High Streets are the centre of the community but too often left vacant as retail and social habits change, planning policy shifts to residential conversation, and essential facilities like banks and post offices are lost.
We’ve seen that in Oldham, Chadderton and Royton.
Labour’s plan for high streets tackles head on many of the issues and leans heavily to the Co-op Party high streets campaign asks too:
✅ 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs
✅ Guaranteed face-to-face banking in every community
✅ Replace business rates
✅ Stamp out late payments
✅ Revamp empty shops, pubs, and community spaces
On the last point ownership matters. Local people must have a stake in the future not simply be forced to be observers to decline.
We’ve made some progress in Oldham despite the challenges and loss of so many household names. It would have been hard to imagine Debenhams going bust, likewise BHS, Woolworths and so many others.
The investment to repurpose the shopping centre so bring in more workers who will spend time and hopefully money in town, bringing in the market, social spaces like the Egyptian Room (a wonderful and special place which so easily could have been lost), and a plan for our loved but tired heritage buildings is part of the response.
But a town is more than bricks and mortar, it’s about people and so more has to be done to support local people who have a small business or who would like to set up in town, the best chance to thrive by reducing operating costs, and drawing in more visitors/shoppers.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 