How can we set-about shaping the future of market and coastal towns in Norfolk and across a nation? If our neighbourhood and town centres do not noticeably improve in the coming years, it won’t be because people don’t care. What will leave people frustrated and fail to deliver a much-heralded boost to ‘pride in place’,…
Faced with frequent calls from businesses and customers for free parking in towns centres, I often liken it to expecting a free coffee in a town centre cafe. Yes, that might be welcomed though what would the coffee be like and would the cafe stay open for long? Here I look a little more in…
A comprehensive biennial study published last week provides a key focus for understanding city centre active travel trends and how we can boost opportunities for people to visit and enjoy the U.K. and Ireland’s High Streets. The UK Walking and Cycling Index aggregated report was published by Sustrans at the end of March. It helps inform…
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…
As communities ride the rollercoaster from COVID to the cost of living crisis, the People & Places Partnership is taking a fresh look at tracking national town centre trends. The aim of this new study and the guidance it will create, is to analyse and understand national trends to help inform local decision-making. The new…
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…
In publishing the UK Walking and Cycling Index, Sustran’s aim is to support leaders of cities and towns to understand and improve “walking, wheeling and cycling” across the UK and Ireland. Coming on the back of major government announcements aimed at boosting sustainable travel, we look at the active travel trends for place leaders to…
The People & Places Partnership has worked with Proximity Futures on behalf of North Tyneside Council to guide the short-term recovery and revitalisation of North Shields town centre over the longer-term. This page provides access to up-to-date resources created as part of this work, as well as links to related guidance. Surveys seeking local stakeholders’…
When Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council invested in comprehensive footfall and foot-flow monitoring as a measure of town centre vitality and viability, it was not aware of its usefulness in tracking the impacts of COVID-19. This case study prepared by the People & Places Partnership as part of the LGA’s revitalising town centres toolkit, shares…
As town and city centres prepare to reopen and public opinion is presented as being increasingly divided, we look at what the national data tells us about the challenges of balancing health and wealth on the high street. Rising economic concerns Economic concerns are, not surprisingly, creeping up the national consciousness. According to a…