BRC blasts Gove and Portas Pilots in call to arms Wednesday, 27th June 2012

Photo credit: My Retail Media

“We need government to stand up and actually do something positive” head of the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Rob Templeman told delegates at the Retail Symposium 2012 on Tuesday, as reported by Reuters.

In something of a call to arms for the retail industry, Templeman criticised the government for failing to do enough to improve the state of the high streets, adding that the Portas Pilot towns “lacked bold vision”.

According to the chairman, radical action is needed including the creation of enterprise zones, the compulsory purchase of derelict stores and rent-free deals.

"We all want our high streets to be regenerated, we want them to become thriving places that customers want to go to, but it needs bold action,” Templeman, as reported by Reuters, told the crowd.

The former chief executive of Debenhams went on to add that although the government-sponsored initiative laid out by Mary Portas was “positive in parts”, it wouldn’t do enough to alter the course of the ailing high streets;

"When you propose projects with 11.5 million pounds of funding across 12-15 towns, that is not much good when you have just charged retailers 350 million pounds extra for rates," he added.

"We need government to stand up and actually do something positive about getting growth," Templeman said.

With around two-thirds of Britain’s GDP generated by consumer spending, Templeman said the government should provide more help for its struggling retailers.

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Posted in People, Retail Industry Tagged brc, british, retail, consortium, mary portas, debenhams, rob templeman, britain, portas pilots