Institute of Place Management – Written evidence (HSC0020)

Evidence submission authors

Dr Chloe Steadman, Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Researcher, Institute of Place Management, Manchester Metropolitan University

Professor Cathy Parker MBE, Professor of Marketing and Retail Enterprise and Chair of Institute of Place Management, Manchester Metropolitan University

Professor Steve Millington, Professor of Place Management and Director, Institute of Place Management, Manchester Metropolitan University

Dr Nikos Ntounis, Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Senior Research Associate, Institute of Place Management, Manchester Metropolitan University

Matt Colledge, Executive Director, High Streets Task Force

Iain Nicholson, Strategic Development Lead, Institute of Place Management, Manchester Metropolitan University, and Founder of The Vacant Shops Academy

Dr Michael Sewell, Research Associate, Institute of Place Management, Manchester Metropolitan University

Joe Barratt, Fellow, Institute of Place Management, Manchester Metropolitan University.

Executive summary

This evidence has been submitted by the Institute of Place Management[1] (IPM) at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), which is the professional body and learned society for supporting people to make places better. The IPM represents professional place managers and leaders in local authorities, Business Improvement Districts, and other place partnerships, as well as consultants, academics, and policymakers. We publish the Journal of Place Management and Development (an international, peer-reviewed journal), and deliver postgraduate courses, CPD and training at MMU, including an MSc in Place Management and Leadership. IPM staff have been conducting research into high street and town centre change for almost 30 years and are the lead partners of the national High Streets Task Force[2] (HSTF) which aims to revitalise England’s high streets through boosting local authority capacity, building placemaking skills, coordinating positive messages about the high street, and encouraging the sharing and use of evidence and data in decision-making.

In this submission, the IPM respond to all 11 inquiry questions by drawing on a range of evidence from IPM projects, including High Street UK 2020 (HSUK2020), Bringing Big Data to Small Users (BDSU), High Street 2030, Vital and Viable Neighbourhoods, High Street Viability, Partnerships Study, Place Leadership Study, and the High Streets Task Force (HSTF). In addition, the response draws on evidence from a range of other high streets projects from other place-focused organisations and scholars working on this topic. We conclude our response by offering recommendations for further supporting high streets.

In summary, the evidence presented below tells us the following about high streets:

-          A useful and current way of classifying the purpose of centres is through their usage patterns and town centres can be categorised into four distinct ‘footfall signatures’: Comparison, Holiday, Speciality, and Multifunctional.
 

-          To be resilient and adaptable to structural and consumer changes, high streets need to move beyond a monofunctional focus on retail and become more multifunctional.
 

-          Collaborative, multi-sectoral place partnerships are key to sustaining high streets, but 40% of high streets studied by the HSTF lack effective partnership structures.

-          Many high streets and town centres lack effective place leadership due to a lack of skills and local capacity for change.
 

-          HSTF has had a range of direct positive impacts on the 140 places supported to date; but there are also barriers to transformation identified which need addressing, such as a lack of partnerships, long-term visions, and place activation.
 

-          A national deficit of professional place management skills and structures threatens the UK’s ability to regenerate and sustain its high streets in the long-term.

Based on these findings, the following recommendations are discussed in the conclusions:

1. More direct support required for the establishment of place-based partnerships.
2. An expansion of the Government’s High Street Accelerators Programme which is incentivising and supporting towns to establish place partnerships with compelling local visions and effective delivery plans.
3. A boost to place leadership skills and capacity through training, qualifications, and the championing of these roles by national and local government.

4. There is a need for ongoing support for places on a longer-term basis, in particular an independent ‘critical friend’ to support complex projects and decision making, and to support the convening of councils, community groups, and businesses.

