In March 2012, the government published High Streets at the Heart of Our
Communities, which set out their response to the recommendations that had been
made in the Portas Review (DCLG, 2012a). In it, the government accepted many of the recommendations put forward by Portas, although they stressed that these should only be taken as a starting point and that local stakeholders needed to think creatively about how best to address the problems that their local areas were facing. The recommendation to introduce town teams was fully supported, as were measures aimed at supporting local businesses growth, reducing red tape and deregulating the planning system. The report also drew attention to the issue of accessibility in town centres, identifying the need for less prohibitive parking charges and investment in sustainable transport infrastructure. It also suggested that there was a need to give communities a “stronger role in the planning system” (DCLG, 2012a, p21), pointing out that the recently passed Localism Act provided the necessary statutory framework to support a new neighbourhood-planning programme.
One of the particularly noticeable aspects of the government‟s high street report was its support for town-centre-first in planning, which, it was held, should serve to “direct retail, leisure and office development to town centre locations first” (DCLG, 2012a, p17). This mirrored the position put forward in the new National Planning
Policy Framework (NPPF), which also stressed that planners should view town
centres as being at the „heart‟ of local communities and should develop planning approaches that “promote competitive town centre environments” (DCLG, 2012b, p7). In considering how this could be achieved, the NPPF emphasised that there was a need to “ensure that established shops, facilities and services are able to develop and modernise in a way that is sustainable, and retained for the benefit of the community” (DCLG, 2012b, p17). In drawing up local plans, the NPPF indicated
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that local planning authorities needed to effectively plan for current and future usage of all town centre functions, as well as setting out “opportunities for development and clear policies on what will or will not be permitted and where” (DCLG, 2012b, p37). It went on to point out that local authorities should work with one another in order to empirically assess “the role and function of town centres and the relationship between them” (DCLG, 2012b, p39), as well as seeking to draw up “a network and hierarchy of centres that is resilient to anticipated future change” (DCLG, 2012b, p7). In considering proposals for new retail developments specifically, the NPPF emphasised that local authorities should look to apply the sequential test, whereby they “require applications for main town centre uses to be located in town centres, then in edge of centre locations and only if suitable sites are not available should out of centre sites be considered” (DCLG, 2012b, p8). If any proposed development failed the sequential test or if it could be deemed that it would have an undue negative impact upon town centre vitality and viability, it should be refused planning permission.
In keeping with their view that local authorities needed to think beyond the Portas
Review, the government in 2012, released a series of additional documents that
sought to draw attention to areas that had been, as of yet, largely overlooked. The first of these was a report entitled Parades of Shop – Towards an Understanding of
Performance & Prospects, which looked into the current state of neighbourhood
shopping provision (DCLG, 2012c). The report emphasised that the significant discussion surrounding the decline of traditional retail areas had tended to focus on town centres and that “neighbourhood level retail and service provision has been given limited attention” (DCLG, 2012c, p3). As a result, the important role that these areas played in contributing to local economic resilience and community cohesion was being significantly “underplayed”. The report subsequently noted that successful neighbourhood parades tended to act as communal hubs, providing non-retail services and social provision in addition to their primary retail functions. The second document released was titled Re-imagining Urban Spaces to Help Revitalise Our
High Streets, and was aimed at getting local stakeholders to think creatively about
“how they design and [use] the spaces in their town centres and high streets” (DCLG, 2012d, p1). The document emphasised that the effective use of shared public spaces could help to create safe, attractive and welcoming environments that “[made] the
Mark Davies - October 2019 35 high street a destination of choice” (DCLG, 2012d, p2). Describing these spaces as “under-used assets [that] could be enhanced to help revitalise our town centres” (DCLG, 2012d, p6), the report stressed that even “small design changes [could] make a big difference” (DLCG, 2012d, p11), going on to provide several examples of best practice from across the country. During the same period, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published the BIS Retail Strategy, which outlined how the government would work in partnership with the retail sector to support growth (DBIS, 2012). The following year, an updated version was released, titled A
Strategy for Future Retail, which expanded upon the previous paper, by refining
where coordination between the government and the private sector would be needed in order to enable retail to thrive and grow. It emphasised the significance of changes occurring within retail, stressing the importance of effective partnership between the public, private and third-sector interests, and the need to establish a digital future for town centres with a greater „experiential‟ offer (DBIS, 2013).