When the House of Lords Built Environment Committee published the results of its 9-month inquiry into high streets in towns and small cities at the end of November, my immediate reaction was, “What difference will it make at street level?”. Local leadership and empowered partnerships This is not stated as a criticism of the Lords’…
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…
Whilst many aspects of proposed new legislation set-out in this year’s King’s Speech will impact indirectly on place, we single-out three proposed Bills likely to have the most direct impacts. In short these proposed impacts can be summarised as building homes; devolving budgets and making buses better. The narrative below is taken directly from the…
This guidance note on governance for long-term stewardship was recently recently published by tbe Town and Country Planning Association. Although aimed at the development of new communities, this guidance note on “governance for long-term stewardship” provides good practice that is useful in retrofitting the stewardship of exising communities. The guidance note defines long-term stewardship as…
If I was writing a manifesto for the future of town and city centres, what would I put in it? I think I’d call it “places for people” and focus on how to get more smiling faces in our town centres. 2024 is a year of many impending national elections. I’d aim my manifesto as…
The People & Places Partnership has been working with Buckingham Town Council and local partners in planning for a revitalised Buckingham town centre. This page provides access to up-to-date resources created as part of this work, as well as links to related guidance. The aim of the town centre study was to: update 2016 Retail…
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…
New national planning policies that come fully into effect in summer 2021, may result in changing the town centre business mix across England. Here we summarise the changes. Under the new use class and permitted development rights systems, shops, for example, can now be changed to professional and financial services; medium-sized cafes or restaurants; offices;…
A clear vision and masterplan is important as you embark on a journey to revitalise your town centre or community. It’s important to be clear about where you want to go. Understanding where you are and where you want to be, making best use of the physical assets of a place, energising people and bringing…
This downloadable checklist on creating a town centre recovery plan provides a valuable resource to local leaders in responding to the COVID-19 crisis. It supplements the updated revitalising town centres online toolkit that the People & Places Partnership has prepared for the Local Government Association (LGA) and can be read alongside our free, downloadable checklist…