Portas High St Review is out

Mary Portas's report on how to tackle to huge issue of declining UK high streets is out and has been welcomed across the industry. Falmouth BID has been raising the issue for quite a while, part of its High St Campaign that led to Richard Wilcox, Falmouth BID Manager being invited to Parliament to take part in a Town Centres discussion with MPs and Ms Portas herself.

"It is a comprehensive report, and it addresses the majority of concerns we have raised here in Falmouth." Mr Wilcox said.

“I am particularly delighted to see that three of the first five recommendations are for greater empowerment for BIDs and town management, and for extra funding to be fixed for these as well. It is gratifying to see she has recognised how we have such a strong role to play in getting ourselves out of the situation we find ourselves in.”

He continued: “She has addressed the need to review car parking charges and called for a thorough review of business rates, which are points we raised in our 5 Point High Street Plan.We need to ensure that town centres and high streets can compete more effectively with out-of-town complexes and become a destination for shoppers once more. I hope now that this is not just a document that sits on the shelf, but that we see the government take notice. The vast majority of traders across the UK will be hoping to see real action, which we hope will then feed down to Cornwall and Falmouth itself, so we can continue to drive forward the town centre, but with more backing."

To read the Mary Portas report CLICK HERE 

To read the British BIDs view CLICK HERE.