Simon Pitkeathley on the work of the new London Partnership Board
Beyond their apparent simplicity, high streets are mysterious and complex systems. As CEO of two Business Improvement Districts in Camden, and until recently the LEAP’s champion for small business, I’ve spent more time than most trying to understand them. Some thrive, others fail, and anyone who claims they can pinpoint exactly why should be met with scepticism.
What is clear is that the relentless march of technology, coupled with the impact of the pandemic is rapidly changing how we use our high streets. For our regulatory, governance and taxation systems to keep up we need to move fast, collaborate and be prepared to experiment.
That’s why I have been particularly interested in the work of the High Streets for All mission, which explores how to deliver new public spaces and uses for underused high street buildings in every Borough by 2025, working with London's diverse communities.
As far back as March 2022, interesting conversations about the future of the high street have been taking place in the context of moving from a place of recovery to resilience. Since that point, the transition to the London Partnership Board is enabling a longer-term view of this resilience, utilising the partnerships that have been established, growing them, and enhancing the feeling of London as a world-leading city.
The mission is based on diverse, place-based partnerships working across the policy agenda to address current challenges. During the March 2022 London Recovery Board meeting, spend and footfall data demonstrated that outside the Central Activities Zone, a majority of London’s high streets now fell into the ‘resilient’ category, whereas shortly after the first lockdown in 2020, most were ‘struggling’. Those continuing to struggle tended to be more central and reliant on tourism or office space, while those serving local community needs fared better. The work of the mission was to develop community partnership models to address local economic development, community cohesion, health and wellbeing simultaneously.
One way that the London Partnership Board adds value is that all of the recovery mission teams collaborate, and indeed continue to share learning and engagement insights to ensure that each funding stream responded to the Recovery Programme’s cross-cutting principles of a green and sustainable recovery which seeks to reduce inequalities and promote health and wellbeing.
There is also already interest from London’s higher education institutions, specifically in relation to my fellow board member Diana Beech, whose blog post you can also read here.
Simon Pitkeathley
CEO of Camden Town Unlimited and Euston Town Business Improvement District