Terry Murden: Mary Portas paints a bleak picture of the high street

The ‘Queen of shops’ tells us what we already know, but with added emphasis

MARY Portas’s review of the deteriorating British high street confirms much of what has been plainly obvious, though we must hope that the attention given to the issue by a high-profile television presenter will make governments both north and south of the Border sit up and take notice.

Portas notes that one‑third of our high streets are “degenerating or failing” and forecasts that by 2014 less than 40 per cent of retail spend will be in our main thoroughfares.

Coincidentally, her study is published alongside an Ofcom report saying Britons are Europe’s top internet shoppers. The two trends are not mutually exclusive.

Online growth may be one explanation for the demise of the trip to the shops. But why are people driven to spend their money online? In many cases it is cheaper. It is certainly quicker. But it also avoids many of the problems now associated with a trip to the shops: traffic jams, finding a parking space and somewhere that doesn’t cost a small fortune, discomfort and problems with delivery.

Right on cue, the Scottish Retail Consortium yesterday revealed a 1.3 per cent fall in total sales in November, the worst slide since 1999. If nothing else, figures such as this should help push the Portas review up the political agenda.

While her findings are mainly addressed to problems in England, the principles she establishes should have universal application. Policymakers need to stop clobbering shopkeepers with unreasonable rates increases and penalties for car-borne shoppers that are driving shoppers away.

Concessions for charity shops need to be extended to avoid turning our high streets into purveyors of second-hand goods, bookmakers and discount stores. Planning rules need to be revisited to help small shops, particularly start-ups. The Scottish tax on large retailers – a tax on those who are creating jobs – needs to be reconsidered as they often provide an anchor to shopping developments and attract smaller shops around them.

Fundamentally, it is within the gift of even our supposedly hard-pressed local authorities to make a difference by making their shopping centres attractive places to visit. Too many town centres are gloomy and badly maintained. They are often difficult to navigate and suffer from graffiti, litter and vandalism.

There is a case for more pedestrianisation, more free parking, and an encouragement of more street theatre and entertainment generally, even in weather-beaten Scotland. The shops themselves can play their part, as Scottish fashion retailer Belinda Robertson recently argued. More late opening would be help, and joint efforts among retailers to invite shoppers to enjoy hospitality while they shop.

Football provides a good example of what can be done to win back customers who had turned their backs on a favourite pastime. Crumbling stadiums with poor facilities were replaced with attractive, modern facilities. Despite the attraction of televised matches, the fans returned.

Our town centres can do the same if someone makes the same effort.

Jobless will be overjoyed at latest work forecasts

BRITAIN’s unemployment prospects are at their bleakest since the last recession, a new survey says. The latest quarterly report from recruitment firm Manpower says employers are planning no net increase in jobs over the coming three months, writes Martin Flanagan.

That is probably the last thing that Britain’s army of 2.62 million unemployed want to hear.

The unemployment rate hit a 15‑year peak of 8.3 per cent in the three months to September, and official data out today is expected to show the numbers out of work rose again in October.

However, it is unsurprising employers are adopting a wait‑and‑see attitude to further recruitment and investment in this climate. The economy remains in deeply troubled waters, and the eventual fate of the euro currency looms as a massive wild card as far as the UK’s prospects are concerned.

Employers are mirroring exactly the same wait‑and‑see attitude of many consumers who are putting off non‑essential purchases because they are fearful for their jobs or already down the vaguely irritatingly called Jobcentre Plus.