St Austell Leading by Example
Posted by Morgan on 3rd Oct 2012
Last week I was invited to speak at a seminar hosted by the
National Retail Planning Forum and Action for Market Towns. The topic was
Making Small Beautiful. Basically, how can
small town and communities that make up the fabric of British society be
protected?
It was a gathering of eminent people from the world of
planning and representatives of some of the biggest retailers like the Co-op
and John Lewis. There was a lively debate that covered a variety of topics ranging
from the role of food stores in supporting and /or destroying town centres to
the effectiveness or otherwise of current planning policy.
I presented our experiences in St Austell as a real case
study of how small towns can pull together to re-generate themselves into
vibrant town centres; but how this process has to be supported by planning policy
and decision makers. Specifically in St Austell’s case the threat of a massive
out of town retail development at Coyte Farm.
Mike Burchell of the National Planning Retail Forum concluded
“much of the debate centres on the need
for strong planning controls over out-of-town retail to protect town centres,
but that is only part of the story. Action is needed to make town centres
attractive environments for investors, retailers, residents and visitors. Many
are not. Morgan Garfield’s presentation about the St Austell
Partnership showed what can be achieved when visionary thinking is combined
with concerted action involving all the key players in the town
centre. It shows how small towns can fight back to create a vibrant
future, and should inspire others to do the same.’
It is lovely to get the acclaim for what we are trying to achieve
with our fellow stakeholders in St Austell. Admittedly any congratulations are
premature and should be put on ice until we deliver the positive changes we
propose for St Austell Town Centre. Although, I hope that Cornwall Council’s
planning department and committee’s will concur with their professional
colleagues at the seminar and use their powers to protect the future of the
town centre.