ATCM to guide Portas Pilots and Town Teams for next two years
The government has selected the Association of Town & City Management to lead the delivery of a programme to support and develop England’s high streets and town centres over the next two years.
The programme will focus on improving leadership, town team capabilities and partnership working to share learning and spread best practice. This will include each area of work being broken down into specific activities ranging from one-to-one guidance, regionally based workshops and national training to ‘How To’ guides, study visits, conferences and seminars.
ATCM chief executive Martin Blackwell said: “Together with our partners, we are creating a comprehensive set of tools and providing expert guidance focused on specific problems in – and solutions for – each area. The knowledge gained will be useful to all towns and cities, not just in England but in the rest of the UK and further afield.”
The package is part of the government’s continuing response to the Mary Portas Review of the High Street completed in December 2011. Since then, 27 Portas Pilots and over 330 Town Team Partners have been created in local communities.
Local Growth Minister Mark Prisk commented: “Over the last year this Government has worked hard to help boost the high street, including initiatives to simplify planning, revamp the public realm, cut the business rate burden and revive local markets.
“This package of support, alongside the work of the Future High Streets Forum, will help drive forward these initiatives and provide Town Teams with the strategic leadership needed to help their high streets adapt to the modern market.”
Each Portas Pilot received up to £100,000 in government funds to spend on projects they developed with input from local authorities, town councils, and local businesses together with support from Business in the Community. The Town Team Partners each received £10,000 and a package of support provided by the ATCM.
Blackwell added: “Some of the funding has already been well used to generate ‘quick wins’ on local community levels. Other funds have been allocated to target longer range problems as well as insuring wide spread ‘buy in’ from local residents as well as businesses and authorities. What is important is not how much of the Portas money has already been spent, but what is actually happening on the ground, including consultations and match funding that is being levered through the Portas vision.”
Over the next two years, beginning on 1 April, the ATCM and supporting partners will provide support on business planning, a range of regional workshops, one to one advice, ‘How to’ guides and access to expert mentors and supporters.
Other work will include place branding, social media and marketing, town centre greening and climate change adaptation, developing age friendly town centres, volunteering, running and developing markets, living over the shops, access and parking, destination management and pop-up shops.
