DPP’s Chairman Bob Robinson offers up the planners view on the recently released and much anticipated Mary Portas Review.
“The vision underpinning Mary Portas’ review is spot on. The core issue she recognises is that town centres can’t operate as they were 20 years ago; retailers and customers’ expectations have moved on and reinvention and differentiation is important. Simply stopping all future out of centre developments, which are popular with customers, is not the solution and would do nothing to stem the trend to on-line retailing which is perhaps the real threat to traditional town centres.
It is the detail of the Review however that lets it down. It also demonstrates a lack of market understanding on Ms Portas’ behalf. Whilst the concept of ‘town teams’ is a good one in principle, town centre property is of course under disparate ownerships, with all landlords having different priorities. Whilst local landlords may be amendable to the co-operative approach she proposes within this wider town team idea, the larger funds have a mandate to maximise the returns for their investors, so the suggestion of letting their stores in centres to independent retailers at below market rents is fundamentally misguided as an idea unless they are also to benefit financially from an uplift in the wider centre.
Her proposals for specific neighbourhood plans for town centres also suggest limited knowledge of the recently approved Localism Act 2011 which restricts duplication of such plans within any defined area. Her suggestion that the Secretary of State ought to have the final say on approval of planning applications for out of centre retail development also runs contrary to the spirit of localism and would tend to reinforce the ‘one size fits all’ approach that Ms Portas reportedly sees as part of the problem.
This report is strong in terms of vision, which is where Mary Portas’ strengths lie. However, much more consideration of how this vision is to be carried forward in practice is needed.”
Visit Mary Portas' website to read the full report:
www.maryportas.com
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About DPP
DPP is a top ten town planning consultancy providing strategic advice to the a range of clients. DPP's chartered planners, sustainability, heritage and design experts work with developers, landowners, business operators and public sector bodies, offering services relating to the development and use of land. The firm operates in all development sectors with a particular presence in residential, retail, regeneration, mixed uses, business and commercial. DPP is committed to maintaining the qualities that separate us from our competitors, as well as continuing to enhance our established reputation for providing high quality, efficient and cost-effective services while helping clients reach their planning and development objectives.
Clients of DPP include Bellway Homes Ltd, Derwent Holdings, Caffé Nero, Centros, Domino's Pizza, English Heritage, Invensys, Liberty Properties, Liverpool Land Development Company, Mercian Developments, The Ministry of Justice, Shell International, Taylor Wimpey, Tesco Stores, Unilever Pension Fund Trustees, United Utilities, the Watkin Jones Group and the Welsh Assembly Government.
Contact
Ceri Edwards, Redwood Consulting
Tel: 020 7828 5553
Email: ceri@redwoodconsulting.co.uk