A creative new High Street Challenge fund has been launched to inject imagination in to the way public property contributes to the vitality of town centres. The High Street Challenge Fund will offer a combination of cash and expertise to one town centre selected to act as a test-bed for fresh thinking. Problem solving The…
In the midst of the town centre awards season we reflect on why putting your best foot(fall) forward is good for your town. This week saw the launch of the Great British High Street Awards 2019. This follows the earlier launch of the ATCM Town and City Management Industry Awards. Celebrating and sharing Entering your town…
Being Well Together explains the methodology behind the first UK-wide Community Wellbeing Index created by the Coop and the Young Foundation. Community wellbeing ‘Wellbeing’ has been described as “all the things people need in order to lead a good life”. The concept of ‘community wellbeing’ is less developed than the concept of personal wellbeing. In Being Well Together,…
The Government chose to coincide the unveiling of its £675million Future High Streets Fund with the start of the Boxing Day sales. Let’s hope together they bring short and long-term good news for our town centres! The Government’s stated objective for the Future High Streets Fund is to help renew and reshape town centres and high…
New customers will visit a business because they have heard about the quality of its products or the attractiveness of the place where it is based. Working across 10 Derbyshire towns, the People & Places Partnership are looking to help combine these selling points. People & Places are working with Eventful Places on behalf of…
This case study shows how North Kesteven District Council undertook a customer-led review of parking provision resulting in a joined-up approach to parking and place in Sleaford town centre. The outcomes are improved benefits for a range of town centre customers and businesses alongside increased council revenue to re-invest in the parking service. Like many…
This case study reviews the process of creating talented town teams over four years in six Pembrokeshire communities led by Pembrokeshire County Council. In 2012 Pembrokeshire County Council conducted a review of its town centres, focusing on: issues and challenges; impacts of council services; opportunities for regeneration and potential for improvement. Moving away from conventional…
The Grimsey Review 2 of the vanishing High Street offers a well-worked plan. Grimsey rightly parks key issues around planning, property and business rates firmly at central Government’s door. The rest of the document is essentially pitched at local authorities where local leaders are better placed to care, concentrate and respond to issues on their doorstep. …
In publishing his second review of an alternative future for the high street this summer, Bill Grimsey’s gift to Government is a well-worked plan. The frustration is that so was his team’s first review in 2013! The issue in taking forward Grimsey’s gift to Government, is that he and his team are assuming that central…
Bringing towns to life through events is about creativity and connections to place. That is the message that shone through to me at this year’s Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM) Summer School hosted in Hull. In putting on this ‘event about events’, ATCM did what it does best: bringing members together to share experiences…