‘A great mix will make town centre strong’ says action group

AROUND thirty Thame town centre retailers attended a lively workshop aimed at forming ‘a strong collective voice’ to assure the future of  the town centre into the future’ on Monday (May 18).

Hosted by Thame Centre First,  at the James Figg pub, the theme of the evening was ‘Building A Vibrant Town Centre for Thame’. There were three invited speakers, Iain Nicholson, a town centres specialist, and town team coordinator for Wantage, Banbury and Wallingford; Stewart Howe, acquisitions manager, for the Midcounties Co-operative, and Richard Holmes, a property consultant acting for the Midcounties Co-operative.

Thame Centre First is a community campaign group established to ‘uphold the policies set out in Thame’s award-winning Neighbourhood Plan, resist edge-of-town retail development, and keep shops together in the heart of Thame town centre’. In holding the workshop, Thame Centre First had three objectives: to connect retailers, businesses and residents, to generate ideas that will help the town centre thrive and to build a strong collective voice that will make Thame town centre even better for the future.

Iain Nicholson, speaking of his experience as town centre coordinator for Wantage, winner of the town centre category in the Great British High Street Awards 2014, said that the strongest towns have a great mix on the high street that suits their populations. “This involves national brands working with local shops, and retailers working with landlords and councils,” he said,  “all working together to keep the town centre vibrant. Work that is put in now will have a big impact on the future success of the high street, avoiding the ‘clone town’ syndrome, and ensuring independent businesses stay much more resilient, keeping money flowing within the local community.

Ian continued: “The town centre scene is developing successfully all over the UK, with innovative elements such as pop-up shop programmes that build a continuing pipeline of business and regular performances of art and dance in public places, that boost morale and attract audiences. These elements helped Wantage win its category in the Great British High Street Awards 2014.”

Stewart Howe spoke of the Midcounties Co-operative’s links with the high street, pointing out that they had always built stores in town centres, and support the continuing presence of independent businesses there. It was his view that out-of-town supermarket developments do have a detrimental effect on the survival of town centres, which, he said, “may also affect employment and people’s lives.” Stewart instanced the successes local people have had in fighting out-of-town applications in similar market towns to Thame, such as Chipping Norton, where an application to build an edge-of-town superstore had been defeated.

Richard Holmes works with the Midcounties Co-operative as a surveyor and planner, project managing objections. He continued the theme of overcoming out-of-town applications. He stressed the importance of establishing large, local lobbying groups and getting local people behind an objection, giving the example of a planning application that was rejected in Botley, Oxford, due to the sheer number of local objections, even when the local authority officers had recommended approval of the scheme.

Richard concluded by saying that the presence of such a large number of people at this workshop was a great start and indicated how strongly people felt about their town centre.  Local retailers, businesses and residents should carry on working together to ensure developments reflect what people like about the town and want to see there, he concluded.

Having heard the speakers, four break-out groups facilitated by members of Thame Centre First, discussed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing Thame. Strengths included the attraction of Thame as a true market town, the diversity of shops, free parking, and the benefits generated by fairs and markets such as the Thame Food Festival and the French market. When it came to threats, the groups were unanimous in their concerns about out-of-town retail development and the complacency that can hamper attempts to deal with problems such developments can cause. Areas of weakness included the high cost of business rates and rents, poor parking enforcement, declining bus services, and the lack of active business groupings. Amongst opportunities to be grasped were the introduction of managed parking, the enhancement of the Thame loyalty card scheme and the development of ‘Brand Thame’ as a means of promoting the town more extensively, increasing footfall through the year.

Thame Centre First has the backing of all five of Thame’s residents’ associations, and is supported by many high street retailers. For more information visit www.thamecentrefirst.org or email info@thamecentrefirst.org, or like TCF on www.facebook.com

For more information about The Great British High Street Awards 2015, which is run by The Future High Streets Forum, visit: www.thegreatbritishhighstreet.co.uk. The competition is designed to help revitalise high streets by promoting the great work that is being done and sharing good ideas across the country. Penny Mordaunt, High Streets Minister in the last Government, has said, ‘High streets are a vital part of our economy supporting thousands of jobs in retail and leisure … they are also at the heart of our communities providing a great place for friends and family to meet …. We want to reward the great work that is being done to improve these crucial assets as well as showcase ideas which can be a springboard for others to try.’

Thame4Business is run by 21st Century Thame, an organisation dedicated to the future of Thame and the surrounding villages. Run by volunteers, funding is sourced for projects to improve the vitality and vibrancy of Thame and to make it a better place to live, work and visit.

SOURCE: Press release