1. How do you define a high street in a town or small city and what is its purpose?

1.1. Whilst 'high street' is used extensively to signify the commercial and spatial heart of towns and cities, there is no common definition of the term. There are over 3,000 roads called High Street in the UK[3] and, whilst many of these will still be home to a concentration of shops and services, many will not, as the centres of gravity of towns and cities change over time. The Office for National Statistics define a high street as one that has a cluster of 15 or more retail addresses within 150 meters of each other[4], and this method identifies 7,000 high streets in the UK. However, this results in a highly fragmented geography, with even a small town likely to have six or more high streets in its centre. 

1.2. At the IPM (and in our role as lead for the High Streets Task Force), we prefer to use the concept of a 'centre' as the main concentration of attractions in a neighbourhood/district, town or city, including shops, services, market square, town hall etc. There are different ways to produce centre boundaries and we use those produced by the Consumer Data Research Centre. These were created in 2015 as centroid locations taken from those defined as part of the DCLG State of the Cities Report in 2005. Based on this definition, there are 2,449 centres in England (see Figure 1[5]).

Figure 1. Town centres by size in England

1.3. In IPM’s BDSU project, we worked with researchers at Cardiff University using hourly footfall data provided by MRI OnLocation, to understand the purpose of high streets (or centres)[6]. We used K-Means clustering with 10-years+ of footfall data from over 100 centres as a way of classifying them by comparing how footfall volumes vary over the year. This is a useful way of identifying the dominant function of a town. Unlike traditional methods of classifying towns, which are based on their offer, footfall signatures are derived from patterns of usage. This makes them very current and can help place managers and leaders identify how a town or city may be changing. Although each town will have its own unique pattern of usage, we have identified four distinct footfall ‘signature’ types (see Figure 2[7]):

1.3.1. Comparison towns are the more traditional shopping centres, typically located in larger town and city centres. They are characterised by a footfall peak in December, coinciding with the Christmas preparation period. People visit predominantly to shop and often travel a distance to visit. These centres have a wide range of retail choice, leisure, food and beverage, as well as strong retail anchor(s), multiples and international brands.

1.3.2. Holiday towns are visited mainly by tourists for a holiday or ‘day out’. They do not ordinarily concentrate on serving the local catchment, instead focusing on providing entertainment and leisure for visitors that usually travel some distance to visit. They are busiest in the summer and when the weather is good. They are attractive to tourists but have relatively weak comparison offer, hence are very quiet during the winter months.

1.3.3. Speciality towns attract tourists but also serve the local population. They are busiest in summer, but also show a (smaller) second footfall peak in December, indicating a ‘hybrid’ type between holiday and comparison towns. They have non-retail anchors (e.g. heritage and culture) which promote a unique town identity. They are also popular in the run-up to Christmas for a day out or short break that combines leisure with some gift shopping.

1.3.4. Multifunctional towns are a diverse group and serve a variety of everyday needs, such as convenience shopping, leisure, and employment. They are characterised by a flat footfall profile throughout the year. Footfall volumes are indicative of their catchment areas, with large multifunctional centres (cities) drawing people from a wider area than small multifunctional centres (towns), serving a local catchment. Larger multifunctional towns may drive regional economies or are important for serving a well-defined hinterland. They have anchors like professional services, universities, or major transport hubs.

Figure 2. The four footfall ‘signature’ types

2. What should be included on high streets to meet the needs of the whole community?

2.1. Town types are helpful when considering high street offer, as a one-size-fits-all approach is ineffective and greater alignment to a town’s ‘signature’ results in healthier footfall[8] levels. IPM’s BDSU research found ‘holiday towns’ often underserve local communities[9], as the focus is usually on an entertainment and leisure offer to create an attractive experience for tourists, rather than providing essential retail and services for the local community all year-round. Newquay is a holiday town historically focusing too heavily on tourist provision, with the Newquay Town Team now actively devising solutions to this issue[10]. In contrast, ‘multifunctional towns’ have a strength in providing convenience retail[11] for the local community. They therefore became people’s lifeline during the Covid-19 pandemic[12] and data suggests the footfall of these usually smaller centres has actually been more resilient to Covid-19 than larger cities[13], indicating the need to align offer to the local catchment.

