ONE of the country’s leading experts in the retail sector has made an impassioned plea for a review of business rates during an event focusing on the future of town centres.

Mark Robinson, the North-East born chair of the Government-led High Street Task Force, made the call at a virtual event attended by Darlington business and community leaders.

He said: “There is a crying need for business rates reform in this country, and that’s being picked up across the political spectrum. It is insanity to have a tax on a method of economic production that far exceeds the value of the building where it’s taking place.”

Mr Robinson was the main speaker at the second ‘Darlington On The Rise’ event, organised by local commercial law firm The Endeavour Partnership, and supported by the Mayor of Darlington, Councillor Cyndi Hughes.

The entrepreneur, who comes from Hartlepool,  has a wealth of experience in retail over three decades: as an advisor, investor, developer, and occupier. He co-founded Ellandi in 2008 and became chair of the High Street Tast Force last year.

Mr Robinson told the Darlington audience that “dramatic and radical interventions” are needed to revitalise town centres.

He urged local authorities to take advantage of the expertise in the High Street Task Force, saying: “Some places need a lot more help than others.”

“Town centres should be a place where people feel proud and good about themselves. We need to get the civic pride back,” he added.

Mr Robinson said Darlington had “massive heritage advantages” over other places, citing the importance of the town’s Victorian covered market building, and welcoming the recent development of a street food market.

He urged towns to adopt a strategy of reinvention, restructuring, repositioning, and rebranding.

“The answer is not the same for every town, so work out what the town is all about; put partnerships in place that make change happen; have strong place leadership; do it on the basis of data, not politics or a gut feeling; and have an inspirational vision and rallying call,” he said.

He called for a “first use for everything” approach to town centres to make them community hubs.

“We mustn’t forget the people who work in town centres because they are the people who pop out for a coffee and a sandwich,” he said.

Mr Robinson cited neighbouring Stockton-on-Tees as a good example of a town that had been “bold” in its approach to revitalising its High Street.

BUSINESSiQ magazine talked in depth to the man behind that Stockton vision.
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