Weeknotes w/c 22nd Nov 2021

On Wednesday I went, with a HAT colleague, to Essex County Council's High Streets Business Summit at the decidedly un-High Street venue if Hoyland House,  as an opportunity to get back to in-person networking and hear some perspectives on where next for the High Street. Great to reconnect with some good people from across the area, and a few insights from the panel - pr should I say, disappointingly, the manel - they really could have done better on that, although it was great to have Holly Lewis from We Made That and other female speakers given short slots.

Among some fairly predictable perspectives, it was good to hear Ojay Macdonald unpick the role of tax structures in shaping our town centres. With a good historical perspective on how we ended up where we are on tax, and the major issues regarding taxing immobile rather than mobile capital - bricks and mortar via business rates rather than the fluid money of online trading - he cut through a lot of guff effectively. He touched on the issues around residential conversion through permitted development; the commercial rental debt mountain caused by Covid; colocation vs disaggregation of uses in town centres. 

I asked a question about active travel and reducing car use vs the perennial plea from traders for cheaper and easier car parking in towns. A few years ago, I would have heard a lot of support from a panel like this about the need to drive into town and shop, and probably some articulation of the benefits to towns of making parking cheaper. It is a positive sign of the times that no panel member attempted to make this case. The global pressing need to wean us off cars, and the side benefits of improved public realm, were stated by all. The next challenge will be to persuade and support small traders along that journey, as they are not all yet on board. Active travel as a front in the political battleground may be becoming more vocal. I'm glad that, although not of my colour, the Conservative administration of Essex is currently very firm in its commitment to cycling and walking and I hope they keep this up.

This week ended with a fantastic performance of Hofesh Shechter's Political Mother Unplugged at DanceEast.  More in a separate short blog.