The Voice of Authority:
What role will councils play in the town centre of 2021?
23 April 2020 Post webinar report
In partnership with:
Post Webinar Report What role will councils play in the town centre of 2021? 23 April 2020
In partnership with:
Chair: Toby Fox Managing director, 3Fox Panelists Mark Bradbury
Alan Harris
Director of property and
Partner and head of town
economy, Enfield Council
centres, Montagu Evans
Dawn Hudd
Connor McDonagh
Assistant director physical
Assistant director of economic
and cultural regeneration,
growth, Ealing Council
Medway Council
Overview Sponsored by Montagu Evans, the fourth episode in the webinar series saw the panel discuss the role that councils will play in the town centres of 2021.
The discussion ranged widely and this report contains a sample and summary. Watch the webinar in full at thevoiceofauthority.co.uk, and subscribe to stay updated on future episodes.
Post Webinar Report THE FUTURE OF TOWN CENTRES AND OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO LOOK FORWARD, NOT BACK by Alan Harris
Head of town centres, Montagu Evans Preparing for my first webinar allowed me to step back and focus my thinking on key considerations for an engaging discussion, asking myself “if I was a member of a public sector body, what would I be concerned about for the future of my town centre and the role I can play in its recovery?”.
Prior to Covid-19, there was a lot of negativity surrounding town centres – whether it was the decline of retail, pressures on investments or the reform of business rates - so surely it’s the end of the start as opposed to the start of the end? As always, The Voice of Authority pulled together an insightful panel on this vital subject, now more than ever we needed to bring together views to start the debate. Experts included those from Medway Council, Ealing Council and Enfield Council.
Looking back at similar vision setting work, there was obviously a move towards experience led town centres, inclusion of healthcare, urbanisation with more living and the financial support of the public sector. How will we innovate the things we do as opposed to the things we buy change? How will key civic uses, such as healthcare be delivered – more quickly or not at all? How will town centres offer the quality of the wider environment to make them an attractive place to live, both when you are inside and outside of home? And finally, with the pressure of sovereign borowing for the UK Government, how will they be able to progress the same level of funding and leadership that was being brought to our Future High Streets, especially with the loss of business rates?
Post Webinar Report Some of the key questions posed by the 300 or so viewers included:
Changes to the strategy for living in town centres – Clear tensions existed around PDR’s, the reality that the country needs better affordable housing, the wider environmental quality of development in our own centres and green places etc. What are the council priorities? Income or place? – There is no under estimation of the role that the local authority needs to play but can they prioritise the wider socio-economic benefits over their own income (from say car parking) objectives? Can they offer the leadership and skills to be a priority and how do they create more focused investment strategies? Meanwhile use and the flexibility of the alternative uses to the oversupply of retail – Is the planning system flexible enough? How can public, private and community sectors collaborate to deliver meanwhile uses and are the needs of the communities to curate space being given enough consideration?
Talks like this emphasise that this is not simply about the loss of retail but there’s a far deeper generational and technological evolution that a post-Covid world will rapidly see increasing, and this needs to be a fundamental consideration as part of a recovery plan for any town centre. In addition, the key themes that many successful strategies were adopting are simply going to be amplified;
• Distinctiveness • Authenticity • Having a plan and getting on and starting a project, physical or not; and • Leadership – to bring the public, private and community conversations together.
At Montagu Evans, we’re here to help support town centre recovery believing public and private sector collaboration will offer resilience and strengthen our ability to rebuild. Those that embrace change and look to adapt will not only survive but thrive in this new world.
Our next session is entitled ‘Post-pandemic workspace and commercial development’ and will take place on 30 April, 11:00 – 12:00 “Do we still need offices?” asked one council leader this week. Are co-working, hot desking and open plan office spaces a thing of the past? Has Covid-19 created a permanent move for a landscape-changing proportion of the labour force to WFH? What do asset managers and occupiers see as the long-term effects of social distancing on work-style and workplaces?
REGISTER HERE For more information, or to be involved in future episodes, contact: finn@3foxinternational.com