Christmas is a time for good cheer but for some it also the busiest
period of the working year. Last week I visited the Royal Mail sorting
offices in Folkestone, Hythe and New Romney, to meet the postal
workers who make sure that all of our cards and presents get through
in time. This time last year the snow was very disruptive to the
Christmas post, and the currently milder winter has made things a lot
easier. I wanted to thank them for all of their work over the festive
period. In the New Year a state of the art sorting office for Kent is
due to open in Strood and it is expected that this investment will
help improve the efficiency of the network. I was also interested to
discuss the growth in the parcels and packages businesses for Royal
Mail from online shopping, and from my visit it looks like there has
been another large increase for this Christmas.
This trend for more online shopping is of course a concern for
traditional businesses in our high streets and town centres. This has
been highlighted by ‘Mary Queen of Shops’, Mary Portas, in a review
commissioned from her by the Government, and which was published on
Tuesday. The long term trends for shopping online and in large retails
parks out of town is not going to change overnight. The challenge
should be to find ways to make our town centres vibrant places that
people what to spend time in. Mary Portas suggests in her report, and
I agree with this idea, that it should be easier to change the use of
an empty shop if no new tenants can be found. This could mean a shop
becoming a cafe, gallery space or converted into a home. The long term
changes to the way we live and shop should be acknowledged and we
should consider what else we can do to bring people into our town
centres. We can see some of this approach at work in the Old Town area
of Folkestone where the Creative Foundation have not just renovated
shops, but also created gallery and work spaces. I believe it would
add a lot to the vibrancy of town centres to have more people and
trades working there, and not just in shops. You can read Mary
Portas’s report on her website www.maryportas.com .
There is also interesting work being led by community interest
companies like ‘Meanwhile Space’ that help landlords and local
authorities to find innovative solutions to use empty shops, until a
new permanent tenant is found. This could include creating low cost
incubator space for start up businesses, for example.
I was also delighted last Friday evening to join the Leader of Shepway
Council Robert Bliss, the Folkestone Salvation Army and a choir from
St Eanswythe primary school to unveil a new plaque on the bandstand on
The Leas. This year the plaque was dedicated to the popular character
actor and Folkestonian, Arthur Brough, who is best known for his
staring role as Mr Grainger in the BBC comedy show ‘Are you being
served?’