England’s smaller cities have called for less emphasis on boosting high streets and more help in creating non-retail jobs.
The key cities group in its Manifesto for Growth launched on January 22 says their future success ‘is about far more than retail and indeed the opposite is true; the fortunes of the high street are dependent on the fortunes of the wider city centre in which they are based.’
The group, with 22 member cities, says too many businesses have moved to out of town locations leaving city centres more reliant on retail. Retailers account for 16% of central employment in smaller cities compared to 9% in large cities and 5% in London.
Their evidence contradicts government policy to boost high streets through such initiatives as the ‘Portas pilots’.
