New future for market towns?

Opportunity for social renewal

IT IS reported that Boris Johnson’s more recent policy responses to Covid- 19 have been shaped by his despair at the sight of empty offices, shops and streets as he is driven through the centre of London. The same is true of cities across Yorkshire and the rest of the North – they, too, are counting the cost of the lockdown as people continue to work from home in unforeseen numbers.

No wonder the Prime Minister’s ‘ back to work’ mantra fell on deaf ears as fears grow about the extent – and impact – of a second wave of Covid- 19 cases without adequate testing or a vaccine in place. Yet, while this is a major challenge for city centre planners, it is also an opportunity for Yorkshire’s market towns if home working remains the ‘ new normal’ in these most abnormal of times.

Places which, in some cases, lost their soul when they became little more than commuter suburbs, they now have a chance to attract a new generation of families looking for a new work- life balance as a consequence of Covid- 19.

Opportunities that also extend to many villages, the key will be the availability of affordable housing, provision of key services like the NHS, schools and childcare, thriving high streets including offices to hire for ad hoc meetings and, of course, reliable highspeed broadband.

In many respects, broadband is as important as the Prime Minister’s ‘ build, build, build’ mantra and growing calls for greater political attention to be given to skills, training and apprenticeships – another key element of this newspaper’s week- long ‘ Blueprint for Yorkshire’ special series.

Given this, Yorkshire’s towns and villages, surrounded by unrivalled countryside, are perfect locations to benefit from changes to the country’s way of life. They should not be afraid to take advantage of their new- found status as the place to live and work before other areas do so.