social enterprise

This article is provided courtesy of the news feed at http://www.newstartmag.co.uk/news

A combination of tax incentives and a rise in independent shops could help avoid ‘high noon for the high street’, according to a think tank report.

On the back of a projection that 15% of high street shops are likely to be empty by Christmas, the New Local Government Network (NLGN) is calling for councils to step in and offer local businesses tax incentives to invest in their area.

NLGN wants the government to support local commerce by empowering councils to take over empty shops and offer the premises - on a free or low-level rental basis - to local entrepreneurs and small businesses.

The proposals would allow local authorities to offer lower business rates to incentivise new businesses, while an increase in local independent shops would help encourage a town centre renaissance.

The report argues that local small businesses should be subsidised to take over empty shops in an attempt to stall the ‘ghost town centre’ syndrome and points to evidence that money spent in a chain store is less likely to stay in its locality compared with money in a local shop.

A levy on large-scale developments and either a reduction in town centre parking fees or increased investment in public transport could also help create a more ‘level playing field’.

Report co-author James Hulme, NLGN’s head of communications, said the suggestions could help make town centres vibrant once again.

‘Local councils need to take a pro-enterprise approach to saving the British high street and responding to the cycle of decline in our town centre,’ he said. ‘Only then will we get the high street off the low road.’