Spare the red tape and save the high street

If even M&S struggles, then which store is safe? But there are ways to stop the exodus to online retail

Ladies all over the country are no doubt fretting over their future supplies of knickers after it emerged that Marks & Spencer plans to close 100 stores by 2022. Coupled with their store closure plan came the news that M&S is at risk of crashing out of the FTSE 100 for the first time since the index began in 1984.

These developments represent a depressing instalment in a great British success story which began in 19th-century Leeds, when Russianjewish immigrant Michael Marks teamed up with local cashier Thomas Spencer, transforming his chain of “penny bazaars” into the retail giant we know today. M&S is just one of

many store chains to have publicly acknowledged its struggles in recent months. But is the high street really headed the way of the dodo?

All too often, discussions of its decline are conducted in a fatalistic vein – as though the arrival of the internet, and the changing nature of shopping habits, present an insurmountable hurdle for UK retail.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Many of the woes facing the high street have been exacerbated by specific central government policies. And thus, specific policy changes could alleviate many burdens on high-street retailers.

First, we need a moratorium on the state’s attempts to get people to abandon their cars, which have made traditional shopping a needlessly torturous process for many. Declaring a ceasefire on the “War on Motorists” will not be easy, not least because local authorities have a huge arsenal of weapons at their disposal – from one-way systems and bus lanes to legions of traffic wardens.

In this climate, it’s hardly surprising that many motorists would rather patronise out-of-town retail parks and supermarkets or simply stay at home and log on. These trends are doubly damaging for the high street, since the average motorist will tend to spend more than those who travel in by bus.

Most harmful of all are the sky-high parking charges in many city centres. When in 2015, pay-and-display machines in Cardigan, Mid-wales, were vandalised, a minor economic miracle was triggered. Local shopkeepers reported a surge in turnover, up in some cases by as much as 50 per cent.

I’m not advocating vigilante destruction of parking meters; simply that local officials learn something from the natural experiment gifted to us by the vandals of Cardigan. For the survival of the high street, motorists must be seen as valued potential customers – not convenient cash cows for local government.

Our business rates, levied on the rental value of the premises, further penalise physical shops in favour of e-commerce and price many out of trading on the high street altogether. Charity shops are exempt from paying the majority of these fees, which, along with their use of voluntary staff, explains their proliferation in recent years. Any relief here would be of great assistance to Britain’s ailing high street, as would a rethink of other ill-advised tax policies.

VAT, for example, is now levied on the restoration or renovation of older structures. Since UK town centres are often stuffed with listed buildings, this acts as a barrier to entry for those wishing to trade there – and plays into the hands of those Amazon distribution centres and out-of-town shopping parks.

Calculating business rates based on land, not rental value, would also improve on our current system, which penalises shopkeepers wishing to drive up custom by refurbishing or converting their premises.

This goes against what we know about contemporary retail trends, where the successful retailers are offering “experiences” as well as products. This means sipping coffee at your local bookshop, or buying work-out gear and attending a yoga class in store. But converting part of your shop into a prosecco bar or nail salon carries costs, and our tax code hampers those trying to tap into the “experience economy”.

Sunday trading, too, might need a rethink. This legislation, up against internet giants such as Amazon, looks increasingly quaint.

It would be crazy to deny the challenges facing the British high street in 2018. However, with a little imagination, reports of its demise may have been greatly exaggerated.