High-street strategy: recovery will take more than street parties and more bins

Citation

Sparks L (2021) High-street strategy: recovery will take more than street parties and more bins. University of Stirling Public Policy Blog [Blog post] 04.08.2021. https://policyblog.stir.ac.uk/2021/08/04/high-street-strategy-recovery-will-take-more-than-street-parties-and-more-bins/

Abstract
First paragraph: For politicians and pundits, the death of the British high street has long been a refrain. The pandemic has accelerated the existing trend towards online shopping. In its recently published “levelling-up” plan for post-pandemic recovery, the UK government sets the context for its new high-street strategy for England. The big question is: will it work? The markers the government has used to determine declining high-street performance – falling sales, vacant retail units, fewer shoppers, attractions and activities – are not new. In 2010, when the government appointed retailer and broadcaster Mary Portas to solve the high street problem, in the wake of the global recession, she focused on supporting retailers.