Stuart Harris joined CACI’s Dan Parr, Irwin Mitchell’s Claire Petricca-Riding and Specsavers GM Darren Sanderson-Williams last week for a panel discussing the rollercoaster ride for the high street since Covid-19 and the long-term impact amongst other marco-factors that now defines the retail landscape.
Stuart said: “Regeneration is not a short-term fix. It takes time and local authorities who’ve been successful with regeneration [schemes] have had stable administrations.”
Stuart then went onto recommend that catchment areas must be fully understood in order to create a potentially successful mix and this involves using data sources. “Having access to data and catchment information, rather than ‘we’d quite like to have this’, can be helpful.” Data can give you a base position and then you can look at what is likely to change in the area. You have to have some type of vision but you will see all types of changes over the time of the development that could take seven to eight years.”
Stuart concluded that the best scenario would be a reassessment of business rates, but on a more likely level he suggested a greater use of pop-ups and meanwhile uses in shopping centres.
