Recommendation 127

Taking ownership of a wider number of assets on a high street can allow local authorities to curate spaces with a masterplan designed to deliver a longer-term ambition. In some instances, local authorities could choose to minimise profits on rents or introduce more flexible leases than the private sector in order to shape the range of businesses on a high street. 261 Pop-up shops and ‘meanwhile use’ were cited frequently as valued short-term occupants of empty units that could benefit from such initiatives. 262 The LGA’s post-pandemic study on creating resilient high streets argued that local authorities should use publicly-owned buildings to host events such as health, leisure and arts activities for the community. 263 Whilst these actions could equally be taken by a private landlord (as described in Chapter 3), we heard that local authorities were more likely to do so in order to achieve wider social or economic aims for the area. Box 6: Barnsley The council in Barnsley purchased its shopping centre, including the covered market, office building and multistorey car park in the early 2000s. It developed ambitious recovery plans modelled on the Tuscan city of Lucca. After these did not progress, the council then went into partnership to develop a new, and more conventional, shopping centre anchored by Debenhams. This was hampered by the financial crisis and never commenced. Eventually, the council decided to take the lead and redevelop the centre alone with a more diverse range of uses. The masterplan included the creation of a new public open space and the extension and refurbishment of the market, a refurbishment of the metropolitan centre, a cinema, a shopping arcade and new parking. The £220 million Glass Works redevelopment project transformed the market, with the public square opening in 2021, and was funded using a combination of reserve funds and borrowing. The council’s approach to financing included an acceptance that it would need to pay an ongoing subsidy to cover running costs, as an investment in the local economy and community. It also opened a new library and an NHS diagnostics centre on the site. More recently, Barnsley received £10.2 million from the Levelling Up Fund to create cultural and wellbeing facilities for young people in the town centre. Source: Written evidence from the Institute of Place Management and the HSTF ( HSC0063 , HSC0064 ); David Rudlin et al, High Street: How Our Town Centres Can Bounce Back from the Retail Crisis (London: RIBA Publishing, 2023), p 173–174