2.2. To be more resilient, high streets need to shift from a monofunctional focus on retail provision towards multifunctionality by offering “...leisure and recreation, employment, tourism, heritage, culture, housing, employment, education, health and wellbeing, as well as retail”[14]. Grimsey likewise explains how high streets should adapt to become experiential community hubs to better meet consumers’ desires for experiences over ‘stuff’, whereby the pandemic “paved the way for a post retail landscape to emerge”[15]. The IPM’s HSUK2020 project identified the ‘25 priorities’[16] under local control most impacting the vitality and viability of high streets and diversity is one of these. High streets can be benchmarked against this framework to ensure they include everything needed to be vital and viable.

2.3. Finally, it is important to draw on data and evidence when considering high street offer,[17], including collecting the views of diverse groups. Young people are often missing from discussions about the future high street and Commonplace[18] suggests online tools are one effective means of capturing young people’s voices. IPM’s High Street 2030 project[19] also identified the Teenage Market franchise as a useful example of giving young people an opportunity to trade on high streets with lower barriers to entry, fostering social interactions, and offering a more inclusive and intergenerational high street experience.

3. What are obstacles to bringing underused property on the high street back into use?

3.1. There are a range of practical obstacles to repurposing vacant properties, including the location, size, layout, condition, and cost of letting units due to business rates and letting agent fees. Units in ‘less prime’ locations may be harder to let and they may be the wrong size for current demand. Empty department stores are particularly challenging to convert due to their large size and multi-level layout[20]. As of August 2023, Geolytix reports 63.5% of Debenhams stores remain empty, with 23% occupied by other retailers, 4% repurposed for leisure, and 9.5% converted for other uses such as housing[21]. There can be additional obstacles to bringing upper-level floors back to life if the occupier is only interested in using the ground floor and unwilling to take on the costs and potential liabilities of other floors[22].

3.2. A key barrier to filling vacant properties is lack of partnership working. Experience from The Vacant Shops Academy suggests places tackle vacancy most quickly and sustainably and improve the mix of uses when agents, landlords, businesses, community groups, councils, and BIDs work together. Landlords can often be distanced from the high streets on which they have property[23] and difficult to engage. Research by The Vacant Shops Academy also finds on average 40% of vacant units do not have a commercial lettings agent involved, making it harder for would-be occupiers to find necessary details to move in. Especially in locations, or for units sizes, where rents are low, issues around remuneration for agents can also diminish the effort they are incentivised to put in to help repurpose empty units[24].

3.3. The government has introduced a High Street Rental Auctions power to address vacancies and disengaged property owners by allowing local authorities to ‘force’ landlords of long-term empty units to rent them out. IPM advises these powers should be considered in the wider context of why vacant properties exist, in light of a place’s long-term vision, and that partnership working is vital to tackling vacancies through creating landlord forums to engage property owners[25]. Altrincham in Greater Manchester tackled long-term issues with high vacancy by creating a Landlord Forum in 2013 to encourage partnership working and share best practice. Alongside creating a register of empty properties, centralised enquiry system, and an investment pack to help property owners and agents to attract new businesses[26]. Brokerage services are important in matching vacant spaces with potential businesses who can reinvigorate high streets through ‘meanwhile uses’[27]. The Landlord Forum helped to reduce vacancy rates in Altrincham from 30% in 2010 to 8% in 2017[28].
 

4. Who is involved in ensuring a thriving local high street and does the current structure of Government support facilitate those groups in working together?

4.1. In 40%[29] of places studied by the HSTF, lack of partnerships and capacity is the key barrier to change[30]. Many appear reliant on external funding to drive change, when they might focus on building the collaborative capacity needed to manage the everyday operation of high streets. What is clear, is that collaborative, multi-sectoral partnerships are key to sustaining high streets. No one group can do it by themselves. The public, private, and community sector need to work together, but too many places lack leadership or are stuck in a dysfunctional model where challenges and issues are met with apathy[31].

