
With the King’s Speech taking place today (July 17), calls are growing louder for further reform to business rates to aid footfall recovery in the retail sector.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is pushing for a new fast-track planning system and reform of business rates after the latest figures revealed that UK footfall fell 2.3% year on year last month (July). That was according to the BRC-Sensormatic figures.
The year-on-year drop for June was led by shopping centres, which saw a 3.2% fall, followed by a 3.1% drop on high streets and 0.4% fall in retail parks.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “As the new government forms…. it is vital that the problems facing local communities are addressed in its first 100 days. Planning reform must be a priority: a fast-track planning system that includes automatic approval in certain cases will give retailers tools to invest up and down the country. Speeding up these processes, alongside reform of business rates, will help town and city centres to thrive.”
All UK nations with the exception of Scotland saw a year-on-year decline in footfall during June: Wales was down 4.1%, England 2.6% and Northern Ireland 0.6%.