From sifting through ministerial contributions to a House of Lords Inquiry, our conclusion is that Stevenage may hold the key for predicting government high street policy for years ahead. It helps that one of the two ministers answering questions at last week’s session of the high streets in towns and small cities inquiry, was Baroness Taylor…
With the Autumn Statement’s confirmation of the Shared Prosperity Fund go-ahead, we take a fresh look at the opportunity it provides to help shape our town and city centres. Shared Prosperity budget At the time of its Spring 2022 announcement, it was promised that the Shared Prosperity Fund would provide £2.6 billion of new funding…
Guest blog by Shaun Freeman-Jones – creator of Stop in Stockport- and associate of the People & Places Partnership. The view of a local place is often defined through the lens of social media. This of course has its positives but, in many cases, has significant negatives. This guest blog provides good practice guidance on…
Discussions about place branding often focus overly on reaching potential new visitor audiences. At the People & Places Partnership, we believe that it is vital to think ‘local first’ in place branding. The starting point for brand development should be working with key local stakeholders including businesses and residents. This ‘local first’ approach to applying…
A guest blog by Iain Nicholson, founder of the Vacant Shops Academy A headline objective for UK Shared Prosperity Fund is that: ‘By 2030, pride in place, such as people’s satisfaction with their town centre and engagement in local culture and community, will have risen in every area of the UK, with the gap between…
As part of our review of monitoring pride in place changes sought through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, we take a closer look here at the contribution of the retail mix and empty shops. We do this as part of providing practical guidance on using a suite of themes and indicators running across the Government’s…
Here we take a closer look at some of the Levelling Up Bill’s practical proposals for town and city centres. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill is a key component of the Government’s wider programme to level up the country, as set out in the Levelling Up White Paper published in February 2022. The…
With the February launch of the UK Government’s much-awaited White Paper, we ask what are the opportunities for Levelling Up our town and city centres. Restoring pride in place The apparent good news about opportunities for levelling up for our town and city centres is that restoring a sense of community, local pride and belonging…