Boost our city with more diverse shops
I AM pleased that the council is looking into the idea of free evening parking for the city centre (Sep 4), it desperately needs an increased footfall both to make it feel like a city and to make people feel safe and comfortable visiting it.
Even at weekends the city centre looks desolate in some places, particularly in the area around Shelton Square and the Arcade where a lot of the shops are vacant.
Why can’t the council reduce the business rates and/or rents on these properties to encourage smaller businesses into the centre?
The powers that be seem to be very keen to encourage the larger chains to open up in the city but they will not attract new people.
These businesses are the same wherever they are located, visit one of these stores in any city in the UK and the experience will be the same, the same goods, the same prices and even the same lighting.
The same applies to all of the franchised restaurant chains currently opening, exactly the same meal will be served in the Birmingham or Leamington outlet as is served in Coventry.
What we need is diversity, small businesses and shops run by their owners, people with a passion and an interest in what they are doing, young chefs keen to show off their expertise instead of liveried waiters who haven’t a clue what they are serving.
There are plenty of these stores and outlets in the suburbs and quite a few of them would like a city centre presence but the cost would make them unprofitable. Get these people in, they will attract far more passing trade than the online click and collect stores. Joe Reynolds Styvechale