ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has welcomed the recommendations of the High Street Report, published this morning (Thursday) by the Expert Panel on High Streets.
The panel, chaired by Sir John Timpson, was appointed in July to diagnose the issues that negatively affect high streets and advise on the best practical measures to help them succeed. The High Street Report makes a series of recommendations which the panel believes will benefit high streets, including on the role of the High Streets Taskforce, how to allocate the £675m Future High Street Fund announced in the Budget in October and how to facilitate better data sharing between businesses trading in town centres and high streets.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “This report provides a framework for more successful, diverse high streets, driven by collaboration and targeted funding. We welcome the findings of the report, and look forward to continuing our work with the Government through the Retail Sector Council and Future High Streets Forum to help high streets and town centres thrive.”
ACS’ Community Barometer survey shows that among the public, the three services that people want more of in their local area are specialist food shops, banks and post offices. The services that are seen to have the most positive impact on a local area are post offices, convenience stores and pharmacies.
The High Street Report also makes short term recommendations for high streets which could act as short term solutions for areas that are struggling. These include:
- The creation of a National High Street Perfect Day – one day in the year where every shopping street looks the best it possibly can.
- Local authorities should encourage landlords and tenants to think innovatively about how to use empty properties, including special terms provided to community businesses that could fill the space.
- Local authorities should review their parking provision to ensure that the existing restrictions and charges are working to attract people to town centres and high streets
The full High Street Report is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-high-street-report
