Towns in the South West need to be less “identikit” in order for high streets to recover post-Covid, a major new business-led report says.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in the South West has produced a wide-ranging study which urges towns to move away from being too alike and celebrate their identities, encourage local pride and embrace digital initiatives to boost a high street and town centre fight back.
It said the Covid pandemic has brought “profound challenges” to the way people live and work and has placed businesses under great pressure with the increase in home working helping to accelerate the adoption of online shopping.
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But Lee Nathan, the FSB’s South West regional chairman, said the sudden turn to digital may actually aid the renewal of town centres – as people “hanker to dwell in shared physical spaces”.
He said: “It is becoming increasingly clear that people are unlikely to return to the old ways of doing things. Fewer people coming into towns to work and shop leaves space in areas that were once characterised by bustling shops and offices. The places most at risk are those that have little else to attract locals and visitors from further afield.
“As people travel less for work or to shop, town centres will need alternative offerings to fill vacant space and to attract people to the area. Post-Covid we are unlikely to see a return to old commuting habits, with a significant proportion of those able to work from home doing so for at least part of the week.”
Examples of successful initiatives which have helped support town centres were highlighted in every corner of the South West, in the repor, but particular mention was made of Tavistock’s pannier market and gift card scheme, and Liskeard’s use of social media to promote the Cattle Market business area.
The report, entitled Freedom, Funding and Fearlessness, suggests that identity, digital promotion, “keeping things local”, collaboration and regeneration are the key themes that can drive success for towns in the region.
It said towns need the freedom to work out what they need, the funding to support new initiatives and that sense of fearlessness to see how digital innovation and hybrid models can improve their visibility and appeal to residents and tourists. And it also urges everyone involved in a town to come together, work together and to be ambassadors for their town.
Mr Nathan said the vision behind the report was to encourage small businesses operating within towns to take ownership and feel that they can be part of the solution to help drive change.
“FSB gives a voice to small businesses and our members tell us they are more successful when they are based in vibrant, thriving towns,” he said. “Our hope is that by drawing out some key themes that appear to engender success in a location this will spark conversations and new initiatives which will not only revitalise towns but also provide new opportunities for those small businesses based within them.”
Among the recommendations made in the report was for businesses to make the best use of their BIDs (Business Improvement Districts) which seek to co-ordinate and enhance local activity.
One of the report’s contributors, Richard Wilcox, who chairs the South West BIDs group, said he had seen many great examples of town centre initiatives which had left him optimistic that the region could be a “trailblazer” for the rest of the UK.
"We are witnessing a resourcefulness to refocus and reinvent at all levels – business, town and cross-region,” he said. “Innovative repurposing of public arenas into greener, more healthy and more connected spaces are being mapped out. This is about tapping into new ways of thinking, working, living and doing things – pioneering circular local economies that all can engage in, benefit from and ultimately enjoy.”
The report will be formally launched at an online meeting for stakeholders and interested businesses on Monday, April 25. The report can be downloaded here.
