Christmas Shopping is coming.

Firstly this week can I say a big thank you to everyone who is reading this blog on a regular basis, we now have hundreds of hardcore supporters and it is very gratifying that people take the time to read and contribute. For those who send me comments, again many thanks, there have been some very useful and thought provoking contributions, not all agreeing, but hey it's a free country. If you want me to publish your comments, please identify yourself, and provided there is nothing libellous, I am happy to display what you have written, however I won't publish anonymous contributions no matter how good they are.
My parking scheme for Shepton is going full steam ahead, we now have 23 businesses signed up, with another 3 or 4 due to make up their mind during the next week. There will be plenty of high profile work over the next few weeks to try to ensure that everyone is aware of the scheme, and it has shown how the traders and council can work together for the common good.
I did get one criticism this week from someone querying the administration costs for the project, can I just confirm that apart from the £1100 set up costs that Mendip are covering, there is zero ongoing administration, we are merely asking the participating businesses to tell us at the end of the trial whether they found it scheme beneficial, and a rough idea of how many times they gave a refund. We don't need any other information, but will want an opinion as to whether the scheme is continued after the trial or not. It is not our intention to impose the scheme on anyone who doesn't want to participate, however the scheme will always be open to any business that wants to join at a later date.
A number of commentators have suggested that what Shepton really needs is free parking and I think it is worth looking at what that would mean. Firstly there is no evidence that free parking will actually improve footfall. In 1996 Mendip tried an experiment in Shepton to give free parking for 2 hours in all of the car parks. A footfall survey was conducted prior to the experiment and during the free parking period. Contrary to the belief that footfall would increase if car parking was free, during that experiment footfall actually fell from 17,500 per week to 15,000. So free parking on its own is not a panacea, footfall will only increase if there is a retail offer that people want to use. What was also interesting about the survey in 1996 was a survey of empty retail premises. 14 years ago there was a 25% vacancy rate in Town Street that has now been reduced to 10%. Vacancies have increased in the High Street slightly, but that is mainly due to the 5 shops that were kept empty artificially so that the Turn Back Time project could be completed. When those shops are let, we will actually be in a better position overall than we have been for nearly 15 years. So the stories of doom, gloom and a never ending spiral of decline are not accurate, things are improving gradually, even if there is still an awful lot to do.
The parking refund project actually gives shoppers an incentive to spend their money in the Town Centre, where free parking does not. In a previous blog I also mentioned that free parking has a number of other drawbacks.
Firstly the cost of maintaining the car parks does not go away, and if parking is free, that burden has to be put on the council tax payer, whether they use the car parks or not, whether they own a car or not and that tax hits those that can least afford it harder than most.
Secondly, if parking is free, there would be no money for car park inspectors either, leading to anarchy within the parking regime, with vehicles being left in the most desirable positions all day every day, thus using up the very valuable resource that the town centre relies upon. The comment was made a couple of weeks ago that parking in the Market Place and High Street is abused by people parking all day. The only way to remedy that is to have inspectors carrying out regular patrols, and yes issuing tickets to those who abuse the system. The police do not see parking as a priority issue and only act if there is an obstruction or if the "blue badge" zones are being abused.
If the free parking provision in the town is well managed, there is quite sufficient to cater for all of those people who want to "stop and shop" and just spend a few pounds, the parking refund scheme will incentivise all those who want to spend more time and money in the Town Centre, and the charging regime ensures that the car parks can be effectively managed.
This year no-one will have an excuse not to do their Christmas shopping in Shepton, let’s hope it’s a bumper year for all of our Town Centre traders.

Town Centre revival on the way.

It’s been a little less frantic on the political front this week, and I’ve had the chance to catch up on a few of the things that I had to do in my business, and even earned some money for a change!!

Late last week a client contacted me from Hastings who had a serious issue that he needed help with, so I decided to visit him on Monday, Hastings is not the easiest place to get to from this part of the world, you either have to chance your arm with the M25, or find an alternative route across country, I chose the former and immediately regretted it as the traffic ground to a halt as the result of an accident leaving me completely stuck for over 2 hours. By the time it all cleared and I got back home it was well past 10pm and after a quick snack it was off to bed!

