Cameron does a Gordon Brown...

lemonjelly

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13414374

mary Portas to save the high street? Really?

I don't watch the show - I read fc123's reports instead, sorts the wheat from the chaff;).

However, this smacks of style over substance to me, get a famous name, indeed someone current off the telly to do the governments work. Hmmm. Didn't he promise this was the kinda stuff that wouldn't happen?

ninky_2

i'm not a tory lover but is this really cameron calling in portas, or a pushy production team / agent putting forward an idea they persuade a govt dept to come on board with a la jamie oliver. seems there is more in it for portas than the condems.

i liked her first series but went off her when she started getting shouty with volunteer charity workers.

btw cameron could never do a gordon brown - he's far too slimey and thing lipped to match gordon.

Thrugelmir

lemonjelly wrote: »

mary Portas to save the high street? Really?

Other suggestions? Though "save" is a little sensationalist. Maybe offer ideas as to how the decline could be halted.

She rose from the bottom up to eventually transform the fortunes of Harvey Nichols.

Never be misled by television profiles is my mantra.

Once upon a time MP's came from all walks of life. Often after successful working lives and careers. Nowadays professional politicians have little in the way of real life experience to offer.

bendix

Why is this dismissed? Before she did a crappy tv program she was widely respected as one of the leading retail advisers in the country, having worked for most of the major chains, including Harrods, Burton Group and Harvey Nichols. She founded and heads a major retail advisory firm, and travels the world advising companies on strategy. She has also written books on the subject. It's not like Cameron is appointing Timmy Mallet to advise on Foreign Policy.

I have two questions for lemonjelly? If the death of the high street an important enough issue for government to address (if we care about communities, then the answer has to be yes). And if so, who would you like to work on it? An unqualified bunch of MPs and civil servants?

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

The decline of the high street has several causes, internet competition, chain stores advantages in pricing, etc.

But absolutely top of my list for not shopping on high streets is the increasingly anti-car mentality of local councils. Fewer parking spaces, more traffic restrictions, rising parking charges, and parking tickets used as revenue raising stealth taxes.

Sod that. I go to shopping centres where I can park easily and for free.

ninky_2

do we really care if the high street dies? it's not a person.

i'm not sure i agree with propping up institutions that are beyond their sell by date. a bigger thinking way of looking at the issue is to ask what are the needs the high street has met in the past, which ones are now being met elsewhere (hence high street 'death') and which ones aren't being met elsewhere and maybe need to be.

also, what use could now empty shops be put to that serve us better? for example, could ex-shops become residential property or other public building space. do we really need so many mobile phone showrooms and / or gambling shops?

bendix

ninky wrote: »

do we really care if the high street dies? it's not a person.

i'm not sure i agree with propping up institutions that are beyond their sell by date. a bigger thinking way of looking at the issue is to ask what are the needs the high street has met in the past, which ones are now being met elsewhere (hence high street 'death') and which ones aren't being met elsewhere and maybe need to be.

also, what use could now empty shops be put to that serve us better? for example, could ex-shops become residential property or other public building space. do we really need so many mobile phone showrooms and / or gambling shops?

What a surprising post. I would have thought you would be against the urbanisation of our communities, the need for cars to trawl to out of town retail parks etc.

The way the country is going now, we could convert empty high street retail space into Methadone clinics and wellness centres.

ninky_2

bendix wrote: »

What a surprising post. I would have thought you would be against the urbanisation of our communities, the need for cars to trawl to out of town retail parks etc.

The way the country is going now, we could convert empty high street retail space into Methadone clinics and wellness centres.

i'm not a luddite or a nostalgist. plus i have at least two brain cells to rub together thank you very much mr bendix.

current population levels could hardly manage with horseback - the environmental impact would be far worse than motorised transport. who said out of town retail parks are the real threat?...the internet is changing our lives faster than infrastructure can reflect but it will happen. a lot of retail park business isn't going to last that long. places like currys are basically just becoming a showroom service that people go to and then find the item cheaper online. currys will soon follow the path of woolworths unless they can reinvigorate their business model.

my free top business idea for anyone with the nouse to do it (not me) is to set up a network of 'easy collect' depots for online orders - open early and late, for collection at your convenience. one thing currently putting people off buying online is the delivery system which often requires sign for delivery at an address you aren't at or a journey to some far flung depot with extra charge for weekend collection.

the real threat is population levels not urbanisation. per capita city dwelling is a greener lifestyle option than country living. it's the capita numbers that are the issue.

ninky_2

bendix wrote: »

we could convert empty high street retail space into Methadone clinics and wellness centres.

good idea. would these be public or private sector?

FTBFun

bendix wrote: »

It's not like Cameron is appointing Timmy Mallet to advise on Foreign Policy.

I have this image in my head of Timmy Mallett hitting Colonel Gaddafi on the head with an oversized foam mallet now. Thanks for that.

Thrugelmir

ninky wrote: »

also, what use could now empty shops be put to that serve us better? for example, could ex-shops become residential property or other public building space. do we really need so many mobile phone showrooms and / or gambling shops?

Town centres need to be living breathing 24/7 areas. Where a combination of retail, residential, commercial and recreational activity is undertaken. Not soul less places that open at 8 and close at 5.30. No requirement for people to own cars as could live within walking distance of their work.

Larger units such as the empty Woolworths could be to split into arcades. Where sole traders and smaller businessess rent the space they require at a reasonable cost.