Collaboration key for future of Shropshire town centres, say business chiefs

Sally Themans, of Love Bridgnorth, Wellington and Shifnal, said that while 2025 will hold challenges for high streets, there are also exciting opportunities. 

She believes collaboration and learning ‘good practice’ are key to the survival of High Streets, moving forward.  

It comes as nationally, this Christmas appears to have been “disastrous” for retailers as households battle with ongoing cost-of-living pressures, figures suggested.

Retail footfall was 11.4 per cent down on last year over the final full week before Christmas, according to Rendle Intelligence and Insights.

Even on Super Saturday – the final Saturday before Christmas Day and typically the peak shopping day of the year – footfall was just 4.1 per cent higher than the previous Saturday, and only 0.9 per cent higher than the same Saturday a year earlier.

Black Friday footfall was 5.5 per cent  higher than last year, suggesting consumers took the opportunity to buy discounted gifts then, the figures indicate.

But, in Shropshire, councils and town champions are working to bring much needed footfall, helping retailers to skill up and to take advantage of any events and promotions going on. 

Shrewsbury  saw a record-breaking weekend on December 14 with footfall counters recording the highest number of visitors in the town centre for five years.

A  Shropshire Town Champions group, set up by Sally,  meets quarterly and includes representatives from Market Drayton, Ludlow, Church Stretton, Oswestry, Shrewsbury, Newport and Ellesmere. 

Representatives from Shropshire Council and Visit Shropshire also attend and the group meets with the town clerks from all around the county in the Shropshire Market Towns Collective. 

“The sharing of ideas and best practices is critical to the future of all our market towns” said Sally. 

“Together we are much stronger and can help our embattled High Streets to be as resilient as possible. 

"We are also interested in developments in legislation around ownership of vacant high street properties, and the growing galvanisation of local communities to influence their High Streets.“

Already planned for next year, Bridgnorth's Good2Great will be hosting a High Streets and Placemaking seminar on April 24 in Market Drayton with experts including Iain Nicholson of The Vacant Shops Academy and Charlotte Hollins, behind England’s first community-owned farm and campaigning for Community Power as part of the ‘We’re Right Here Campaign’.

Safety and tackling shoplifting will also be key focuses of business leaders in the new year, said Adele Nightingale, Oswestry BID Manager. 

“Looking back over the last year we have had a real push on making our town feel safe," Adele said. 

"We were awarded a grant from the government through Hot Spot funding which meant we could increase the hours our Street Rangers operate.  

"We have worked very closely with police and our businesses and feel there have been real reductions in the levels of shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.  

"Having the Rangers present in the town centre is a clear deterrent and our businesses and residents alike are reporting the town feels much safer.

"We have continued to run targeted cleaning throughout our town centre and extended the festoon lighting which gives the town a lovely ambience but again the additional lighting adds to the 'safety' aspect.

"We continue to work with Oswestry in Bloom and commission them to look after the new planters that we have installed and to plant up and maintain the green areas of the town centre," Adele added. 

"The bigger that comes from these initiatives is that we increase footfall and attract inward investment.  

"We have in the last few months seen a number of new businesses take on empty premises. People are more likely to invest their own money if they see a town where the Town Council, BID and the businesses themselves take pride in the trading environment and work together.”

Business leaders in Shrewsbury put their recent  increase down to a variety of factors, including excitement around the opening of a number of new businesses and the buzz created by positive national media coverage.

Seb Slater, executive director of Shrewsbury BID, said the footfall figures said: “The combined footfall figure of 56,670 across our two counters in High Street and Pride Hill on Saturday (December 14) was the highest daily figure since Christmas 2019, before the Covid pandemic in the following March. 

“The figure of 20,493 for High Street on Saturday was the highest daily count ever recorded since the cameras were installed in 2015. 

“It was great to see the town centre so busy at what is an absolutely vital time for trader."

Several new businesses have opened in Shrewsbury over the past few weeks, including Masovia Polish Bakery on Wyle Cop, coffee shop Oath Coffee on Castle Street, shops The 12th Man and Artisan Lab in The Parade, and new restaurant The Elephant Underground just off Mardol. 

However,  the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned of a January spending squeeze on the horizon.

BRC-Opinium figures suggest public confidence in the state of the economy nosedived in December, falling eight points to minus 27.

The public’s spending intentions – both in retail and beyond – dropped six points, with expectations of spending in nearly every retail category falling.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson warned retailers could find themselves facing a New Year spending squeeze just as they unveil their January sales.

Ms Dickinson said: “The weak spending intentions could pave the way for a challenging year for retailers, who face being buffeted by low consumer demand and £7 billion of new costs from the Budget set to hit the industry in 2025.

“With sales growth unable to keep pace, retailers will have no choice but to raise prices or cut costs – closing stores and freezing recruitment.”