On Thursday we had a visit from a company called Shopjacket, who are based in the North East near Whitley Bay, they specialise in helping town centres turn themselves around, providing a variety of solutions to help new business start ups, and to attract more enquiries from potential businesses. I have to say they were very impressive, with some great ideas, and endless enthusiasm. It is early days yet, but I think there is a lot of potential in what they are suggesting. I think Shepton has a narrow window of opportunity to really go for the regeneration of the High Street especially as we have the added interest in the town as a result of the Turn Back Time series, and I think we have to grasp this opportunity with both hands. Shepton is not the only traditional town centre in the country that has suffered in recent years, yes we have our own particular problems, but the demise of shopping in high street’s across the country is well documented.

What we need to do is to focus on what can be done, what the people of the town and our visitors want, and to stop trying to wish away the things that have happened in the past. Supermarkets are here to stay, so there is absolutely no point in having a strategy that requires the town to get rid of the ones that we have already got. There does seem to be an appetite for shoppers to return to a situation where they have a lot more choice from a variety of retailers, rather than merely relying on what one or two have to offer. The trick will be to ensure that any new retailers in Shepton have done their research, they understand what their customers want, and are capable of providing that service. From what I’ve seen the guys from “Shopjacket” are capable of providing an environment where that sort of enterprise can flourish, and as a Town and District Council we should do our bit to try to assist the process.

I will certainly be working with the Conservative Group on both councils to bring forward proposals as to how we help the process along, so watch this space for the next month and I will try to keep you posted on what is happening.

On Friday I chaired the regular meeting of the steering group for Shepton’s Townscape Heritage Initiative. The THi has been up and running for very nearly three years now, and will run through until 2013. So far we have provided grants for five properties to be renovated in the town centre, some of them are complete, while others are still ongoing. We are now at the stage where we have received applications or enquiries for nearly all of our target buildings in the High Street, Town Street and The Market Place, and in contrast to THi projects in other parts of the country, where plans are being scrapped because property owners cannot be persuaded to invest in their own properties, we will certainly be able to spend all of the current half a million pounds grant pot that is available, and will be putting in a bid to the Heritage Lottery fund for some more!

The THi is the second phase of investment into Shepton’s town centre in the seven years of the current Conservative administration at Mendip, and this intervention by the council has led to a total of two million pounds being spent to improve the fabric of the town centre. This investment is the first that Shepton has seen for close on thirty years, and if the current level of interest in our town continues it will be the catalyst for regeneration that the town has been waiting for.        

Finally for this week, can I send out a plea to anyone reading this blog to support the drive to raise money for the protection of our historic Market Cross? Cllr Jeanette Marsh who is the current chairman of the Town Council has launched an appeal to raise £100,000 to enable urgent repairs to the listed structure to be carried out. We have unfortunately been turned down for funding by the Heritage Lottery Fund, and although we will certainly putting in another bid shortly, some of the repairs are very urgent and cannot wait. The Trustees of the Cross do not have sufficient money to carry out the work, and despite both Mendip and the Town council putting public money in, more will be needed.

If you are able to help, please contact  Mrs Jeanette Marsh, Chairman, Shepton Mallet Town Council, 1 Park Road, Shepton Mallet, BA4 5BS, Tel: 01749 343984 or alternatively Neil Shearn, Chairman, Shepton Mallet Market Cross Charity, 2 Charlton Road, Shepton Mallet, BA4 5NY, Tel:  01749 342763.

Lest we forget.

As a councillor I get invited to attend many events during the course of the year, and whilst there is never enough time to put in an appearance at all of them, the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph is one that I feel extremely privileged to attend. I always find it very poignant and moving and I feel greatly honoured to be able to lay the wreath on behalf of the District Council as I have for the past 7 years.

