BBC radio did a piece on the sustainability of town centres over the weekend. They used Swindon as an example of a new(ish) town centre that was struggling and explored some of the approaches that might be taken. It was an interesting and balanced exposition.
I’m linking to the programme here but it’s only going to be available until late January.
The local Swindon media did a write-up of the segment and that might well stay up a good deal longer.
My takeaways were:
- town centres are important, they matter to people.
- Communities want town centres to give identity to the town they live in.
- They need to be accessible – don’t ignore parking
- The big anchor stores like Marks and Spencer’s are rare and unlikely captures, Focus on independents and smaller units.
- Councils (and other public agencies?) should boost footfall through planning the distribution of their own facilities, libraries, sports centres, health facilities.
- Bring employment into the town centre – offices above shops etc.
None of this is new, but it’s notable that it’s really only Sale and particularly, Altrincham that scores highly across the piece. Urmston does well in having a thriving hospitality sector and a large secure catchment.
Stretford is undergoing renewal. I’d have liked Trafford and the public agencies it has influence upon to have looked at Stretford as a place to locate some of their services and operations.
Stretford is unique within Trafford as being accessible from all corners of the borough. It’s the crossroads of Trafford. It’s really the place that the town hall should be.
As always, I’d be interested in your thoughts.
Leave a Reply