Forum topic: Shops in PG Town Centre - some thoughts

The 1001 Supermarket in Green Lanes, which closed down a couple of weeks ago, was a rather scruffy, but at the same time very useful Turkish-run shop which kept long hours and sold many types of food that you would be hard pressed to find in any of the national chains. True, you can still find all these products in Yasar Halim, but that's a bit out of the way and isn't open for so many hours a day. The owners have blamed the closure on a sharp increase in rent and continuing high business rates.

It seems rather strange that property owners should be increasing rents at a time when shops in local parades are continuing to close - the only ones that appear to be thriving are beauty parlours and, of course, betting shops. Would the landlords not bring in more money by charging lower rents which businesses could actually afford?

In national media we've seen a bit of an argument between two different approaches to saving the high street - on the one hand Mary Portas , on the other Bill Grimsey Bill Grimsey's report on the Vanishing High Street . One thing they both agree on, though, is that part of the solution is to make it easier and cheaper to park when shopping. This was also the view of many Palmers
Green residents when they responded to last year's survey about Palmers Green Town Centre [provide link]. But is this actually true? Might it not be more important to provide a better environment for shoppers who walk or use public transport? Might not the extra traffic make the high street less attractive?
A study carried out for the London Councils last year concluded that the latter is actually true. The report, entitled The Relevance of Parking in the Success of Urban Centres, concludes that

• more parking does not necessarily mean greater commercial success
• there is no such thing as "free" parking
• shopkeepers consistently overestimate the share of their customers coming by car
• in 2011, in London town centres, walkers spent £147 more per month than those travelling by car
• a good mix of shops and services and a quality environment are more important than car parking.

The report recommends that councils should publicise the fact that parking revenues are spent on supporting the local economy.

I've attached a copy of the report and one of its appendices.

Of course, even if parking was to suddenly become free and abundant, and the environment for pedestrians was improved, it would be difficult to turn Palmers Green Town Centre back into the complete shopping centre it once was because some of the basic types of shop are missing - no butchers, fishmongers, greengrocers. Other town centres - Enfield Town and Crouch End, for instance - still have these, and so does the part of Palmers Green south of the North Circ. But is it possible to reintroduce these shops once they've gone completely? It would be nice to think it is...