The Remembrance Sunday commemorations that occur all across the country every year give us all the chance to lay aside our differences for a few moments and to concentrate on, and give thanks to all of those who gave their lives to ensure that we have the freedom to have those differences. Most of my generation have been lucky enough to grow up in safety for the most part, without the threat of having to go to war and having to make the ultimate sacrifice, the younger generation have certainly stepped up to the mark in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts and we will have the opportunity to salute those that have served there as well.

The fallout from the Comprehensive Spending Review continues to reverberate around local government, Somerset County Council have given more details as to how the savings that are required will have to be made, and without doubt, most people will notice these changes as they come through.  I don’t think that there are many politicians that put themselves forward for election with the sole purpose of slashing public spending, however I do think that spending got seriously out of control thanks to the last Labour Government nationally and the Lib Dem administration at County Hall locally. The levels of expenditure and debt that occurred during that period of profligacy have now come home to roost, and it is essential that it be reined in.

What has not been widely publicised, especially by the Labour luvvies in the BBC who seem to glory in their doom and gloom headlines, is that overall there will be no actual cash terms cut in spending during the five year term of this government, all of the changes merely mean that the proposed growth in public spending will not occur as previously planned and at the end of the parliament the rate of public spending will be the equivalent that we last saw in 2007, so hardly a return to the dark ages that the prophets of doom glory in.

While Somerset County Council has its unique problems, especially its massive £400 million Lib Dem debt to service, other local councils have also announced that cuts will have to be made, Gloucester have announced that over 1000 jobs will be lost, Wiltshire who initially forecast that because they are a unitary they would be insulated from the cuts have said that they mis-calculated the scale of the problem by about £50 million and will have to re-think, the new unitary in Cornwall is having major problems even getting an agreement on what is to be done and so it goes on.

Closer to home, Mendip’s Cabinet had a briefing on Monday evening as to what we know about the levels of savings that we will have to make. The headline figure looks as though it will be somewhere around £2 million over 4 years (7.1% pa) but we will not know exactly how that pans out until early December when we should get more precise figures. My portfolio deals with the payment of benefits and collection of taxes and we will see big changes as the plans to move to a single universal credit from the current myriad of benefits feed through. Ian Duncan Smith has put an awful lot of work and his reputation into sorting out the benefits system, and so far the plans seem to have attracted cross party support. It can only be right to for someone who works to be better off than someone who is relying on benefits, it is how you get from one to the other that will be the test. It will also be vital that the private sector grows strongly over the next 5 years to create the jobs that people who come off of benefits will need.

Possibly the most interesting point that has come to light in the last few weeks regards the scheme to re-evaluate everyone who has been claiming Incapacity Benefit over the last few years. The new process evaluates what people are able to do and does not concentrate on the things that they are unable to do. As a result, thousands of former claimants have been found to be fit for work, including some who claimed that they were too fat!!!, and thousands of others have volunteered to come off of the benefit rather than go through the test.

Perhaps after all, the shock of the country’s financial predicament could lead to some fundamental changes to our welfare state that have been long overdue?

A credit to their generation.

I had the great pleasure yesterday afternoon (Sunday) to be part of the welcoming party for the group of marchers representing all of the services on their “March for Honour” as they passed through Shepton. 

The group of young men involved in the march are truly a credit to themselves, their colleagues and the country as a whole. I have not spoken to a more polite, respectful and self assured group of young men for an awfully long time. I have often been very critical of a lot of the teenagers and young people that I come into contact with, I often find that they are boorish, ignorant, disrespectful and arrogant. This group of young men could not have been more different and it was a huge pleasure to share their company even if it was only for a short while. I wish them great success in their bid to raise £1 million for the poppy appeal and look forward to seeing them at the Albert Hall at the end of their long march.

Last week was full of the usual fun and games, Tuesday night saw a meeting of the Town Council which degenerated into the usual slanging match with Cllr Dunscombe leading the shouting. It comes to something when a town councillor has to be officially warned as to his conduct in the middle of a meeting, especially after we had just listened to a very interesting presentation by the monitoring officer, who explained how members should act when taking council decisions.

