So another poll today tells us that consumer confidence is
at rock bottom – the lowest level since 2009, and once again this means that
independent traders and family businesses will bear the brunt of this bad news.
Across Wales up and down every High Street the story is the
same – people have less to spend and they are worried about their jobs,
especially in areas where the public sector is the largest employer as we are
still to feel the worst effects of job cuts in that sector.
And as we enter the crucial pre-Christmas period, a time
when many small shops and businesses make the majority of their annual profit
and one on which they rely to see them through the long Winter months after the
New Year, how will the continuing economic woes affect Wales’ High Street ? And
what can be done to help our struggling traders to ensure that we continue to
have choice and diversity in the High Street in 2012 and beyond ?
The first question perhaps should be is who exactly is
helping our independent traders ? What is being done at Government level to
ensure that we do not become a clone town nation here in Wales ? Across the
Severn Bridge, David Cameron has appointed Mary Portas to ‘save the High
Street’ and she is undertaking a review of what can be done to achieve that.
Upon her appointment she said “When David Cameron asked me
to do an independent review into the future of the high street, I turned up at
a meeting in Whitehall and asked to see the previous research. Twenty or so
reports by various industry chiefs and business groups were put in front of me,
full of conclusions, recommendations and action points. When I asked about the
outcome of these reports, it turned out that they had been filed away, probably
gathering dust.”
And further to that “Three years ago six per cent of high
street shops were vacant; by the end of last year the figure had grown to 14
per cent. At this rate, in two years’ time, more than a third of city centre
shops will be boarded up. But it’s not just the shops that are going from our high
streets; banks and post offices are disappearing too. As they go, we lose a
feeling of community because the high street is the heart of a town. And, as
high streets empty, the crime rate increases.”
She continued “My task is to look both at why this is
happening, and what can be done to reverse it. City centres will matter more,
not less, in years to come because we live in an ageing society. If the
over-70s have no shops and town centres to go to, they will find life very
difficult. Watford, where I was brought up, has been hit, but not as badly as
many other towns. Margate has the worst problem in the country, with a 37.4 per
cent vacancy rate; Runcorn, Morecambe and St Austell are not far behind. This
summer, I shall visit not only the sad cases but also the shining examples that
buck the trend. Kingston, Marylebone High Street and Reading are all on that
list.”
See the problem ? This is an England only review. So who is
looking at how to save and re-invigorate the High Street in Wales ? Some may
say a more important task given the rurality and public transport scarcity of large parts of Wales.
We need a High Street Champion here in Wales, we need
someone who understands the challenges and the pressures on the High Street,
but someone who will drive any changes through at the highest level, not report
and retire. The Welsh Government has made the right noises at times, but as
Ministers sit across the Cabinet table they need a cross-portfolio approach to
fully help the High Street in Wales. It isn’t just the problem that Edwina Hart
needs to sort out, there are many aspects to this problem, some of which extend
beyond or own devolved Government, and that is why we are missing a trick here
in Wales by not undertaking a similar review with a similarly forthright business
expert taking the lead.
We need to look at how transport, planning and parking
problems affect the High Street. We need to consider out-of-town developments
and the charity shop explosion. We need to examine the rents, rates and energy
costs of High Street retailers to see what can be done to help. We need a
Government in Wales fighting in Westminster for a VAT cut for hospitality and
tourism businesses to 5%. In short we need in Wales what is happening in
England. So come on First Minister. Make that commitment to businesses in
Wales. Make that announcement. Help the High Street in Wales.
And this needs a balanced approach. It must not be driven by
vested interests so it cannot be dominated by small business representatives or
large, it must be truly an independent review to achieve the best outcome for
the economy of Wales.
As Mary Portas said “Sadly, our town centres are like old
friends that we don’t have a lot in common with any more. We used to look
forward to seeing them on a Saturday but now we find it a bit of a chore. We
try to keep the friendship going for old times’ sake, but at heart we want that
friend to be a bit more in tune with who we are today.”
So at the heart of this approach and this review must be the
two key players. Retailers and us – consumers. Because unless we re-light the
flame of friendship and respond to the challenges and responsibilities that
each of us play in this project no amount of experts or reviews or Government
action is ever going to help – so I am ready are you ? Come on Carwyn... let’s
see what we can do together.
