More than 50% of total consumer spend is now off British high streets for the first time in history.
The shock statistic is revealed with the publication of a report compiled by retail expert Mary Portas.
She has come up with a plan to rejuvenate Britain's ailing high streets, some of which she claims are in crisis.
Her independent review, carried out at the request of Prime Minister David Cameron, also maintains that town centre vacancy rates have doubled during the past two years.
Ms Portas has called for change and recommends licensing rules on high street stalls be relaxed and that a national market day be introduced.
She also wants free parking in certain areas, some form of high street management system to form coherent policies, as well as a review of business rates and shop rents. To read the full article and watch a video of Mary Portas explaining her findings click this link to the Sky News website.
I would urge any councillors who may stumble upon the findings of Mary Portas to listen very carefully to what she has to say. You only need to visit Stalybridge or Droylsden to realise this lady is right on the ball and has correctly identified the ingredients which lead to the death of traditional high streets.
It has been said many times on this blog that ludicrous parking rules and over-zealous parking wardens are adding to the demise of our ailing shopping streets as well as poor town centre management. Take Stalybridge as an example which I believe now has four betting shops - and not much else, on what was once the bustling main shopping street.
Poor town centre management, parking charges and the proliferation of supermarkets are murdering the traditional high street. Let’s hope the findings of Mary Portas resonate in the places that matter and a national strategy to save the traditional high street is introduced. Tameside Citizen
21 comments:
My local councillor is David "Smooth" Sweeton he is making £32,000 a year as Stalybridge councillor.
CCTV footage of a Labour Councillor distributing illegal and libellous smear leaflets in Dukinfield on election day will soon be available for viewing on this web blog.
The leaflets in question falsely claimed that a rival candidate had racially abused a woman with mixed-race children.
Look out for a blue link (CCTV).
Jackie Lane on CCTV posting those Hitler Searchlight leaflets on Town Lane, Dukinfield.
Does this man not turn round and suddenly, and violently lash out?
Thus being called a nast, violent man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kABaiYX9kSo&feature=channel_video_title
The Labour no-talents in office have no idea how to boost retail sales and don't care anyway. Keeping the gravy train on the rails and keeping local government employees sweet are their priorities.
In the current dire economic circumstances what's required are innovative ideas in all the major areas of responsibility, and a major overhaul of council services, including mass privatisation to provide best value.
We won't get any of the above from the corrupt, incompetent self-serving chancers put in office by mass apathy and a few thousand cretins and those with vested interests.
Denton and Droylsden recently came ninth and tenth in the entire country for the percentage of closed down shops in the high street.
When you consider that, compared to many of the increasing number of real cess pit areas in Britain, Tameside is relatively affluent it demonstrates what an appalling job the council are really doing.
Made my first visit to Droylesden
after 7 years of giving it a miss.
What sh-- ole it is around Market street,single lane traffic everywhere,pedestrians barely catered for,vehicles in a constant log jam shops look on their last
legs other than Supermarkets as you expect !!.
At the rear of buildings around Craven Street its worse than the WW11 blitz.
I really pity the folk of the area
because its obviously down to bad planning,contempt for the electorate,and a bunch of misfit
Councillors who think living in a sty should be everyone`s dream.
With the death of Stalybrdge ,the atrocious Hyde facilities,the Denton solid road congestion with ever decreasing local shops,there is only one conclusion for me and its not the recession,but the TMBC administration over years who must originate from slum living,enjoy the life styles they have in the Tameside region,and are not fit to run a cardboard dolls house.
For God`s sake Droylesden folk ignore the blurb and crap you are getting from your Councillors they obviously don`t give a toss for you in between elections.and are dragging you down to their levels
which is the pits.
Start believing that you are far better than the brain dead,nut cases who run Tameside.
Wait 'til the tram's up and running. The relatively few extra people it will bring to Droylsden (why would visitors get off there?) will be massively outweighed by drivers going where the tram (i.e congestion) isn't. 80% use the car, add in bikes, motorbikes, buses, pedestrians etc and the tram moves (and CAN only move) a relatively tiny proportion of the public.
If only a small percentage have shifted from car to train or bus in the recession, out of necessity not choice, why are they suddenly going to start using the expensive, inflexible, low capacity tram? They aren't, or certainly not in any meaningful numbers. But as we know in modern Britain/Tameside it's minority rule and the Metrolink is a textbook example of that.
Re the above, did anyone go to the Metrolink event at Aldwinians Rugby Club yesterday?
It was in response to Droylsdonians (if that's the correct term) having accesss to their properties blocked due to a raising of part of the tram track. I read about it but couldn't attend.
I see here that Councillor John Taylor is friends with a violent extremist group on facebook
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2073558/Mary-Portas-wont-able-revive-high-street--But-does-want-to.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2073582/Parking-bear-traps-driving-shoppers-away.html
you won,nt need shops after xmas coz we will have fuck all to spend in them ? Get ready for the BANG
I've said this before, but the council isn't entirely to blame. Portas review also criticised shop owners for not investing in their shops. You have to look in Tameside and they don't really give you the great experience that we are all used to when you go to King Street in Manchester or at the Trafford Centre.
There isn't any real quality goods being sold in Tameside. It's all cheap tack for pound shops, sari's, betting shops, kebabs and Polish food. There needs to be a greater diversity of goods if you want to attract footfall.
But then again, most shops are rented out and the buildings are mainly owned by the Greater Manchester Property Venture Fund, who SHOULD be investing in Tameside. Let the public sector workers put their money where their mouth is. Why wont they invest in Tameside?
FSF where is your option to have no councillors per ward in your poll?
Looks like another massacre in Europe carried out by a follower of The Religion of Peace. Listen at 00.6 and you will hear Allah Akbar. Talking of the Religion of Peace, did you hear about the poor woman publicly beheaded today in Saudi? What was her crime - sorcery! And to think we have 10 million of these fanatics residing in Britain.
Is this the year 1011 or 2011?
Kieran Quinn @CllrKieranQuinn is now following you (@TamesideFred).
Anyone else get this shown above brief E.Mail today ??
Surely Quinn is not seeking a harassment charge against himself
Don`t tweet,no urge for tweeting,
so who thought of this one ??.
The Phantom
weird innit
its jobs we need not shops and lots of them ? we need to start making thing .
£500,000 three councillors 8 years
so thats about £20k a year, which is less than the avrerage income for the UK, or the north-wets for that matter. The question which might be bettre asked is should we not expect monkeys if we pay peanuts?
£22,500 per part-time amateur councillor, representing a mere 3700 people each.
Half a dozen non-party aligned, well paid experts with a proven track record of success in their particular field would be a far better bet than the current self-seeking, corrupt shower.
Post a Comment