Government response to Portas report unclear on local funding, says expert

The minister described the response (21-page / 739KB PDF) by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to December's High Street Review as a 'Portas Plus' plan, combining 27 of that report's 28 recommendations with a package of new funding schemes and incentives.

However it has not included Portas' recommendation that the Communities Secretary be given powers of "exceptional sign off" on proposals for new out-of-town shopping or leisure complexes.

The proposals include the creation of dedicated 'town teams' made up of local landlords, business owners and MPs in order to drive forward the necessary changes. These teams will encourage town centres to become entertainment and leisure, as well as shopping destinations, encourage local shops to open later to benefit workers and come up with "imaginative and exciting" use of public spaces. They will also assist local councils in promoting and using their forthcoming new powers to offer local business rate discounts.

Planning and retail law expert Jon Riley of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that although the Government had rightly provided the means for communities to respond at a local level, how this would be funded was "less than clear".

"The cash promised by Grant Shapps is not commensurate with the scale of the problem," said Riley. "However, Government has rightly resisted the temptation to respond with a 'one size fits all' response and provided tools for a flexible response at the local level, which encourages towns to become more distinctive rather than following an identikit format."

Other recommendations will see the Government consult on abolishing centrally-set minimum parking charges, to give councils the flexibility to reduce parking penalties if they choose to, and introduce greater transparency on parking changes. It will also make it easier for councils to get rid of unnecessary byelaws affecting new markets and businesses, and reform planning rules to allow the space above shops to be converted into two flats instead of the current limit of one.

The Government also intends to set up a further round of 'Portas Pilots', allowing communities to trial some of the recommendations from the original report. Its original competition offering a share of £1 million to 12 pilot towns received "massive interest", it said. It expects to announce the towns which have been successful in May.

Among the new funding packages on offer are a High Street Innovation Fund worth a potential £30m which is focussed on bringing empty shops back into use; and a £500,000 fund for Business Improvement Districts, to help town centres access loans for their set-up costs. A £1m 'Future High Street X-Fund' has also been announced, and will be awarded in a year's time to locations which deliver the most "creative and effective" schemes to revitalise their high streets.

However retail expert Riley said that the labelling of this competition set the wrong tone. He added that sustainable change could only be driven by "genuine creativity and competition - not by fleeting, X-Factor style stunts".

Shapps said that the measures would help local people "turn their high streets into the beating hearts of their communities" again.

"Mary Portas' review made crystal clear the stark challenge our high streets face," he said. "With internet shopping and out-of-town centres here to stay, they must offer something new if they are to entice visitors back. [This is] the catalyst for change that many towns have been craving."