By Joshua Robinson – 

Earlier in April, the Labour Party outlined its plan that aims to improve Britain’s high streets and town centres.

Walking down many city centres, there are boarded-up buildings, shops that don’t meet local needs, and graffiti.

Labour is looking to:  

1. Tackle anti-social behaviour through neighbourhood policing. 
2. Roll out banking hubs to guarantee face-to-face banking. 
3. Replace business rates with a new system to level the playing field between high-street businesses and online corporations. 
4. Stamp out late payments to small and independent businesses. 
5. Revamp empty shops and community spaces by introducing a Community Right to Buy.  

These proposals aim to increase the value of a more local economy and aim to tackle vacancy and make people feel safer on the high street

Reacting to Labour’s proposals, Nick Plumb, Associate Director for Policy and Insight at Power to Change, said on the Power to Change website: “Our vision to Take Back the High Street is one of local people with the power and ownership over what happens to their high street. Parts of Labour’s plan begin to realise this new vision – giving communities more power through a Community Right to Buy that would grant them first refusal on the purchase of Assets of Community Value in their local area and on the high street, something we have long campaigned for. Steps to level the playing field through a replacement for the business rates system would also be welcomed by many community businesses who are overburdened by the current business rates system.”  

“We have the ideas for Labour to fully realise a new vision for the high street so communities can take it back.”  

“We’ve modelled a British High Street Investment Vehicle that would act at the speed of private capital – leveraging commercial and social investment – to buy high street property on behalf of communities and transfer them into community ownership over time.”  

Nick Plumb added: “We’ve tested Community Improvement Districts across England, which showed when communities have more of a say on the strategic direction of their local high street and local people are equal partners in high street regeneration, it can create sufficient conditions for high street regeneration, creating a focus previous high street regeneration programmes have not.”   

“A new vision for our high streets needs new ideas and we have them. We are ready to work with Labour to realise this new vision so that we can Take Back the High Street. In places we are already seeing this new vision come to life, whether that is Hastings Commons in Hastings, Back on the Map in Sunderland, Future Wolverton in Milton Keynes, Nudge Community Builders in Plymouth, or Sparks in Bristol.” 

“Let’s make this new vision a reality everywhere. Let’s Take Back the High Street.”

We appreciate your support, it really is invaluable, please share the article, and make sure to join the KLTV WhatsApp Community today!