Unfortunately we were not able to set the precept for the Town Council at that meeting as we did not have a recommendation from the Community Development committee so it will have to wait until our January meeting. There are a number of competing projects that will require significant funding if they are to proceed and we will have to make some decisions about these in the very near future.

Tonight there is a meeting of the Cabinet at MDC, as always it is an open meeting with members of the public welcome if they wish to come along and listen. Tonight’s meeting will be especially interesting as we will be discussing how the measures in the comprehensive spending review are likely to affect Mendip in the next few years. As portfolio holder responsible for benefits, my department will have to administer the new housing and council tax benefit regulations and make sure everyone understands them, it’s not going to be easy.

It’s a bit quieter on the meetings front this week (thank goodness), maybe I’ll even have time to get on with some work for my business and keep the wolf from the door, sometimes it is very difficult to balance what has to be done for the council with earning a living. Last year I kept a record of all of the hours I put in on council work, phone calls, e-mails, meetings, case work, official events etc etc, it worked out that I received £2.60 per hour for that period, from a tax payers point of view it’s a good job we are not on the minimum wage!

I’m really looking forward to the Edwardian section of “Turn Back Time” tomorrow evening and to the Carnival on Wednesday. The weather forecast is not too good for the next couple of days, let’s hope it clears up in time so that everyone can enjoy what must be one of the best free shows on earth without getting soaked. We really are so lucky to have this fantastic event on our doorstep every year.

Let’s park that idea!!

Well I did say last week that I hoped to finally have news about my parking scheme this week, and joy of joys it has come to pass.

After many months of preparation, surveys, persuasion, prevarication, obstruction and finally agreement, Shepton will trial a parking refund scheme for 4 months as from the beginning of December.

The general idea is thus; if you park in one of the town car parks and pay for the privilege, you will get a ticket to put in the vehicle plus a detachable reminder. If you then tear off the reminder and take it into one of the 22 (so far) participating retailers and spend £10 or more, the retailer will refund you either 80p, which is the equivalent of the first hours’ car park charge in Great Ostry or Commercial Road car parks, or 50p which is the charge for the first half hour in Regal Road.

The scheme does not affect the free car parking provision in Great Ostry where there is a free 1 hour parking area, or the other free parking areas behind the Police Station or in Regal Road, these remain as they are.

I have been very heartened by the enthusiasm of the retailers in the High Street, Market Place and Town Street who have embraced the idea whole heartedly, and I am hoping that this scheme will help to boost trade, especially at the Northern end of the Town.

The trial will run until the end of March 2011 when I intend to survey all of the participants to see if they wish it to continue. If successful it is possible that we may look at expanding it to the other towns in the District. If there are any retailers who have not yet committed to the scheme and wish to join in, please let me know and I will ensure that you get the necessary signage. I intend to circulate a list of participating businesses as soon as the scheme gets under way.

Another event that got underway this week after many months of anticipation was of course “Turn Back Time” the BBC time travel shopping experiment filmed in our town centre. I rushed home from a Town Council meeting on Tuesday night to catch the end of it, and then watched again courtesy of the iplayer.

The programme was great, very interesting, thought provoking and in places very funny, seeing 7 fully grown men struggling with a 500lb Gloucester Old Spot pig was priceless, I can’t wait to see the rest of the series.

But on a more serious note, I bumped into 6 people from Bristol who came to the town, had lunch and did a bit of shopping, purely because they saw the programme on Tuesday night, and a local shop keeper told me that she had a bumper day on Tuesday with people attending the Victorian Market. This included a family from Frome who had never been to Shepton before, who said the town was delightful, and that they would be back.

This interest in our town is just what we hoped for when we were working with Wall to Wall to bring the series to Shepton, and I’m very hopeful that this will be just the start of a flood of visitors who will make our high street a viable, thriving and exciting place to do business once again.