4.2. IPM research frequently identifies the importance of partnerships and draws on a collaborative engaged scholarship approach where academics work in partnership with place practitioners and policy makers to make real-world change in high streets[32]. Sir John Timpson’s 2018 The High Street Report[33] highlights how “inspirational local leaders working in partnership with all sections of their community have put the buzz back into their town centres, reducing the number of empty shops and increasing footfall”. This report uses evidence collated by the IPM[34] which demonstrates the impact of different models of partnership in six locations, showing how collaboration makes a difference. As noted earlier, the HSUK2020 project[35] identified the ‘25 priorities’ impacting high street vitality and viability, with networks and place management top priorities. The IPM has since worked with dozens of places through the Vital and Viable Programme[36], including Manchester City Council, Stockport Metropolitan Council, East Lindsey, Salisbury, and Warwickshire County Council. In each location, local government has sought IPM guidance about the formation of place partnerships. For instance, Withington in Manchester is recognised as good practice by Interreg EU[37], as better communication and coordination amongst local stakeholders, including the local authority, led to increased footfall, new business formation, activation of vacant units, new events, reputational improvement, and a successful external funding bid.

4.3. This grounded experience informs the IPM’s leadership of the High Streets Task Force for England, where a key focus is on boosting partnerships and local capacity. The attempt to coordinate a national approach to local partnership development has been acknowledged as a highly innovative approach and has attracted international recognition, for example, from the Georgetown Institute (Washington, USA)[38]. One example is the Task Force’s Placemaking Programme (PMP)[39] designed to coalesce and enthuse local stakeholders into action. Delivered in 32 places and attended by over 800 stakeholders (with a satisfaction rate of 94%), the learning from these workshops demonstrates ways local government can support collaboration and identify new opportunities for partnership working (e.g. removing bureaucratic hurdles, creating clear protocols, or improving communication), and facilitate rapid improvements to encourage footfall and place activation. For example, following a PMP workshop, Grimsby created the Grimsby 2025[40] group- a business-led community interest company which leads improvements to town centre appearance, added centre management capacity, and improved the town’s reputation. A key challenge for local government is to know when to step back and allow others to take on greater responsibility for managing and maintaining the high street, as partnerships develop and mature.

4.4. Finally, the High Street Accelerators (HSA) Pilots[41] and Long Term Plan for Towns[42] signal a welcomed change in approach to how regeneration is done by integrating capital funding, partnership development, and place activation. A significant portion of the £20m endowment for each Long Term Plan location can be used as revenue funding, allowing places to invest in people and place activation to deliver change. This approach recognises that local capital investment and infrastructure is vital, but they will not create change alone. Support is needed to help establish a genuinely place-centric partnership, particularly where there is no pre-existing place-based capacity such as a BID. This is the purpose of the HSA Pilot, with 10 established in 2023 “to create partnerships that empower residents and community organisations to work together on long-term regeneration plans”[43]. Although welcomed by IPM, only 75 places are included in the programme, and there is currently limited guidance available to help them develop diverse and effective partnerships. Our research has revealed that over 90% of Town Boards are currently chaired by men[44]. From our extensive experience, partnerships need access to research, training, learning, and standards to ensure they are effective. IPM works with a group of around 70 Business Improvement Districts (The BID Foundation) undertaking research, producing collective thought leadership, and identifying industry improvements. 57% of BID Foundation CEOs are female. BIDs have proven to be an effective mechanism to manage centres, but they benefit from being part of a professional network to evolve their practice and set/assess standards[45]. The type of partnership and leadership skills required to sustain high streets, however, remains lacking and more work is required to boost local capacity and professionalise the sector[46].

5. What role does the planning process have in determining the success or failure of the high street locally and is it fully able to address the challenges high streets face?

