Merseyside Labour MP Patrick Hurley claims town centres are being ‘structurally disincentivised by the tax regime’ and are losing the battle against retail parks. Andrew Brown reports
Southport Labour MP Patrick Hurley says the Government must offer more support for the regeneration of town centres.
He claims town centre high streets are “structurally disincentivised by the tax regime” as they struggle to compete with retail parks. He spoke out after the sudden closure of Broadhurst’s bookshop in Southport which had been trading since 1920.
While leisure and hospitality in Southport town centre are doing well, with further investment in The Grand, The Garrick and the new Wetherspoon Hotel, some retail outlets are struggling with the tax burden.
Beales department store on Lord Street is due to close its doors this Saturday (September 7), while Gallery One on Lord Street is also due to shut.
Southport’s retail parks meanwhile are booming, with Sainsbury’s Hobbycraft and PureGym opening at Meols Cop retail park and McDonald’s, Home Bargains Caissa UK and Snap Fitness opening at Central 12 retail park, which has recently introduced free two hour parking.
Speaking in Parliament, Mr Hurley said: “The regeneration and refurbishment of town centres such as mine is being structurally disincentivised by the tax regime, which gives preferential treatment to new builds on out-of-town retail parks, instead of renovating our much-loved historic high streets.
“Southport’s town centre is beautiful, but has definitely seen better days. Just this weekend, our much-loved independent bookshop, Broadhurst, was closed down after over 100 years of trading.
“Given the dire economic circumstances we inherited from the former Government, what can the Minister do to incentivise the private sector to invest in our town centres and high streets, bringing life back to them?”
Alex Norris, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government), replied: “May I say, before I answer, that I and my ministerial colleagues know my hon. Friend’s community has been through a dreadful last few weeks and that our support is with them?
“I know he will come forward with other ways in which we can help. We went through something similar in Nottingham and I know how dreadful it is for the community. We are here to help.
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“On the tax regime, we are committed to a fairer business rate system. In our manifesto, we pledged to level the playing field between the high street and online giants, as well as to incentivise investment, tackle empty properties and support entrepreneurship.
“Listening to business and communities, we will continue to consider how we can go further to support high streets, while new powers such as rental auctions and the right to buy community assets empower those communities to address decline.”