustainable growth across Britain’s communities.
More details can be found here:
https://plghousing.org/campaigns/boosting-britains-high-streets/
About the author
Formed in 2006, the Institute of Place Management is the international professional body that supports people committed to developing, managing and making places better.