5.1. Evidence from the High Streets Task Force demonstrates many local authorities, if relying on planning alone, will not mobilise the capacity and expertise needed to ensure the success of their centres[47]. As lead of the HSTF, IPM runs a network of over 150 Task Force Experts/Mentors/Facilitators prescribed in situations where additional expertise or capacity is needed to unlock the strategic potential of a high street/town centre, and when solutions to complex problems cannot be provided ‘in house’ or through existing consultancy services (e.g. masterplanning, capacity planning, economic studies). We developed this network in partnership with the Royal Town Planning Institute and other professional bodies[48]. We have together defined the role of the planning process in high street success/regeneration, as well as the role of place management and leadership (see below). In the 150 high streets supported by the HSTF, place management has been more instrumental in determining the success or failure of the high street. Place management and leadership are foundational skills which places have to draw on and which have a critical impact on the quality of local engagement and planning processes. More than 70% of experts prescribed through HSTF are to help with strengthening local leadership and governance. Planning is an established profession and there are statutory expectations on local government to 'plan'. But ongoing support with the evolution and curation of high streets is a place management role:

The role of planning involves:

• Town centre planning for commercial and mixed use, retail and residential
• Town centres and primary shopping area designation and review
• Planning for heritage and conservation/historic environment
• Planning for leisure, tourism, art and culture
• Urban regeneration, urban design, and placemaking 
• Development and regeneration frameworks, including masterplanning 
• Transport and infrastructure planning and management
• Participatory planning
• Modelling/visualisation of visions and plans
• Environmental planning and sustainability.

The role of place management involves:

• Place leadership and visioning
• Place marketing and branding
• Stakeholder engagement, communication, management, and conflict resolution
• Governance and place management partnership structures (inc. BIDs)
• Place activation (events, festivals, arts and culture, markets, pop-ups)
• Place analytics and dashboards (integrating and sharing sources of data)
• Place-based approaches to societal challenges (e.g. homelessness)
• Identifying local priorities for improving vitality and viability
• Identifying and communicating complex trends and factors affecting centres.

The IPM is working with place managers and leaders towards a parity of esteem and resource with colleagues in the planning profession. Both roles are vital and without effective place management, the best visions, masterplans and schemes will be let down either in conception or in their post-delivery life in the ‘messy’ and contested high street environment. IPM has established a Theory of Change to guide its work which seeks to
“trust towns and city centres in the UK to work in professional, inclusive, and resourced, multi-sectoral place partnerships, led by inspirational place leaders”.

6. What has been the impact of national level planning policies regarding high streets in the last five years and are any changes required?

6.1. National planning guidance[49] asks local authorities to "define a network and hierarchy of town centres and promote their long-term vitality and viability", and makes a distinction between town centres, edge-of-town, and out-of-town locations. In practice, because the vitality and viability of town centres is impacted by edge-of-town and out-of-town development[50], national networks and hierarchies tend to include all retail centres (e.g. Javelin Group’s Venuescore), and local authorities rely heavily on these in their plans for the local network of centres. Our experience suggests, whilst it is important to understand the network as a whole, strategic planning is then focussed on the network of centres, assuming a high degree of mobility across the catchment, rather than planning policies and decisions that "support the role that town centres play at the heart of local communities"[51]. Traditional town centres serve a much larger resident population than retail centres, but there is currently no explicit need for local authorities to understand the local community the town centre serves and to ensure retail centres do not become de facto town centres.

6.2. Furthermore, the role of local decision making has been undermined by the introduction of Permitted Development Rights (PDRs). The consensus of IPM and its membership, as outlined in IPM’s response to the parliamentary PDR inquiry[52], is that local authority oversight and coordination is required where conversion from commercial to residential in town centres is proposed. Retail uses are likely to further contract in the years to come, and conversion from retail to other commercial or community uses will become more commonplace in town centres. However, conversion to residential uses at ground level can fragment town centres and reduce walkability, which is a fundamental component of high street vitality and viability[53]. It is very important that towns can concentrate their attractions (agglomeration) into a core, so that they are pleasant and convenient to users. PDRs, on the other hand, put the definition and maintenance of a town centre ‘core’ at risk.

7. What should be done to ensure that high streets being redeveloped now are structurally and financially resilient for future societal changes?

