Dear editor,
Re: Mayor has “lack of vision” over town centre as another big chain shop closes
Bedford Borough Council needs to have a reality check regarding the town centre.
This continual political posturing is doing the town absolutely no good at all because the problems are deep-seated and, from what I can see and hear, simply not understood by local policymakers.
Since the mayor has been in office for a long while, it is not unfair that he might bear some of the responsibility.
By the same token, the relevant cabinet members too carry their share of the burden.
However, for Tom Wootton to jump into the argument as part of his campaign to become mayor, then he might at least demonstrate that he has some conception of the issues.
One of the greatest of which is that public policy is treated with disdain by politicians in almost every tier of government.
The then Tory government was the first to enable brownfield out-of-town and edge-of-town developments.
It was they too who encouraged the development of the ‘Town First’ policy relating to the prioritisation of sites in town centres for retail activities.
How is it then, now that the first policy has been hugely successful, and the second, which is largely ignored by planners whose abilities to be persuaded by corporate retailers is truly astounding, the outcome of these policies has been an almost universal failure?
The priority for corporate retailers is to produce profits for their shareholders. This is a legal as much as a moral responsibility.
How then is it that the planners fail to see the obvious conflict of interests between their roles in planning and protecting the common good and that of these corporations?
I can cite examples across England where the town centre first policies (often adopted after lengthy and costly local consultations) are either ignored or are overcome in the planning process because the retailers concerned argue that town centre sites are not viable.
In the case of Next, they have merely assessed the current state of the town centre and chosen to move to an already existing out-of-town site and, doing what is right for their business, chosen to plant themselves at the Interchange estate.
By doing so, they are more likely to attract passing trade which matches what they perceive as their customers’ profile. It does nothing for the town centre, nor does it do anything for the environment, but it is perfectly in keeping with the local plan.
There is a desperate need for a holistic review of the form and function of the town centre.
A need for the policymakers to understand town centre dynamics and the actual relationship that exists between any town centre and the major retail chains – sadly these things are clearly not understood in Bedford, and that criticism embraces the politicians from all parties as well as the professional staff in the local authority.
I do not think that the mayor lacks vision, simply that the vision that he has is not underpinned by any rational, holistic or evidentially-based understanding of the form and function of town centres.
Yours,
John Orchard, Bromham resident
Director and consultant
Welbeck Retail Management Ltd
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