It’s always a delight to take-stock and share thinking on the bigger picture behind trends across a nation’s towns and cities.
In this instance my delight comes from being invited to be part of the ‘expert panel’ at the Local Data Company‘s Welsh Retail and Leisure Summit in Cardiff. A delight because I share LDC’s passion for gathering evidence to help understand places and because of the chance to learn from my well-rounded fellow panel members and the grounded audience of place-making professionals.
Here is my contribution to the discussions focusing on the bigger picture for shaping the places behind retail trends revealed.
Geography Lessons
Firstly, as the LDC is very aware, it’s important to distinguish trends between different types of places. In a Welsh context this involves a geography that is re-inventing itself through an evolution of the South Wales cities; their hinterland of post-industrial towns; coastal communities notably in North and West Wales; and deeply rural communities in the country’s core that have long required a culture of self-reliance. Old theories of retail hierarchies do not properly apply anymore within this bigger picture and instead local data provides an opportunity to learn about this new geography and inter-relationships.
Intellect and Property
Is it timely also to revaluate the role of property as a key driver underpinning the economy of places? A moment to grapple with the intellectual ideas and the ‘connected value’ behind the prospects for Town Centre Investment Zones, locally-retained business rates, property-owning BIDs and strategies for parking as an accompanying asset and service. A time perhaps to think of empty shops as an opportunity for enterprise and to learn from ventures like Galleri Caernarfon and 4CG Cymru in Cardigan that have acquired affordable assets to flourish with the towns’ uplift. A time to truly put the interest of town and city centres first in the way that St David’s 2 in Cardiff and Friar’s Walk in Newport have provided a long-needed rebalancing act.
Smart Thinking
The smart thinkers realise that digital has to be embraced within this bigger picture as an opportunity for places that connects them to a wider world and overcomes obstacles. This is challenging for small businesses and isolated places where support and the sharing of software is essential to sustain the speed of progress and renew the role of a town’s ‘hardware’. The same will come to be true of ‘smart travel’ where the prospects for driverless cars, integrated travel and cashless parking could make town centres more accessible if integrated in to future thinking.
Long-sighted Leadership
Changing places is a long-term and arguably endless process. It requires joined-up thinking between stakeholders and models that are both adaptable and sustainable. In Wales this will mean maintaining the momentum created by the Government’s investment in infrastructure through the Vibrant and Viable Places programme, the creation of BIDs, support for Town Centre Partnerships and piloting of Place Plans. This is alongside established development trusts, local town centre management and a proactive placemaking role taken by housing associations such as Coastal Housing in Swansea city centre and Cardiff Community Housing Association in Llanedeyrn. It will be important to continue to nurture these new ways of working through an increasingly enabling role of local authorities, creative resourcing of local coordination and by bringing together business and community interests around a long-term and responsive strategy.
As the UK Government’s recent Future of Cities review of the long-term leadership challenges facing our urban areas concluded, there needs to be a strong emphasis on building local capacity and promoting innovation such as experimenting with social media to extend community awareness and accountability. Informed analysis of local data and a sharing of good practice will be an important part of widening the knowledge-base to support effective local leadership and investment.
Learn more
Take a look at the Local Data Company ‘infographic‘ about the headline trends in Welsh retail and leisure.
The People and Places Partnership works to provide strategic-level and practical support for community and business-led town centre regeneration. This is achieved through work with communities to help understand trends; shape talented teams and create people-led plans.
People and Places works with specialist and like-minded partners including a number of recent collaborations across Wales with Chris Jones Regeneration Ltd. that have focused on Place Planning, business engagement and partnership development. People and Places created the town centre monitoring and evaluation methodology for the Welsh Government’s flagship, Vibrant and Viable Places programme.
