Campaigns :: Support our Small Shops

One of the things that make Richmond and Kingston special is the fact that our high streets are still full of small, often family-owned shops. But these shops are under serious threat.

The recession has badly affected them, but even before the recession, they were suffering. Unfair parking charges, vastly excessive business rates, a planning system that favours giant superstores, all combine to make life increasingly difficult for the very shops that make Richmond and Kingston distinctive and desirable.

That’s why I helped set up Campaign group Support Our Small Shops (www.supportoursmallshops.com). It has the backing of more than 300 shops and is calling on the Council to provide free short term parking in our shopping areas, and to appoint a Retail Area Champion to improve our shopping areas.

There is a lot our Council could do. Ten years ago for instance, Marylebone High Street had 51 empty shops and barely a single independent. It is now the leading independent shopping street in London. This didn’t happen by chance. The landlords understood that a good mix of shops, in an attractive and well-maintained environment, would bring in new shoppers. They were proactive and developed a long term vision for the area. Having identified the gaps on the high street, they actively sought new operators.

Inspired by the success story of Marylebone High Street, Kensington and Chelsea Council launched a wide-ranging Retail Conservation programme. K+C Council has begun re-writing the planning process so that the retail categories are more detailed and prescriptive. Mobile phone shops, coffee shops, large chains, estate agents all have their own categories. The effect is that where vacancies crop up, it is easier for the council to ensure that the replacement operator is something that adds to, rather than detracts from, the overall mix of shops in the area. More than that, where vacancies arise, they will actively seek out the best possible occupants, as the Marylebone Landlords did in their area. We need the same energy and commitment here in Richmond.

Since its launch, SOSS has been very active. More than 3,000 people signed an SOSS petition to stop the Council ramping up car parking charges outside our small shops. The Council’s CO2-based parking scheme will save less than 0.4% of the Borough’s carbon emissions. It is a stealth tax, not a green tax, and it will harm our shopping areas.

In October, I had a series of meetings with shopkeepers, local residents and designers to work out how we can improve the look and feel of East Sheen. We will take our plans to the Council and then to residents themselves, who as ever, must have the final say.

November saw the launch of the SOSS Pop-up shop in Barnes. It featured works of art by three photographers, and was a huge success. It brought life to a depressing empty space, and in addition it raised money for the wonderful Greener-Upon-Thames campaign to phase out plastic bags from Richmond Borough [www.greeneruponthames.org].

In December, I helped organise a public meeting in Sheen to give local residents an opportunity to voice their concerns about a new Tesco in Sheen lane. No one appears to have been consulted, and we have been presented with a very unpopular fair-accompli. I am working hard with our three East Sheen Councillors to find a way to be heard.

All images and text Copyright © 2010 Zac Goldsmith
Promoted by David Newman on behalf of Zac Goldsmith, both of 372 Upper Richmond Road West, London SW14 7JU
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