For my article's first interview, I decided to approach Professor Chris Turner. He is the chief executive officer of British Business Improvement Districts, a group which represents 140,000 businesses nationwide.
Chris was accommodating with his time and provided erudite answers to my questions on the current situation. He also explained his suggested solutions to the issues facing the British High Street. Below is the transcript of our interview.
Toby Foster: Who do British BIDs represent?
Professor Chris Turner: We represent 140,000 businesses. There are 329 'BIDs', who each pay into their own common pot. This is then used to improve the local area surrounding the businesses to make it more attractive for customers. The organisation was started in Canada about 15 years ago.
TF: What is the short-term mood of the businesses you represent, in the run-up to Christmas?
CT: They are excited about the prospect of vaccines. There is now a sense of hope. Retail and hospitality are being wiped out, and there is much anger at the ruthlessness of the tier regulations when clearly different regions have very different rates. Many hospitality businesses have been exemplary in following the guidelines.
Lockdown has been very difficult for retail. They've been absolutely shafted. There's a growing separation between 'haves' and 'have-nots'.
It has been a hard, hard time for sole traders. A lot of them cannot furlough themselves because they own their company, so it is a very, very difficult time for them. They are entrepreneurial people who have lifted their game, but the situation is really, really bad.
TF: What should the government be doing now in your view to help small businesses through the crisis?
CT: They need to get track and trace sorted, ruthlessly. Look at how it has been done in Singapore, New Zealand and South Korea. Put money into individuals' pockets, too.
At the moment there is a madness, where if you're a working man or woman in a factory where covid is running rife and you stay at home, you get paid nothing. You need the money so you go to work. There is no recognition of that fact by the government.
TF: Is the decline of the high street reversible?
CT: Covid has made it worse and speeded it up. The High Street has changed dramatically, though it is an ever-changing construct. Really big retailers have become very old-fashioned. The young never went into places like Debenhams. What we need in our town centres is the libraries back, the health centres back, and old-fashioned anchor tenants. We need more residences rather than huge department stores.