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Mary Portas unveiled

Mary Portas unveiled!

13 December 2011

Mary Portas has today unveiled her long awaited review of the high street! The review contains a number of practical steps and no less than 28 recommendations to try to get shoppers to return to their local high streets and to make it easier for retailers to operate. These include:

initiatives to get town centres “running like businesses”

planning reforms to encourage town centre development ahead of out-of-town development

encouraging “a contract of care between landlords and their commercial tenants” by promoting the lease code and developing and adapting lease structures in order to move away from upward only rent reviews

Whilst many will welcome her ideas, we fear that others will feel like they’ve been there before. In our view though, we believe that any focus on a fast declining high street is a good thing and hopefully will be a trigger for action and improvement. Let’s leave cynicism behind and look to the future!

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