7.1. IPM’s research on footfall has evidenced how high streets that serve their localities and incorporate a multiple-use offering can be more resilient, even to the most acute shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic[54]. A high number of archetypal retail high streets have now shifted to new multifunctional and speciality models that serve local communities and attract tourists and day visitors[55]. Additionally, the adoption of an activity hierarchy based on movement patterns might be more useful for planners and decision makers dealing with place attractiveness and planning decisions[56], allowing them to maintain flexibility within the built environment, for example promoting temporary uses (e.g. pop-up retailing) and longer-term adaptations (e.g. mixed-use spaces) as part of wider visions and strategies[57]. 

7.2. Furthermore, putting in place the “necessary economic incentives and institutional arrangements that will secure appropriate planning and governance of the high street”[58] is of great importance in ensuring structural and financial resilience. Many places (40% of HSTF locations) lack the necessary local capacity and partnership structures to unlock progress and make most of any available funding[59]. Since 2004, UK BIDs have invested over £1bn of levy into their BID areas and section 106 contributions are enabling the delivery of new placemaking projects; however, a greater range of local funding sources is needed to enable places to invest in activation and partnership building. The ‘restructuring’ facet of the IPMs ‘4Rs of Renewal’[60] highlights the importance of building capacity for place leadership and partnerships. Training place leaders is essential to overcoming barriers to effective place management[61], for instance through CPD and professional qualifications, such as the IPM’s postgraduate courses in Place Management and Leadership which helps upskill the sector[62]. 

7.3. Overall, to achieve structural and financial resilience relies on understanding the pathways to a vital and viable high street in the here-and-now via partnership working, and developing place-based agendas and visions that correspond to “immediate changes to future-proof the high street”[63]. This approach was beneficial during the COVID-19 pandemic, whereby BIDs worked with local councils to safeguard businesses and the built environment and made structural and financial resilience a part of their mission going forwards[64].
 

8. How can spatial planning, street design and layout help to drive greater footfall to high streets?

8.1. The IPM’s Vital and Viable Neighbourhoods project identified how a ‘community hub’ spatial layout can drive footfall to high streets. Harpurhey, a district centre in Manchester, recorded the highest footfall volumes across the five centres we studied in-depth during this research. For instance, data recorded for the week commencing 2nd December 2019 shows Harpurhey’s footfall count at around 50,000 movements was nearly twice as high as nearest contender Chorlton, at just over 25,000[65]. The centre experienced an average weekly footfall of around 65,000 movements[66], exceeding the other centres. This uplift is driven by spatially co-locating a number of key retailers and services together in one central location, including a major grocery retailer, traditional market, youth centre, education, leisure and health facilities. This creates synergies, enables linked trips, and meets local community needs.

8.2. As part of the High Streets Task Force’s provision of support, a number of locations have benefitted from specialist advice relating to design of the built environment from experts sourced from the Landscape Institute, which has benefitted these locations[67]. For example, in Withington (Manchester), a HSTF expert from the Landscape Institute proposed a scheme of works for the part-pedestrianisation of Copson Street to improve the centre experience for users. Since this proposal was delivered, Manchester City Council have announced that Withington will benefit from a share of £2.8m, sourced from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, to carry forwards these recommendations, which, it states, will “improve accessibility” and “create new opportunities for outdoor seating and a venue for street markets”, as advised by the HSTF expert. The support provided by the HSTF has, in this instance, been a catalyst for improved design of the high street through pedestrianisation to encourage new uses. 

9. Has the High Streets Taskforce been effective in providing support and expertise in high street recovery and what should this look like in the future?

