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Staple Hill Town Centre Health Check December 2012 INTRODUCTION The Staple Hill Town Centre Health ECONOMIC CLIMATE Following the recession, the UK has only shown signs of a Check, led by Staple Hill Chamber of modest recovery with a global economic downturn Trade, (with support from local continuing. In 2009, Government bodies published reports partners) aims to identify the work and guides highlighting the need for local partners to work together to counteract the decline of their high street or currently taking place in Staple Hill to town centre. These documents included: 21st Century High improve the vibrancy and vitality of the Streets, British Retail Consortium (2009), Driving Economic Prosperity: a practical guide for lead members, I&DeA town centre and highlight actions that (2009) and High Noon for the High Street, New Local will help it continue to improve. Government Network (2009). BACKGROUND THE PORTAS REVIEW In spring 2011, Mary Portas was hired by Government to The Staple Hill Regeneration Partnership was founded investigate innovative ways in which the high street could fight back against low consumer spending, inflation and and has evolved in answer to the identified needs of increased overheads. The Portas Review was published in the Staple Hill area. The group started working on December 2011, detailing a 28‐point plan that can help the local projects in 1998 long before it was formally high street become the vibrant hub of the community it constituted. Towards the end of 1998 concerns were once used to be in so many communities across the UK. raised by residents, community group leaders and Mary Portas’ vision is set out on the following page. traders about the general deterioration of the town centre and Page Park, an increase in anti social WHY A HEALTH CHECK? behaviour and a lack of community spirit. Councillors Monitoring the health of a town centre was a common representing the ward raised these concerns at theme in the documents mentioned above and important council meetings and at meetings of the Policy & to determine areas for improvement. As a result, these Resources Committee. Members were sympathetic documents were used as the basis for designing this health but the then recently formed South Gloucestershire check (the introductions highlighted in blue at the start of Council (1996) had limited resources to invest in the each section reflect this). The ‘Key Messages’ from these area. documents are also summarised on the following page. In summer 2011, Staple Hill Chamber of Trade took the With the help of council facilitators the needs of initiative and with support from South Gloucestershire Staple Hill were identified through surveys and action Council, started the health check process. The draft plans were set up. In 2001, part of a Government document was circulated to local partners for comment grant was dedicated to improving the town centre. A (including Staple Hill Regeneration Partnership and Staple group of traders and community activists were Hill Safer & Stronger Community Group) and made consulted about the project and were given the available online for the public to view before publishing. responsibility of overseeing the work. This resulted in the formal founding of the Staple Hill Regeneration FRAMEWORK Partnership, which is an umbrella organisation. It This health check has two primary areas of focus, which as includes local residents, representatives of a wide already established, are both seen as crucial in helping to range of voluntary and community organisations, create a vibrant town centre. The first area of focus is traders and local businesses and representatives of developing the town centre and the second area of focus the council and other agencies. is chamber of trade activities. For the purpose of this health check, ‘town centre’ refers to the area between Page Park and the junction of High Street and Pendennis The purpose of the partnership is to identify and Road/Acacia Road. address some of the area’s problems and thus improve the quality of life for people living and This health check will help inform South Gloucestershire trading in Staple Hill. The Regeneration Partnership is Council’s future plans for Staple Hill Town Centre and will working together with the Staple Hill Chamber of also act as guide for local partners engaged in developing Trade to implement the town centre health check. the vitality and vibrancy of Staple Hill Town Centre. KEY MESSAGES THE PORTAS REVIEW Out of town centres have decreased town centre My vision: I want to breathe economic footfall and spend. The average group spend for out of town centres, across the UK, is £55 compared to £34 and community life back into our high within in‐town centres. Moreover, money spent in a chain streets. Let me spell out my vision of the is more likely to leave the local economy. future… Research shows that money spent with local suppliers is worth more to the local economy and tends to be re‐spent I don’t want to live in a Britain that doesn’t care about locally. Locally owned businesses can generate up to a 70 community. And I believe that our high streets are a really per cent local premium in enhanced economic impact. important part of building communities and pulling people together in a way that a supermarket or shopping mall, In contrast, only a small amount of the wealth that however convenient, however entertaining and however supermarkets generate actually stays in the communities slick, just never can. in which they operate. For example, retail profits of large chain stores or multinationals typically flow direct from With town centre vacancy rates doubling over the last two stores to the head office and ultimately to shareholders years and total consumer spend away from our high around the world. streets now over 50%, the need to take action has never been clearer. Although some high streets are thriving, It is important however to emphasise that chain stores most have a fight on their hands. Many are sickly, others can drive regeneration, contribute to the community and are on the critical list and some are now dead. We cannot improve local economic prosperity. While the growth of and should not attempt to save every high street but my the ‘cloned’ British High Street may have harmed local findings have led me to believe that unless urgent action is entrepreneurship, it has also often provided much needed taken, the casualties will only continue to multiply. inward investment to a community. Fundamentally I believe that our high streets are uniquely Town centres are central to local environmental policy placed to deliver something new. I believe that our high and street scene improvements. The aesthetic character of streets can be lively, dynamic, exciting and social places high streets dan their design can play a crucial role in that give a sense of belonging and trust to a community. A addressing crime and vandalism. sense of belonging which, as the recent riots clearly demonstrated, has been eroded and in some instances Town centres can be the catalyst for regeneration; can eradicated. I also fundamentally believe that once we impact on local employment; can be central to driving invest in and create social capital in the heart of our footfall increases; and provide important opportunities for communities, the economic capital will follow. entrepreneurship and enterprise. High streets must be ready to experiment, try new things, Town centres are a focal point of encouraging local take risks and become destinations again. They need to be spending, social inclusion and empowerment. Added to spaces and places that people want to be in. High streets this, regions with higher economic performance, often of the future must be a hub of the community that local driven by the performance of the town centre, are people are proud of and want to protect. recognised to have higher levels of social trust and capital. Mary Portas (December 2011) Promoting the town centre can encourage less travel The Portas Review and reduce carbon footprints. Other benefits could be accrued on the basis that local shops tend to rely on local produce and suppliers more, with possible benefits across High streets and town centres that are fit for the 21st food miles – leading to a lower carbon footprint. century need to be multifunctional social centres, not simply competitors for stretched consumers. They must Town centre partnerships are forums bringing together offer irresistible opportunities and experiences that do not key local stakeholders to promote the health and exist elsewhere, are rooted in the interests and needs of wellbeing of the area. The partnership’s board of key local local people, and will meet the demands of a rapidly actors provides the direction. These partnerships have changing world. proved particularly valuable during the recession. Research shows that areas where town centre/high street Action for Market Towns (2011) partnerships exist seem to have reacted more quickly to Twenty‐First Century Town Centres recent economic pressures. STAPLE HILL HERITAGE STAPLE HILL TODAY The name Staple derives from an old English word Steap or Staple Hill is an urban area located to the east of Bristol Steep. Staple Hill means ‘on the steep hill’. Staple Hill was Fringe, approximately 0.5 kilometres from the Bristol – once part of Kingswood Forest, which covered an area of South Gloucestershire boundary. It is mainly a residential eighteen square miles and extended six miles north east area with retail shops and businesses. The primary retail from Bristol to Pucklechurch. Partly within this forest was area is along Staple Hill High Street and is classed as a ther Mano of Barton Regis, which included the ancient town centre.