We must all do our bit to save local shops

Nearly seven years have passed since a review by Mary Portas, the retail consultant, warned that the country’s high streets were dying. Her inquiry found what we could all see with our own eyes: the shops and small businesses that provide the vibrant heart of every town were struggling. Miss Portas said that “unless urgent action is taken much of Britain will lose, irretrievably, something that is fundamental to our society”. In response, the Government announced dedicated “town teams” to manage high streets and a £10million innovation fund “to bring life back to empty shops”.

Yet the decline continues and is reaching crisis proportions. Businesses are overtaxed and pay too much in rents to be able to stay afloat against the twin forces of online shopping and local council bureaucracy. Only the charity shops, which do not have to pay business rates, flourish. High parking charges deter casual shoppers and changing consumer habits exacerbate the downward spiral. Over the past few years, the closure of stores has put 50,000 people out of work.

But while the problem is easy to identify, rectifying it is another matter. What, practically, can be done to save the high street?

One thing within the remit of government, national and local, is to ease the financial burden on shops. As Dave Lewis, Tesco’s chief executive, said recently, high taxes are largely responsible for sending retailers to the wall. An overhaul of business rates helped some shops but hurt others. Allowing councils to keep more of what they raise should act as an incentive to encourage local companies, including shops, to thrive. But online retailers are not subject to the same financial burden since they have no high street presence. There is an uneven playing field which only government is able to level.

Retail is the biggest employer in the country and must be central to any economic strategy. But when people think of preserving high streets, they have in mind local butchers and grocers which have been put out of business by the expansion of giants like Tesco. These large chains could play their part in reviving town centres by reducing direct competition with independent retailers.

But while government has a role to play in rescuing the high street, so do we all as consumers – by supporting local shops instead of ordering everything online.