9.1. By October 2023, the High Streets Task Force had visited 138 places, providing 2600 hours of local analysis, 210 days of expert support, 80 visioning and place making/leadership workshops, and compiled a range of over 850 online resources, achieving 225,000 website views. Over 90% of all local authorities in England have engaged with the HSTF and the Task Force has achieved an overall satisfaction rating of 92% from places engaged with[68]. Findings from the HSTF around the importance of partnership working has informed government thinking around effective place policy measures such as the Long Term Plan for Towns and High Streets Accelerator Pilot, with IPM supporting the Accelerators pilot[69]. The HSTF has successfully supported places to unblock issues preventing progress being made in those locations, with a select number of examples highlighting the wider work of the HSTF below:

9.2. Branding - In Barnsley, the HSTF identified a need for and provided specialist branding and communications support to tackle poor place perceptions. Footfall in the town has risen considerably as people further appreciate the strong local and national offer in the town, with footfall just 2% below pre-pandemic levels, stronger than the national gap of 10%[70].

9.3. Repurposing buildings - In Ipswich, HSTF Experts used their professional expertise to develop proposals for repurposing a redundant grain silo into a vibrant leisure and entertainment centre, which helps to address a blight impacting town centre appearance[71].

9.4. Building partnerships - In Ashton-in-Makerfield, HSTF involvement has resulted in the Ashton Innovation Board being established - a group that provides place leadership capacity through working in partnership with and across the community on improved shop frontages, events programmes, a new market square, walkability and accessibility enhancements[72]. In Whitechapel, the council followed HSTF recommendations and have achieved some key early successes, including a dedicated town centre manager, greater trust within the local community, increasing business-led marketing, coordination with police, better crime reporting, enhanced engagement with new businesses and community-council relations[73].

9.5. Crime - Following a HSTF Placemaking Workshop in Grimsby, which spurred action around measures to tackle crime, a new benchmark for collaboration was achieved in the town with the council, police, mental health and wellbeing organisations, the local academy trust and other support services launching the first of their ACTION days. Their focus is on reducing serious crime, improving feelings of safety, and supporting vulnerable groups[74].

9.6. Activation and place leadership - In Barnstaple, a range of support was provided to help activate the town and boost collaboration and place leadership, as highlighted by the Barnstaple Town Centre Manager, Hannah Harrington:

“We worked closely with the High Streets Task Force and found the Placemaking Programme hugely inspiring, highlighting the importance of small wins to activate Barnstaple. The resources and support around partnership working and collaboration has resulted in the membership of the existing Barnstaple Regeneration Board being expanded to become a representative and collaborative Place Board. Two new subgroups are also being established: a business group and a property/landlord group to tackle our key challenges. The research on Place Leadership by Local Authorities is informing thinking in our senior team”[75].

Furthermore, following a HSTF visit to Newquay and the provision of online resources such as a footfall dashboard and online resource library, the Newquay Town Team was established to boost place leadership and partnership working in the town[76]. The team have since created a new street market driving a 9% footfall boost on market days, in May 2023 recorded the highest footfall levels in the town since recording began, and have plans for 7 capital projects/100 smaller interventions[77]. Jennifer Dixon, Newquay Town Team, states[78]:

“Our experience of working with the High Streets Task Force has been inspirational, and has encouraged us to look at places through the perspective of footfall data. I would highly recommend that anyone involved in the transformation of urban centres takes a look at the Task Force online”.

9.7. Whilst the HSTF has disseminated good practice across the country, it has also identified a number of key structural challenges that, if not addressed, will inhibit positive change. For example, 37% of all locations engaged with in the HSTF lack reliable partnership structures that can own and take forward both strategic and tactical projects. 65% of locations are held back by a lack of a compelling vision that is shared by local people and businesses. And, in over 60% of locations, there is no evidence of high street activation measures[79].

9.8. As lead partner of the HSTF, it is our considered opinion that there is a need for ongoing support and expertise to be provided to places and, unlike the current Task Force, it should be over a longer time span to gain maximum leverage. Central to this is more direct support to establish place partnerships and ensure they are effective. There is a need to create the necessary place leadership skills and capacity to ensure a professional workforce is equipped and qualified to lead change within their places, as is further explained in the conclusions.

10. How can transport connectivity be improved to facilitate better access to high streets and town centres and how should this be funded?

