Minister for Local Government John Healey this week called for the retail sector and local authorities to work more closely to bring investment to deprived areas.
In a joint initiative between the Communities and Local Government and Business in the Community organisations, a how-to guide called Under-served Markets: Retail and Regeneration has been published to give advice on retail-led regeneration.
Healey said that such schemes can provide employment and training in deprived areas, as well as offer businesses competitive advantage.
“The benefits are twofold. Local authorities can improve the lives of residents by tapping into retail potential in their areas and providing an entry point to employment. And deprived areas also offer retailers commercial opportunities, because they would be filling a gap in the market,” he said.
“The guide shows that strong local partnerships between public and private sectors are crucial to success. We recognise that this can be challenging, but the reforms the Government has made to the planning system can assist with this process.”
The guide highlights successful pilots like the tie-up between the local authority and Tesco in Oldham, which led to the opening of a store and created about 400 jobs.
The guide will be rolled out at regional workshops for practitioners to spread the lessons of the pilot projects.
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