West End parking fees are madness, Mary Portas tells No 10From the (London ) Evening Standard - Tuesday 12th DecemberNew parking charges in the West End are to be branded "sheer madness" in a report ordered by David Cameron.
TV retail expert Mary Portas, who has led a government-commissioned review into saving high streets, will issue the starkest warning yet against Westminster council's plan for new evening and weekend levies.
The Evening Standard understands that her report, to be published tomorrow, will even suggest that the new parking regime is being introduced "under the pretence" of tackling congestion when it is in fact to raise money - which could be unlawful.
"In central London, for example, much has been made of the decision to penalise those wishing to shop out of hours by imposing additional parking restrictions on the pretence that late-night traffic needs to be managed," the report is expected to say. "This is just sheer madness and the only upside I can see is extra revenues generated for the council."
The damning report comes as cash-strapped Westminster unveiled a public services revolution to save millions of pounds, floating a raft of controversial changes to benefits, libraries, keeping the streets clean, as well as new licensing and tourism levies.
Read what Mary says about regeneration of our town centreshttp://www.maryportas.com/news/2011/12/12/my-28-recommendations/
The Portas Review
An Independent Review into the Future of our High StreetsThe following list is a summary of my 28 recommendations:
1. Put in place a “Town Team”: a visionary, strategic and strong operational management team for high streets
2. Empower successful Business Improvement Districts to take on more responsibilities and powers and become “Super-BIDs”
3. Legislate to allow landlords to become high street investors by contributing to their Business Improvement District
4. Establish a new “National Market Day” where budding shopkeepers can try their hand at operating a low-cost retail business
5. Make it easier for people to become market traders by removing unnecessary regulations so that anyone can trade on the high street unless there is a valid reason why not
6. Government should consider whether business rates can better support small businesses and independent retailers
7. Local authorities should use their new discretionary powers to give business rate concessions to new local businesses
8. Make business rates work for business by reviewing the use of the RPI with a view to changing the calculation to CPI
9. Local areas should implement free controlled parking schemes that work for their town centres and we should have a new parking league table10. Town Teams should focus on making high streets accessible, attractive and safe
11. Government should include high street deregulation as part of their ongoing work on freeing up red tape
12. Address the restrictive aspects of the ‘Use Class’ system to make it easier to change the uses of key properties on the high street
13. Put betting shops into a separate ‘Use Class’ of their own
14. Make explicit a presumption in favour of town centre development in the wording of the National Planning Policy Framework
15. Introduce Secretary of State “exceptional sign off ” for all new out-of-town developments and require all large new developments to have an “affordable shops” quota
16. Large retailers should support and mentor local businesses and independent retailers
17. Retailers should report on their support of local high streets in their annual report
18. Encourage a contract of care between landlords and their commercial tenants by promoting the leasing code and supporting the use of lease structures other than upward only rent reviews, especially for small businesses
19. Explore further disincentives to prevent landlords from leaving units vacant
20. Banks who own empty property on the high street should either administer these assets well or be required to sell them
21. Local authorities should make more proactive use of Compulsory Purchase Order powers to encourage the redevelopment of key high street retail space
22. Empower local authorities to step in when landlords are negligent with new “Empty Shop Management Orders”
23. Introduce a public register of high street landlords
24. Run a high profile campaign to get people involved in Neighbourhood Plans
25. Promote the inclusion of the High Street in Neighbourhood Plans
26. Developers should make a financial contribution to ensure that the local community has a strong voice in the planning system
27. Support imaginative community use of empty properties through Community Right to Buy, Meanwhile Use and a new “Community Right to Try”
28. Run a number of High Street Pilots to test proof of concept
Well done Mary !