10.1. As noted above, the IPM’s HSUK2020 project[80] identified the top ‘25 priorities’ impacting high street vitality and viability. The research was updated in 2020, with ‘accessibility’ upgraded from 16th to the 14th most impactful priority[81], demonstrating the importance of high streets being accessible via a range of transport modes, including car, bike, and public transport. During the IPM’s High Street 2030 project, workshops were conducted in five English towns/cities to discover how local stakeholders wanted their high streets to look by 2030, with improved accessibility a common theme. People in Holmfirth wanted to see improved accessibility via public transport and less car congestion to improve centre experience, Altrincham and Bristol wanted more environmentally-friendly public transport, and Bristol and Aldershot more integrated public transport planning[82]. Finally, Shrewsbury’s Big Town Plan[83] includes plans to improve movement in the centre by 2036 via traffic calming measures and improving the ease of walking, cycling and public transport, which could be considered a best practice example other places can draw inspiration from.

11. To what extent are the Government’s funding programmes to support high streets, such as the Town Deals and Future High Streets Fund, successful?

11.1. The Public Accounts Committee has recently revealed Levelling Up funding has met significant challenges in its delivery. Just over 10% of the funds have been spent as councils struggle to find capacity to spend the money[84]. Around £1.6 million was misspent through a lack of transparency in the funding process[85]. These processes to deliver funded schemes are often at the expense of daily high street activation through events, festivals, and markets, which can boost local pride and footfall[86]. Levelling up funding required Town Boards to be established; however, places with Town Boards were less likely to be activated than those without[87]. This is because they were not organically established; whereas, where cross sector stakeholders come together organically, places see more successful change[88]. Funding would be better applied to places where partnerships already exist and have organically formed.

11.2. However, there has been some funding success. For instance, Liscard received around £10 million in Levelling Up Funding and have used it effectively. This is because of the establishment of an organic partnership in the place which includes a range of stakeholders, which has helped focus the place on delivery of plans and activity on the high street[89].

11.3. For funding processes to work, the way funding is accessed by councils needs to be considered. For example, there could be the establishment of a single funding pot for local authorities allowing them to meet needs when they arise. Councils and local communities need to be better resourced and given the capacity to deal with local challenges[90]. Places require better leadership and partnerships, as the high streets which have seen positive change are those that have strong, collaborative leadership[91]. Capital projects alone are not enough to regenerate high streets. UK government may invest millions in physical projects, but their legacy comes into question if schemes have no plan for subsequent maintenance and activation of the high street. The creation of long-term visions and place-based funding is important; as Neil Guthrie, Development Director of Sunderland City Council, argues[92]:

“As a city we’ve been successful in securing our fair share of central government support in the form of Levelling Up, Future High Streets and Housing Infrastructure funds, but if we’re really going to intervene at scale and deliver the transformational change we’re talking about then we need a much more long-term strategic approach... We need to see a much stronger commitment to place-based, rather than project-based investment...”
 

12. Conclusions and recommendations

In conclusion, based on the extensive evidence presented above, the IPM provides the following key recommendations for supporting high streets and town centres:

1. There needs to be more direct support to establish place-based partnerships and to ensure they are effective at driving change at pace and across the scale.

2. Although the High Streets Accelerators Pilot is welcomed as a means of boosting place-based partnerships, only 10 places are included in the pilot programme. We recommend it is scaled up and further rolled out across the UK.

3. There is a need to create the necessary place leadership skills and capacity to ensure a professional workforce is equipped and qualified to lead change within their places. There is a requirement to further professionalise the sector through training, CPD, recognised qualifications, and a national apprenticeship scheme.

4. There is a need for ongoing support and expertise to be provided to places and, unlike the current 5-year Task Force, it should be over a longer time span to gain maximum impact. Local authorities, as the current conduits for local funding and with responsibility for high streets, must be supported to engage in the cultural shift towards place partnerships and inclusive place leadership that is required for long-term success.

21 March 2024