Tomorrow, July 4, is Independents’ Day in Swansea. It’s an annual festival to get more people shopping in the city centre and the evidence suggests it doubles footfall.

Every day in Chester car parking is “free after 3”. In Rotherham the council is offering 50 per cent rent discounts on some of its empty shops.

Our high streets are fighting back.

One report says there are 5,410 high streets in the UK. It’s our most common street name. They matter and they’re certainly more than just a place to shop. They’re the heart of local communities and economies – providing jobs and essential services.

But many of them are in trouble, with 12 per cent of high street shops vacant – treble the figure last autumn.

And this isn’t just about recession. Often that is worsening the decline but some high streets have been struggling for years. They’ve lacked the investment or the vision to make an attractive offer to customers.

In 1997 half of all retail spending happened in town centres. By last year that was down to 43 per cent.

Mounting property costs, parking and access difficulties, the appeal of quality regional shopping centres, customer demand for a convenient, welcoming and safe shopping environment and the growth of online have all had an impact.

But there are examples of smart decisions delivering great shopping and trading environments. A BRC report, out this month, will share the lessons from these successes to secure a better future for more of our high streets.

Critically, town centres are assets that need to be managed and supported. They must be well designed, making the most of heritage features or natural surroundings to create a unique sense of place – and then they need to be very well maintained.

They need a careful programme of economic monitoring. Curing ill health is always going to be more achievable than reviving the dead. We must deter all forms of retail crime and anti-social behaviour. Damaged property needs to be restored quickly.

Then there are costs. High streets need central Government backing – with no new property and business rate burdens and the reinstatement of empty property rate relief – and a responsible and inclusive approach from local authorities to the money they raise and spend.

Local businesses must be made intimate partners in the Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) process and have a key role in making sure that public money is spent in ways that gets the maximum long-term benefit out of every pound.

Great high streets need to be actively planned and nurtured by local authorities with their retailers, other businesses and residents.

Whether it’s BBC (Beating Business Crime) in Warwickshire, the Dundee Retail Awards or 538,210 sq ft of Kingston pavements cleaned, we’ll be using the report to make the case that local good practice needs to become standard practice.

Stephen Robertson is director-general of the British Retail Consortium

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