Retail guru Mary Portas has given a damning evaluation of Government efforts to support the country’s struggling high streets.
Three years after Portas was asked by MPs to complete an independent review into the future of retail centres, the former broadcaster has conceded progress from central Government remains ‘far slower than I’d have hoped’.
Government funding and support has been allocated to 27 ‘Portas Pilots’ and their Town Teams to help regions adapt to changing consumer behaviour. However, a strongly worded essay from the shopping specialist questioned the backing available for this ‘hastily created policy’.
‘Vague supporting processes meant that for most of the Portas Pilots, bumpy starts were the status quo. Rapidly created Town Teams were given insufficient guidance by Government on how to either establish their objectives or achieve them,’ she wrote on her website.
However, Portas added that she was ‘pleased that the Future High Street Forum is now working to address and guide future progress’.
In Why our high streets still matter, Portas also applauds the efforts of high streets minister Brandon Lewis - describing him as ‘more active than many’.
Analysis of four Portas Pilots published today by the Future High Streets Forum has said good leadership remains central to the successful reinvention of a region.
Responding to Portas’ comments, Lewis said: ‘Mary Portas has helped raise the profile of British High Streets and as her report makes clear there are many successes to be proud of. The Future High Street Forum is building on those successes and plays an important role in bringing the issue of High Streets to national attention.
‘The Government is completely committed to standing up for high streets. We've done this by cutting business rates for local shops, making sensible changes to planning rules and tackling unfair parking practices which drive shoppers out of town.’
