Category Archives: Mary Portas

Conversation Piece: High-street strategy: recovery will take more than street parties and more bins

On the 15th July, the UK Government published its new high street strategy for England “Build Back Better: High Streets”. I was asked by The Conversation to prepare a peice about the strategy, its links to Covid recovery and its … Continue reading

Posted in community wealth building, Festivals, Government, High Streets, Independents, Local Retailers, Mary Portas, Permitted Development Rights, Places, Planning, Policy, Public Policy, Public Realm, Regeneration, Regulation, Retailers, Retailing, Streetscapes, Town Centres | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ten years on stirlingretail.com

Ten years ago today (6th April 2011) I put up my very first post on this blog.  My intention was really two fold.  First I wanted to have a place to collect and publicise retail things so as to avoid … Continue reading

Posted in Academics, Consumer Change, Convenience, Convenience stores, High Streets, Internet, Internet shopping, Local Retailers, Market Shares, Mary Portas, Multichannel, Online Retailing, Red Tape, Regulation, Retail Change, Retail Sales, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Government, Scottish Grocers Federation, Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Retail Sales, Shopfronts, Stirling, Tesco, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Waitrose | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Build Back Better: Bill Grimsey and Covid

When Mary Portas produced her report for the UK Government on high streets, Bill Grimsey was quick to posit an alternative and to focus on leadership and technology for places.  His report and its follow-up a few years later have … Continue reading

Posted in Bill Grimsey, CLES, Community, Consumers, Covid19, Government, High Streets, Leadership, Local Authorities, Mary Portas, Places, Proactive Planning, Public Policy, Regulation, Reinvention, Retail Change, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Social Justice, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Towns and Town Centres in Scotland: reflections six years on from Fraser

I was recently asked to do a 10 minute reflection on the state of towns and town centres in Scotland and the work that has derived from the Fraser Review (the National Review of Town Centres) and from Scotland’s Towns Partnership. … Continue reading

Posted in BIDS, Bids Scotland, Consumer Change, Consumer Lifestyle, Creative Places, Development Trusts, Government, High Streets, Internet shopping, Local Authorities, Mary Portas, Online Retailing, Place Standard, Places, Planning, Policy, Rates, Regeneration, Reinvention, Rents, Retail Change, Retail Policy, Retailers, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Tax, TCRF, Town Centre Action Plan, town centre first, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Understanding Scottish Places | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Trading Places: our Town and Country Planning Columns

In 2012 Anne Findlay and I attempted to take over from Professor Cliff Guy who had provided the Trading Places columns in Town and Country Planning for 12 years.  In the subsequent 6 years we have produced 23 columns, but … Continue reading

Posted in Academics, Alcohol, BIDS, Bill Grimsey, Bookmakers, Consumer Change, Consumers, Farm Shops, Food Retailing, Government, High Streets, Internet shopping, Mary Portas, Places, Planning, Pop-Up Shops, Proactive Planning, Rates, Resilience, Retail Change, Retail Parks, Retail Planning, Retail Policy, Social Inequality, Town & Country PLanning, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Business Rates: an election issue (not)

This blog has covered the issue of rates on a number of occasions (e.g. rates relief, a levy, some rates and the Grimsey report, the poll tax and business rates) never fully satisfactory, and indeed, re-reading the pieces, with a … Continue reading

Posted in Closure, Governance, Government, High Streets, Internet, Internet shopping, Large Store Levy, Mary Portas, Online Retailing, Places, Politicians, Public Health lev, Rates, Regulation, Retail Policy, Retailers, Store Closures, Tax, Town & Country PLanning, Town Centres | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Wrong Vocabulary?

One of the recurring themes within this blog, and some of the writings and papers it has reported on, is the inexactitude of many of the terms and concepts that we use in discussing retail change. Going beyond that, I … Continue reading

Posted in Academics, Bill Grimsey, Community, ESRC, High Streets, Local Data Company, Mary Portas, PhD, Places, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Vacancies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Retailing, High Streets, Town Centres and Stirling

I don’t often get to watch much daytime TV, especially at work, but that’s another thing the internet is transforming. The ability to stream TV direct to my desktop has opened up new panoramas (and I don’t mean Jeremy Kyle, … Continue reading

Posted in Bill Grimsey, Consumers, Government, High Streets, Internet, Mary Portas, Places, Stirling, Town Centres | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Levy, Some Rates and the Grimsey Report

I quite enjoy the flight to Singapore (which is where I was much of last week) as it gives me time to read and catch up on a few things; once I’ve landed things get more hectic with wall to … Continue reading

Posted in Banks, Bill Grimsey, Government, High Streets, Mary Portas, Property, Rates, Tax, Town Centres | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Poll Tax and Business Rates

This week is the Mary and Bill show – fast turning in to the retail version of Punch and Judy – and no doubt we will return to the rival (?) visions of the high street after I’ve had chance … Continue reading

Posted in Bill Grimsey, Government, High Streets, Mary Portas, Property, Rates, Tax, Town Centres | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment